Charles XII of Sweden
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Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII, was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of Wittelsbach. Charles was the only surviving son
Charles's parents King Charles XI and Queen Ulrika Eleonora
The 15-year-old Charles in 1697 as king of the Swedish Empire, painting belonging to the workshop of David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl
Monument to Charles XII in Stockholm, with Charles pointing towards Russia. Stockholmers call this statue "the lion among four pots" ("Lejonet mellan fyra krukor") referring to the mortars. This contrasts with a nearby statue of Charles XIII, which has lions similarly arranged; that statue is known as "the pot among four lions" ("Krukan mellan fyra lejon").
Charles XII and Ivan Mazepa at the Dnieper River after Poltava by Gustaf Cederström
Battle of Poltava
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The Battle of Poltava fought on 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated a Swedish army commanded by Carl G
Charles XII of Sweden
…Russian army twice its size. The campaign ended with disaster when the Swedish army suffered heavy losses to a Russian force more than twice its size at Poltava. Charles had been incapacitated by a wound prior to the battle, rendering him unable to take active command. The defeat was followed by the Surrender…
The Battle of Poltava by Pierre-Denis Martin
The Battle of Poltava, mosaic by Mikhail Lomonosov
The Victory at Poltava by Alexander Kotzebue