The flames hit meters high from all houses. People flee desperately from the inferno. The night sky turns fiery red over Altona. Hardly anyone dares to face the flames. But not out of fear of the fire - people are prevented from extinguishing it by force! There are foreign soldiers everywhere, guarding the sea of flames. Their leader, the Swedish general Count Magnus Stenbock, has given the order to destroy Altona. 24 hours later, 70 percent of the buildings are in ruins. The terrible night of January 8th, 1713 went down in town history as the "Sweden fire".
Out of 1,800 buildings, 500 remain
"There is nothing left of Altona then, nothing." Wolfgang Vacano is very familiar with the district of Hamburg that used to belong to Denmark. Vacano manages the Altona city archive. Two old drawings are printed in the club magazine "Mien leeves Altona", showing Altona before and after the "Schwedenbrand". The city comprised around 1,800 houses and huts at the beginning of 1713. With around 12,000 inhabitants, Altona is the second largest Danish city after Copenhagen. When the fire is over, only 500 buildings remain. Today - in 2013 - almost nothing in Altona reminds us of that fateful night. "There is no memorial," says Vacano. Only a painting in the college hall of the Altona town hall bears witness to the "Sweden fire".
A gambit in the royal power game
The fire that robs thousands of people of their homes in the middle of winter is just a gambit in the game of the powerful. And it's about revenge, cowardice and the blackmail of the neighboring city of Hamburg:At the beginning of the 18th century, a terrible trial of strength raged between the royal houses in Northern Europe - the Great Northern War. Swedes and Danes are fighting for supremacy in the Baltic Sea region. At the end of 1712, the Swedish general Stenbock won a great battle for his country. After the slaughter of Wakenstädt in Mecklenburg, he and his troops marauded across the country. When the Swedes move towards Altona, fear breaks out there. Although Stenbock can spread that there should be no looting. But only recently Danish troops devastated the Swedish-ruled Stade. Do the Swedes want revenge?
The city leaders are running to safety
Kevin Axt:"Stenbock warned the people of Altona."Altona's rich magistrates save their belongings - they flee instead of surrendering to the advancing Swedes. And in doing so they are doing exactly the opposite of what Stenbock is demanding. Kevin Axt, head of the Altona port archives, shows a copy of the writing that the Swedish general had distributed at the time. In it Stenbock demands not to flee with the goods needed by his troops:"No one will be surprised if the worst comes to the worst / when the houses and farms left empty / according to usual use in such cases / are burned / devastated and devastated."
Inept negotiators
On January 7, the Swedes invade Altona. The citizens appoint four men to represent them in place of the towered mayors. But they are obviously unable to give the victorious commander a satisfactory reception. The Swedes do not get adequate quarters, food and fodder for their horses. On January 8th, Graf Stenbock moves in himself. When his carriage comes to a stop at an icy spot, the pastor of the Trinity Church takes the opportunity to ask Stenbock for mercy for Altona:"And so give the residents and their late descendants the opportunity / to praise more dero Clemence [French. mercy] than Her. Strictness to lament." Instead of responding, the general demands food for his soldiers again. The pastor cannot say anything about this, although he is part of the negotiating committee. Stenbock's mood is getting worse.
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- Part 1:Out of 1,800 buildings, 500 remain
- Part 2:A trip to Hamburg with serious consequences