The Occupation of Rathenow

drawed by Eugen Gliege

In the surroundings of Rathenow there is something to be told on the times of the Swedish such as the head of the administration of a Landkreis von Briest auf B‰hne as he helped the Great Kurf¸rst to attack the town in order to take it off the Swedish again.

It is told that he invited Swedish officers to his property Kurland in the North of Rathenow the evening before and got them drunk at the meal. Furthermore the attack of the watergate which the Brandenburg people entered could be possible by a ruse of war.

At dawn of 15th June in 1675 he sent out several vans with barrels of beer and spirits from his other property B‰hne on the other side of the Havel to Rathenow as he had often done it before. Inspite of his servants a troop of Brandenburgian horse, that were dressed with an apron, sat onto the vans, inside the barrels they were as well. When the Kurf¸rst with his trops was nearby they got to the gate and knocked. The guard asked what they wanted. Then the administrator of Briest, who lead the train, shouted: "Ik bringe ju Bier." (I bring you beer). So the Swedish let them in, but the so-called servants pulled their sabre and hit down the guardsman. So the gate was taken over and the people of Brandenburg entered and occupied the town. That took place three days before the battle of Fehrbellin.