Official visitors guide
Jönköping | Huskvarna
Gränna | Visingsö
Official visitors guide
Jönköping | Huskvarna
Gränna | Visingsö
In the small community of Tenhult, a few miles south-east of Jönköping, there are several plastics that start with the name Mickel here you can find, for example. Mickelsväg, Mickel's plan and Mickel's pizzeria. But who was this Mickel then
Mickel Jönsson lived in Tenhult in the 16th-16th century. He was a forester and managed forests for King Gustav II Adolf. In 1612 it was a big battle in Tenhult, the fighting started at Uva Mountains and continued on to the Juter Red Islands (about where the Tenhult School is today). Mickel led 500 peasants against the Danes. Before the fighting began, Mickel made a speech to the peasants and laid out a plan to ambush the Danes. Many of the Danes died and so did many of Mickel's peasants, it is said that Mickel's son was one of those who failed. Mickel and his men departed with the victory and with this victory the Danish invasion of Sweden was over. Mickel was later decorated with a medal by the king. Mickel died sometime in the 1630s, probably in 1634.
There are no written documents that tell you about the battle from the time of the battle. A letter from a Danish officer by the name of Albert Skeel states that there have been conflicts in the district of Jönköping. Most of what is written down about Mickel and his achievements is based on what has been orally told from generation to generation. The first written down in writing about Mickel Jönsson's fight against the Danes is depicted in "Historical Description of Småland", printed in Karlskrona 1770.
On the other hand, there are documents with Mickel's badge preserved that show that he really lived in Tenhult and that he was a significant man in the king's service. In 1842 a stone was erected in memory of Mickel and the battle of 1612 but in 1897 the stone was replaced when it had the wrong year and was in poor condition. The new stone was placed centrally at the railway station and still stands today. When the stone was inaugurated on October 17, 1897, it was the largest festivity ever seen in Tenhult. More than 2000 people had gathered to join. Many important people attended the unveiling of the stone, one of them being the governor. Military music was played and the gunfire went in parade. In connection with the uncovering of Mickel's stone, Esaias Collin wrote a poem, and later also a romance suite about Mickel, which further diluted the myth formation surrounding Mickel from Tenhult