Episodes

  • Sweden's 1675 Battle of Fehrbellin: The Rise of Brandenburg

    Sweden's 1675 Battle of Fehrbellin: The Rise of Brandenburg
    Jul 4 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Battle of Fehrbellin (1675), a pivotal clash that marked Sweden's first major defeat on the battlefield since the Thirty Years' War. They discuss how the young Swedish king Charles XI, just 19 years old, faced the emerging military genius of Frederick William of Brandenburg. The battle shattered Sweden's myth of invincibility and exposed the weaknesses of the Carolean army. Lucas details the tactical blunders—Swedish cavalry charges against prepared positions, the failure to secure key terrain—and how Brandenburg's new discipline and artillery turned the tide. They also examine the broader context of the Scanian War and how Fehrbellin set the stage for Sweden's decline as a great power. This episode covers the personalities of Charles XI and Frederick William, the role of field marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel, and the long-term consequences for Baltic hegemony. A fresh angle in the show's arc, Fehrbellin reveals the limits of Stormaktstiden and the rise of Brandenburg-Prussia. #Fehrbellin #BattleOfFehrbellin #CharlesXI #FrederickWilliam #Brandenburg #SwedishEmpire #ScanianWar #Carolean #Stormaktstiden #ThirtyYearsWar #MilitaryHistory #17thCentury #NorthernEurope #History #FexingoHistory #Warfare #Sweden #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    5 mins
  • Sweden's 1398 Victory at Tuna: The Battle That Crushed the Victual Brothers

    Sweden's 1398 Victory at Tuna: The Battle That Crushed the Victual Brothers
    Jul 4 2026
    In 1398, the Swedish queen Margrethe I faced a persistent threat to Baltic trade: the Victual Brothers, a pirate confederation that had turned Gotland into a lawless stronghold. This episode follows the campaign led by the Teutonic Order, at Margrethe's invitation, to seize Visby and smash the pirate fleet at Tuna. We explore the Victual Brothers' origins in the siege of Stockholm, their charismatic leader Klaus Störtebeker, and how the battle paved the way for the Kalmar Union. Along the way, we reflect on the blurred line between privateering and piracy, and the sometimes uncomfortable alliances that built empires. #VictualBrothers #KlausStörtebeker #MargretheI #TeutonicOrder #Gotland #Visby #Tuna #BalticPiracy #KalmarUnion #1398 #MedievalSweden #HanseaticLeague #BattleofTuna #Privateers #BalticHistory #Stormaktstiden #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • Sweden's 1697 Tre Kronor Fire: A Palace Lost

    Sweden's 1697 Tre Kronor Fire: A Palace Lost
    Jul 3 2026
    On May 7, 1697, Stockholm's medieval Tre Kronor Castle—the heart of Swedish royal power for nearly four centuries—burned to the ground in a catastrophic fire. This episode follows the daily life within the castle, the terrible blaze that started in the queen's chambers, and the frantic rescue of the royal regalia and state archives. We explore what was lost: medieval murals, Gustav Vasa's additions, and a library of priceless manuscripts. The fire forced the young Karl XII to rule from temporary quarters and spurred a rebuilding that reshaped Stockholm. The new Royal Palace, designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, rose on the same site, but Tre Kronor's destruction marked the end of medieval Sweden and the dawn of a Baroque capital. Featuring the heroic efforts of city guards and ordinary citizens who formed bucket brigades, and a look at how the fire changed Swedish architecture and urban planning forever. #TreKronor #StockholmCastleFire #KarlXII #NicodemusTessin #SwedishHistory #StockholmArchipelago #VikingLongship #NorthernEurope #Stockholm #1697 #RoyalPalace #Sweden #FexingoHistory #MedievalCastle #BaroqueArchitecture #HedvigEleonora #FireHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • Sweden's 1527 Reformation: The King Who Broke with Rome

    Sweden's 1527 Reformation: The King Who Broke with Rome
    Jul 3 2026
    In 1527, King Gustav Vasa broke with the Catholic Church and launched the Swedish Reformation at the Riksdag of Västerås. This episode explores how a cash-strapped monarch, a rebel-turned-archbishop, and a Lutheran theologian named Olaus Petri reshaped Sweden's religious and political landscape. We examine the confiscation of church lands, the creation of a state church, the suppression of Catholic bishops like Hans Brask, and the translation of the Bible into Swedish. We also discuss the ripple effects: the Dalecarlian rebellions, the rise of a vernacular literary culture, and the long-term consolidation of royal power. Was this a religious movement or a financial power grab? Lucas and Luna dig into the motives, the personalities, and the legacy of a decision that still defines Sweden's relationship with the state and church. #SwedishReformation #GustavVasa #RiksdagOfVästerås #OlausPetri #HansBrask #Lutheranism #1527 #Västerås #Dalarna #Reformation #ChurchHistory #SwedishHistory #16thCentury #NorthernEurope #FexingoHistory #History #Sweden #ReligiousChange Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • Sweden's 1718 Siege of Fredriksten: The Death of Charles XII

