Battle of Lihula was fought between invading
Swedes and
Estonians for the control of a castle in
Lihula,
Estonia in
1220. The exact date remains uncertain, though some historians suggest that the battle took place on
August 8. The event is described in the
Chronicle of Henry of Livonia and the
Livonian Rhymed Chronicle.
Swedish troops, initially led by King
John, had earlier in 1220 invaded the western coast of Estonia, an area not yet conquered by the
Teutonic Knights. The Swedish army took the Lihula stronghold and set up a small garrison. Swedish
jarl Charles the Deaf (Swedish:
Karl Döve) and bishop
Karl Magnusson of
Linköping, both from the powerful
House of Bjelbo, also remained in the castle.
On August 8, a combined
Oeselian and
Rotalian army encircled the castle at dawn. The castle was set ablaze in the course of the fierce battle that ensued. Swedish troops tried to make their way out, but they were killed on site except for a few soldiers that succeeded in escaping to
Tallinn, which was held by Denmark. The jarl, the bishop, and almost 500 other Swedes were killed, leaving no Swedish presence in Estonia at all.
The short-lived Swedish attempt to gain foothold in Estonia was motivated by the quickly
advancing Danish and German crusaders who had been able to conquer most of the area in the early 13th century. Defeat in the Battle of Lihula discouraged the Swedish expansion to Estonia for more than 300 years, and the country was left for the Teutonic knights, German bishops and Denmark to divide. In the meantime, Sweden focused on
Finland and the
permanent conflict with Novgorod. It was not until 1561 that Sweden succeeded in establishing its rule in Estonia.
See also
