Björneborgarnas Marsch

Björneborgarnas Marsch (March of the Bjorneborg regiment) is an old march of the Swedish army from the 18th century. Some people on the internet say it was written around the year 1700, but so far I have not seen any source that supports that claim that this march is that old. The march also holds a special place in Finland. The reason for this is that the Bjorneborg regiment was located in Finland. In Finnish, the name for Bjorneborg regiment is “Porin rykmentti“ and hence do they call this march “porilaisten marssi“ (March of the Pori regiment). The Germans call this march “Alter Schwedischer Kriegsmarsch“ - which can be translated as “Old Swedish war march“, and this march is also included in their official repertoire of German military marches. The Bjorneborg regiment was founded by the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus in 1626. The regiment served in multiple wars with the Swedish army. It fought in Poland in 1655–60, and in Germany during the thirty years war (1618-1648). The regiment won many battles during the Great Northern war - like Narva. But it also suffered harsh defeats. The regiment got wiped out multiple times during the war. It got wiped out in 1709 after Sweden’s failed attempt to conquer Russia. The regiment was reconstructed, and it fought again against Tsar Peter the Great in 1714 in the battle of Napue where it was destroyed again. Then did the regiment participate in the invasion of northern Norway. But then the war ended with the Swedish King dead in battle before this invasion could be brought to a successful end. And the army had to go back to the Swedish homeland. But on the way back did this regiment get caught up in a snowstorm that killed two-thirds of the men of the northern army which had invaded Norway. A tragic history which is still much talked about in the province of Jämtland where it all played out,. The regiment would later on fight against Frederick the Great during the Seven years war. And it fought against Russia in the Finnish war 1808–1809. Finland fell into Russian hands, and 800 years of Swedish rule was now over. And the regiment was abolished when Finland became a Russian province. When Finland gained independence in 1917 this regiment was once again created. And in 1957 the regiment turned into a brigade which still see service in Finland’s army to this day. Source for the Music: Album: Grosses Wecken Artist: Musikkorps und Spielleute der 1. Panzergrenadierdivision Under the Command of Colonel Wilhelm Stephan The video clips are from the movie “The Sovereign’s Servant“