    Sweden's 1718 Siege of Fredriksten: The Death of Charles XII
    Jul 2 2026
    In this episode of The History of Sweden, we explore the dramatic siege of Fredriksten in 1718, which ended with the mysterious death of King Charles XII. We examine the final campaign of the Great Northern War, the tactics used in the fortress assault, and the legends surrounding the king's fatal wound. Was he killed by an enemy bullet or by an assassin from his own ranks? We discuss the aftermath of his death, including the end of the absolute monarchy and the beginning of Sweden's Age of Liberty. Join Lucas and Luna as they delve into the last days of the Carolean era and the battle that shaped Sweden's future. #CharlesXII #Fredriksten #GreatNorthernWar #Siege #1718 #Carolean #Stormaktstiden #Halden #Norway #AbsoluteMonarchy #AgeOfLiberty #UlrikaEleonora #MysteriousDeath #SwedishHistory #MilitaryHistory #Fortress #AssassinationTheory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 mins
  • Sweden's 1676 Battle of Öland: The Wreck of Kronan

    Sweden's 1676 Battle of Öland: The Wreck of Kronan
    Jul 2 2026
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the catastrophic explosion of the Royal Swedish warship Kronan during the 1676 Battle of Öland. They discuss the ship's massive size, its armament of over a hundred cannons, and the fatal tactical error that caused the gunpowder magazine to detonate, killing most of the 850-man crew instantly. The conversation covers Admiral Lorentz Creutz's controversial command, the rivalry with Danish-Dutch forces led by Cornelis Tromp, and the aftermath that shifted naval dominance in the Baltic. Lucas also touches on modern underwater archaeology of the wreck, which has yielded thousands of artifacts and a rare view of 17th-century naval life. The episode offers a vivid glimpse into a moment when Swedish imperial ambition met a sudden, fiery end at sea. #Kronan #BattleOfÖland #SwedishNavy #LorentzCreutz #CornelisTromp #BalticSea #Stormaktstiden #1676 #NavalHistory #Shipwreck #UnderwaterArchaeology #ScaniaWar #FexingoHistory #MaritimeHistory #17thCentury #History #Sweden #Explosion Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 mins
  • Sweden's 1710 Plague: The Epidemic That Killed a Third of Stockholm

    Sweden's 1710 Plague: The Epidemic That Killed a Third of Stockholm
    Jul 1 2026
    In 1710, as Sweden's armies were being crushed at Poltava, an invisible enemy was already devastating the home front. The bubonic plague arrived in Stockholm via a merchant ship from the Baltic, and within months it had killed roughly a third of the city's population. This episode explores how the Great Northern War and the epidemic fed each other: refugees from the Baltic provinces carried the infection, quarantine measures collapsed under war demands, and the death toll crippled Sweden's ability to recover. We follow the plague's trajectory from the port of Nyköping into Stockholm's overcrowded working-class districts, the desperate measures taken by the city's physicians like Urban Hjärne, and the long-term demographic and economic consequences. We also touch on the controversial 'Mortality Bills' that became Sweden's first real attempt at tracking public health data. This is a story about how war and disease together broke the Swedish Empire's back, long before the final peace treaties were signed. #SwedishHistory #BubonicPlague #Stockholm1710 #GreatNorthernWar #UrbanHjärne #Epidemiology #Quarantine #Carolean #Poltava #Nyköping #MortalityBills #DemographicCollapse #BalticRefugees #Stormaktstiden #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #PandemicHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins
  • Sweden's 1734 Civil Code: The Law That Unified a Kingdom

    Sweden's 1734 Civil Code: The Law That Unified a Kingdom
    Jun 30 2026
    Before 1734, Sweden was a patchwork of regional laws — the Upplandslagen from the 1290s, the Östgötalagen, the Västgötalagen — each with its own rules for inheritance, marriage, and criminal justice. After decades of war and the collapse of the Stormaktstiden empire, the Riksdag finally pushed through a unified civil code that replaced centuries of medieval legislation. This episode explores the long road to codification, the political struggle between the estates, the role of Chief Justice Gustaf Cronhielm, and how the 1734 Civil Code (Sveriges Rikes Lag) survived for nearly 300 years, still forming the backbone of Swedish law today. We'll also look at what it meant for ordinary people — from women's property rights to the abolition of ordeals by fire and water — and why this quiet legal revolution mattered more than any battlefield victory. #1734CivilCode #SwedishLegalHistory #GustafCronhielm #Riksdag #Upplandslagen #Östgötalagen #Västgötalagen #SverigesRikesLag #AgeOfLiberty #LegalHistory #WomenPropertyRights #TrialByOrdeal #Codification #18thCentury #NordicHistory #Sweden #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 mins