1788 in Sweden

Events from the year 1788 in Sweden

In 1788, the first phase of the Russia-Swedish War commenced when King Gustav III of Sweden declared war on the Russian Empire seeking to strengthen his domestic position by rallying national support, The land campaign quickly faltered as a group of Finnish officers, later known as the Anjala League, mutinied in protest against Finland’s continued use as a battleground between Sweden and Russia. At sea, however, the Swedish fleet achieved a notable victory at the Battle of Svensksund (Ruotsinsalmi) Despite this success Russia’s simultaneous conflict with the Ottoman Empire played a significant role in limiting the scope of the war contributing to a military stalemate that would eventually be formalized by the Treaty of Värälä in 1790 ^{[1] [2]}

• Monarch – Gustav III

• 25 May - The Royal Dramatic Theatre is inaugurated in Bollhuset in Stockholm.
• 28 June - The outbreak of the Russo-Swedish War (1788–90).
• 17 July - Battle of Hogland
• 8 August - Anjala conspiracy
• - Lovisa Augusti, Caroline Müller and Franziska Stading are inducted to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
• - The Sofia Albertina Church is completed.
• - Aurora Liljenroth graduates from a gymnasium (school), which is unique for a female and attracts a great deal of attention.
• - Count Adolph Ribbing and Baron Hans Henrik von Essen; the duel was held because Essen's proposal had been accepted by the father of a woman, the heiress Charlotta Eleonora De Geer, whom Ribbing had also proposed to and whom he believed to be in love with him. Essen was injured and Ribbing declared winner. The duel was regarded a scandal and a crime against the king.^[3]

• 30 July - Kisamor, herbalist and natural doctor (died 1842)
• 3 September - Gustaf Erik Pasch, inventor and chemists (died 1862)
• - Brita Catharina Lidbeck, concert vocalist (died 1864)

• - Bakelse-Jeanna, street seller and local profile (born 1702)