Editing Møn (section)

===Herring fisheries, prosperity and decline===
The island, and Stege in particular, prospered in the 14th century from the results of herring fishing, reaching the height of its wealth around 1500. It adopted a coat of arms including three herrings, and the town defences were strengthened. Around 1430 a rampart, wall and moat were created around the town by [[Erik of Pomerania|Eric VII]]. Three towers were created at each of the main approach roads, of which only Møllerporten still survives. However, the fortifications were no defence against fire, which at one point destroyed the greater part of the town, or against the plague.

In 1447, [[Christopher of Bayern|King Christopher III]] granted the town rights to trade outside Møn, within the remainder of Denmark. In 1450, [[Christian I of Denmark|Christian I]] forbade farmers to trade goods outside of Denmark, with the result that they sailed directly to Germany to sell their goods, bypassing the town of Stege, which was starved of goods and revenue. In 1476, the town received confirmation of its historic rights and, in 1481, a further law forbade foreigners trading with farmers on Møn. This was reaffirmed by [[John, King of Denmark|King Hans]] in 1507.

In 1510, the Lubeckers attacked Møn in retaliation for the trade sanctions, failing to take Stege but destroying the island's second largest town, [[Borre, Denmark|Borre]]. The trade war continued, and in 1524 [[Frederick I of Denmark|Frederick I]] again felt the need to repeat the ban on trade on Møn anywhere except in the town of Stege. In 1533, Frederick died leading again to a dispute over the crown. The townspeople sided with the previously deposed [[Christian II of Denmark|Christian II]], but the castle was in the hands of [[Christian III of Denmark|Christian III]]. As a result, the castle was taken by deceit by townspeople and blown up. The four leaders were hanged, but the castle was not rebuilt. In 1538, Christian III once again repeated the trade ban, as the citizens of Stege still could not obtain sufficient food for the town.

At the start of the 16th century, around 2000 people lived in Stege. However, the herring fisheries were in decline and the town was taxed heavily to pay for continuing wars. Farmers began to sell goods to the harbour at Grønsund, and the island was again pledged against a debt. By 1582 [[Frederick II of Denmark and Norway|Frederick II]] was obliged to cut taxes on the town and waive unpaid back taxes, as the town was effectively bankrupt. In 1583, trade with Germany was again banned. [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]] granted land outside Stege to the town so that the inhabitants might grow food for themselves. In 1627, more land was granted.

The death of Christian IV in 1648 meant the end of the 30-year war, but his successor [[Frederick III of Denmark|Frederick III]] commenced war against Sweden. Copenhagen was occupied and Swedes sought to invade Møn by walking across the ice from Zealand. This was prevented by the islanders, who maintained a three-mile long opening in the ice to stop the invasion force. However, in May 1659, 3,000 Swedes invaded from the island of Bogø against a force of 500 defenders. Stege was occupied, the town hall and 300 farms destroyed, the island looted and the harvest lost. At the end of the war, in 1660, the island's population was reduced to 670.

Frederick III introduced direct rule, replacing feudal regions with counties and attempted to restore the economy. However, in 1664 Møn was again pledged against loans, this time to a Dutchman Gabriel Marselis. In 1684, the pledge was redeemed, at which time Stege was half in ruins, almost all the forests had been cut down and many farms had been abandoned. In 1685, four battalions of cavalry were sent to the island and stationed at Marienborg. To build barracks at Marienborg, their commander Colonel Von Plessen demolished damaged buildings in Stege to re-use their stone, including the town wall and two of the gate towers. The third was converted into a prison. In 1696, the further depredation of the island was discovered by the authorities, and Plessen was himself imprisoned. All taxes on the island were cancelled for two years.