siege, notable, early modern
Siege of Riga
Siege of Riga was a siege conducted on 21 August 1656 at Riga, in what is now Latvia. It was part of Second Northern War, which ran from 1655 to 1660. The recorded result: Swedish victory. Recorded strength: 7,389 against 35,000.
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Record
| Date | 21 August 1656 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Riga, Latvia 56.949N, 24.106E | |
| Part of | Second Northern War (1655 to 1660) | |
| Kind | Siege, early modern | |
| Result | Swedish victory | |
| Territorial change | Russians lift the siege of Riga | |
| Belligerents | Swedish Empire | Tsardom of Russia |
| Commanders | Simon Grundel-Helmfelt; Heinrich von Thurn or; Magnus De la Gardie | Aleksey Mikhailovich; Vladimir v. Vizin; Ordyn-Nashokin |
| Strength | 7,389 | 35,000 |
| Casualties and losses | Minimal | 8,000–14,000 dead(Swedish claims); 2,000 incl. 300 - 600 killed; (Russian claims) |
Nearest engagements
- Siege of Riga 1700, 0.2 km
- Siege of Riga 1709, 0.2 km
- Siege of Riga 1812, 0.2 km
- Siege of Riga 1700, 0.2 km
- Crossing of the Düna 1701, 4.5 km
In the same war
- Before: Siege of Dyneburg 18 July 1656
- After: Battle of Łowicz 25 August 1656
- All 12 engagements of Second Northern War
Elsewhere in 1656
- Battle of Warsaw Poland
- Battle of Valenciennes France
- Battle of the Dardanelles Turkey
- Battle of Warka Poland
- Battle of Cádiz Spain
Siege of Riga is one of 979 engagements of the 17th century in the atlas and one of 39 in present-day Latvia.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q595785, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Riga (1656), revision 1378544310, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.