As part of the ongoing trading and territorial disputes between the Hanseatic League, Sweden, and Denmark, the Hanseatic cities made an agreement with Sweden and Holstein to jointly attack Denmark, the agreed targets being Helsingborg and Copenhagen.

The Mayor of Lübeck, Johann Wittenborg, was put in command of an attack force of some 3,000 men,[1] and 50 small seagoing ships, 5 of which had been paid for by Magnus Eriksson, King of Sweden.

As Wittenborg's fleet sailed through the narrow Øresund en route to Copenhagen, he was persuaded to attack the town of Helsingborg and its fortified citadel.

The son of Valdemar IV, Christopher, Duke of Lolland was injured during the battle.

According to Nordisk familjebok, Christopher was shot in the head with a rock and subsequently suffered from a mental disorder.