One of the many period sets was a detailed and historically accurate recreation of a small 18th-century Ukrainian village, which was designed and built from the ground up in a field in the countryside. Other notable full-size, historically accurate sets designed and built for the film were an 18th-century Polish inn and a 22,000 square-foot reproduction of King Louis XIV's Court at Versailles.
When released on DVD in Sweden the movie was re-titled Slaget vid Poltava, meaning The Battle at Poltava, to easier attract a Swedish audience.
The ship shot in the movie is the Russian frigate Shtandart, replica of the man-of-war built by Peter the Great in 1703 in Saint Petersburg. Modern Shtandart was built in 1999 and is a fully-functional training tall ship.
Karl XII spent most of his time as king engaged in war outside Sweden and would commonly dress in a uniform not too different from the ones his soldiers wore. In modern times this led to his nickname "The Warrior King".
Over 1500 actors were invited to try out for parts in the film. Of these, 360 were eventually offered roles.