Berestechko
A town on the Styr in Volhynia: its history, the battle of 1651, and the nearby memorial to the fallen Cossacks.
AI illustration
Imagined period town; smoke is an animation effect.
Potop / Archive
Places
Bydgoszcz
A river port, a centre of coin production, and a city devastated by the Deluge. In 1657 it also hosted an agreement that changed the future of Ducal Prussia.
Częstochowa
The town on the Warta, Częstochówka, and Jasna Góra had distinct histories. The monastery's defence in 1655 brought the sanctuary fame, while local people faced plunder, fires, and a long recovery.
Gdańsk
A Baltic port that did not surrender to Sweden. John Casimir visited in December 1656; peace was signed in nearby Oliwa in 1660.
Grudziądz
Swedish forces held Grudziądz from late 1655 until Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski's troops retook it in the 1659 campaign.
Jasna Góra
A hill in Częstochowa with a Pauline monastery which, fortified by 1655, was defended that year against General Müller's Swedish corps.
Kėdainiai
A town in Samogitia (Polish Kiejdany), a seat of the Radziwiłłs, where in 1655 the act placing Lithuania under Swedish protection was proclaimed.
Kościan
Krzysztof Żegocki's attack on the Swedish garrison at Kościan showed that resistance continued in Greater Poland after Ujście.
Kraków
Stefan Czarniecki defended the former capital and its royal castle at Wawel against Swedish forces in the autumn of 1655.
Lublin
Lithuanian troops under Paweł Jan Sapieha recovered Lublin from Swedish forces in 1656.
Lviv
In April 1656 John Casimir made his vows here, a major sign of renewed resistance to Sweden.
Malbork
Charles X Gustav made an agreement with the Brandenburg elector here in 1656; the area remained important in the later campaign.
Mir
A town in present-day Belarus beside the Radziwiłł castle. Samuel Kmicic took the castle after the Battle of Polonka in 1660.
Oliwa
The treaty ending the Swedish war was signed at Oliwa near Gdańsk on 3 May 1660.
Poznań
This Greater Poland centre came within the Swedish invasion's reach after the provincial levy surrendered at Ujście.
Radnot
At Radnot in Transylvania, Sweden's allies agreed a plan to divide the Commonwealth in 1656. It was never carried out.
Toruń
A Swedish garrison held Toruń until the end of 1658. Its blockade and surrender formed part of the recovery of Royal Prussia.
Tyszowce
In this town the Crown army and nobles swore a confederation against the Swedish king in December 1655.
Ujście
A small town on the Noteć, at the mouth of the Gwda, where in July 1655 the general levy of the nobility of Greater Poland capitulated.
Warka
A town on the Pilica, occupied by the Swedes in the autumn of 1655; in April 1656 Stefan Czarniecki defeated the corps of the Margrave of Baden near it.
Warsaw
The capital changed hands several times. Its capture, recapture and nearby field battle were separate episodes of the Deluge.
Vilnius
The capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania fell in 1655 during the war with Russia while the Commonwealth also faced Sweden.
Wiśnicz
Near Wiśnicz the Crown hetmans accepted Swedish authority after their defeat at Wojnicz in 1655.
Wojnicz
The Crown army lost a battle near Wojnicz on 3 October 1655, weakening hopes of relieving Kraków.
Zbarazh
A town in present-day Ukraine where the Crown army withstood a Cossack and Tatar siege in 1649.