The vicarage at Høje Taastrup Church

Facts

Where Denmark lost Scania, Halland and Blekinge to Sweden

By Jakob Seerup, Museumsinspektør, ph.d., Statens Forsvarshistoriske Museum (9 stories)

Many Danish village churches have an annexed vicarage, and Høje Taastrup Church outside Copenhagen is no exception. Formerly the vicar's residence, it now serves as a parish hall for church functions. But not many people know that this otherwise ordinary vicarage was the setting for one of the most significant events in Danish and Swedish history. This was where the negotiations between the delegations of the Danish and Swedish monarchs were held, which in 1658 concluded with the Treaty of Roskilde under which the old Danish landscapes of Scania, Halland and Blekinge were ceded to Sweden. The church wall bears a plaque commemorating the treaty.

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Swedish stealth caused Danish all-time-low

Story written by Jakob Seerup

Time / Periode 1658

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From his hiding place inside a closed alcove, a Swedish officer eavesdrops on the Danish preparations for negotiating a peace with Sweden, and so by stealth ensures the best outcome for Sweden. This unsubstantiated story about the negotiations that forced Denmark to cede almost half its territory to Sweden is a typical case of the loser claiming that the winner won by cheating. Certainly, the Treaty of Roskilde represents an all-time-low in Denmark's history as a regional Scandinavian superpower. And Sweden was regarded as Denmark's arch enemy. The centuries that followed have seen ongoing discussions about national affinities on both sides of the Sound, but amicable is the best word to describe the controversies between Denmark and Sweden.