Battle of Stångebro The Battle of Stångebro or Battle of Linköping took place at Linköping , Sweden on 25 September 1598 and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth , that had existed since 1592 . In the battle , an army of ca 8 , 000 - 12 , 000 commanded by Duke Charles defeated a mixed force of ca 5 , 000 - 8 , 000 consisting of an invading army of mercenaries in the king ' s employ and diverse but poorly co - ordinated supporting Swedish noblemen ' s forces commanded by King of both Sweden and the Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth Sigismund III Vasa , who was acting to maintain and restore his personal union against anti - Catholic forces in Lutheran Sweden . The Swedish kings general Constantin fought at the western bridge . The battle was the beginning of the seven decades long Polish – Swedish War s , which eventually destroyed the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth , at the time , arguably the largest nation state in Europe . Like the Thirty Years ' War which also involved Sweden , under the surface , the dynastic struggles were rooted firmly in religious strife between Protestants and Roman Catholics . Sigismund was captured during the battle , but as the Polish - Lithuanian crowned head of state , allowed to return to the commonwealth . He ' d engendered the civil war by violating his pledge to not interfere in religious matters in Sweden , nor to further the Catholic cause in Sweden . Background . When King John III of Sweden died in 1592 , his son Sigismund inherited the throne , despite his Catholic upbringing and despite already being King of Poland - Lithuania . However , he was refused coronation unless he agreed to the conditions of a clerical convention in Uppsala , making Sweden decisively Protestant . The debate was resolved in 1594 , and freedom of religion was proclaimed , although only Protestants could hold high offices . The Swedish nobility also sought greater freedom and privileges . They were not granted these , but in the absence of the king , who spent most of his time in Poland , Sweden was to be ruled jointly by the Privy Council and Sigismund ' s uncle , Duke Charles . At the Riksdag in Söderköping , summoned against the will of the king , Duke Charles was elected regent in the king ' s absence . This was protested by Sigismund and those nobles loyal to him ( mostly found in Finland after the king ' s governor , Klaus Fleming , had put down a peasant uprising there ) . Duke Charles sought to end the conflict by military means , but gained little support within the Privy Council . The new Riksens ständer he summoned at Arboga in 1597 – again despite the king ' s orders – saw few participants , and only one from the Privy Council . Even so , he did not receive support for military action , but initiated it nonetheless . Parts of southern Sweden were taken . Several of the Privy Council members fled to Poland to convince Sigismund to take counteraction . During the summer of 1598 , Sigismund ' s fleet took back Kalmar and continued northward . The force won a battle against the troops of Duke Charles at Stegeborg but soon found itself encircled and retired to Linköping . The support Sigismund had counted on from the Swedish people did materialize to some extent , splitting the Swedish armed forces in two hostile fractions . The battle . Stångebro is an area around two old bridges over the river Stångån , " Stora Stångebro " and " Lilla Stångebro " . Today it is a central part of Linköping , but in the 16th century the city did not extend east of the river . When the forces of Duke Charles approached from the east on the morning of 25 September , Sigismund ' s army charged out of the city and met them at these bridges . A thick fog was instrumental at hiding the troop movements from their respective enemies . Both armies included small sections of cavalry . The duke was the first to attack . He won a quick victory at Stora Stångebro and moved over his troops to Lilla Stångebro , where Sigismund ' s forces had reached the eastern shore and defended a good position . The duke ' s forces retired up a hill , where severe fighting followed . Sigismund ' s cavalry did not engage in this fight , which led to a certain victory for Duke Charles . At this point , Sigismund asked for a truce , which was accepted . According to propaganda from Duke Charles , his losses where light , only ca . 40 dead and slightly more than 200 wounded while King Sigismund lost 2 , 000 soldiers , many of them drowned in the river while they retreated . Aftermath . In negotiations after the battle , Charles demanded that Sigismund to send home his troops and surrender the Privy Council members loyal to him , and that the king himself stay to attend the Riksens ständer . Sigismund chose to leave the country instead , sailing back to Poland , but surrendering the Privy Council members in question . Soon , only Kalmar was held by the king ' s people . When it fell on 12 May 1599 , Duke Charles had control over the entire country . When he asked the Riksens ständer at Linköping in 1600 for support as regent , it answered by proclaiming him king . He did not begin to use the title himself however , under the name Charles IX , until 1603 . This Riksens ständer also appointed a court to judge those aristocrats who had fought with Sigismund in the battle . Eight were sentenced to death ; five of the executions were carried out . This event , at the main square of Linköping on 20 March 1600 , is known as the Linköping Bloodbath . With Sigismund ' s loss of the Swedish crown , the Polish – Swedish union was dissolved . A deep conflict between Sweden and Poland emerged ; the nations would clash many times during the Polish – Swedish War , not to be resolved until the Great Northern War . Also , most remaining Catholic elements of Swedish society were wiped out , and Sweden became one of the foremost advocates of Protestantism , not least important during the Thirty Years ' War . A nine - metre monument was erected in 1898 at the battleground , immediately east of the river and close to the Stångebro sports field .