Active 1628–1811 | Colours Yellow and black | |
The Västergötland Cavalry Regiment (Swedish: Västgöta kavalleriregemente) was a Swedish Army cavalry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was reorganized into an infantry regiment in 1811. The regiment's soldiers were recruited from the province of Västergötland.
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History
The regiment has its origins in fänikor (companies) raised in Västergötland in the 16th century. In 1613, these units—along with fänikor from the nearby province of Dalsland—were organised by Gustav II Adolf into Västergötlands storregemente. Sometime between 1621 and 1624, the grand regiment was permanently split into four smaller regiments, of which Västgöta regemente till häst was one.
The regiment was officially raised in 1628 although it had existed since the early 1620s. The regiment soon changed name to Västgöta och Dals ryttare and was one of the original 8 Swedish cavalry regiments mentioned in the Swedish constitution of 1634. The regiment's first commander was Erik Soop. It was renamed to Västgöta kavalleriregemente in 1655 and was allotted in 1691.
Västgöta kavalleriregemente was reorganised into a dragoon regiment in 1792 and changed its name to Västgöta linjedragonregemente and later Västgöta dragonregemente to reflect that. The regiment was then reformed into the infantry regiment Västgöta regemente in 1811.