Dano - Swedish War ( 1470 – 71 ) The Dano - Swedish War was the first war between Denmark and Sweden . The Danes invaded Sweden by sea , but were defeated early at the Battle of Brunkeberg , in which King Christian I of Denmark was wounded by a cannon ball . The Danish invasion was repelled , and the Swedes were independent from the Kalmar Union . Background . Queen Margaret I of Denmark created the Kalmar Union ( Denmark , Norway , and Sweden ) under her rule . After a few years , however , secessionist movements arose among the Swedish noble ' s council , led by Karl Knutsson Bonde . Sweden became independent and was then re - occupied by Denmark , only to gain its independence again . When king Karl died , the Swedish council elected Sten Sture the Elder as viceroy . Christian I of Denmark then declared war to re - establish the Kalmar Union . The Campaign . King Christian I had 3 000 Danish troops and 2 , 000 allied Germans . Sture had only about 400 troops in his army , and the Danish could easily pick a fight . In late July 1471 , the fleet of 76 Danish Ships with the 5 , 000 troops set out from Copenhagen harbor to land in southern Sweden . Sture and Nils Bossom Sture went to central Sweden to gather as much men they could for the defense of Stockholm . The Danish fleet would have to face the murderous flow of the archipelago that blocked off Stockholm , but managed , possibly with the help of a hired Swedish pilot , to anchor between Käpplingeholm and Wolf ' s Island ( Vargö ) just across the water from Stockholm Castle . Christian decided that a siege would take too long , so he landed in southern Sweden instead . Sten Sture awaited the Danes , now with 10 , 000 levied peasants . The Battle of Brunkeberg . On Thursday , October 10 , Sten Sture and Nils Bossom Sture lead their troops north to the area which is Hötorget in Stockholm today , near Brunkeberg after which the battle was named . Sten Sture ' s battle plan was to trap Christian ' s troops in a vice ; Sten would attack from the west , Nils from the east , and Knut Posse would strike out from the city itself . Nils flanked Christian ' s Army , and delivered a knockout blow . In Sten ' s sector , he kept on charging again and again , and managed to break through . In the ensuing battle , Christian was hit in the face by musket fire . Losing several teeth , he was forced to retire from battle . The decisive turn of battle in favor of Sture ' s side occurred when Nils ' troops broke out of the forest north of the ridge , as Posse ' s troops attacked from the city . This cut off a contingent of Danish troops at the Klara monastery north of the town . Posse was killed when a German or Danish soldier hit his head with an axe . However , the Danish were in retreat . Christian retired with his troops towards the island of Käpplingen ( today the Blasieholmen peninsula ) . However , Sten ' s troops destroyed the makeshift bridge Christian ' s troops had built , causing many to drown . The battle ended a victory for Sten Sture . Sture ' s victory over Christian meant his power as viceroy of Sweden was secure and would remain so for the rest of his life . According to legend , Sture had prayed to Saint George before the battle . He later paid tribute to George by commissioning a statue of Saint George and the Dragon carved by the Lübeck sculptor Bernt Notke for the Storkyrkan church in Stockholm , as an obvious allegory of Sture ' s battle against Christian . An altar dedicated to George was also built in the church . Aftermath . Now that Christian ' s invasion was beaten off , Sture had cemented Swedish freedom . He had defeated the Kalmar Union , and Sweden had gained independence . Christian ' s Denmark still held Iceland , Denmark , and Norway after the war . The two nations that were formed were Sweden and Denmark – Norway . Margaret of Denmark , Queen of Scotland died in 1486 , Christian in 1481 , and Sture in 1503 .