Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia and its Estates under the Habsburgs, with Prague as an imperial capital, to the revolt of 1618.
Category: States/Places
- August 29, 1526Suleiman I destroys the Hungarian army at Mohács; Habsburgs inherit Bohemia and Hungary
King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia dies at Mohács, triggering the Habsburg inheritance contract. Ferdinand, brother of Emperor Charles V, takes Bohemia and a disputed claim to Hungary, a rival king being Zápolya.
- October 12, 1576Rudolf II succeeds Maximilian II as Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II becomes emperor on 12 October 1576, also ruling Bohemia, Hungary and Austria. His reign is later seen as one whose mistakes helped lead to the Thirty Years' War, though recent historians reassess that view.
- 1583Rudolf II moves the imperial court to Prague
In 1583 Rudolf II moves his court from Vienna to Prague, which becomes an imperial capital. He supports astronomers such as Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and gathers a major collection of art and curiosities.
- 1608Matthias marches on Prague and forces Rudolf II to cede Hungary, Austria and Moravia
In 1608 Archduke Matthias, the emperor's brother, marches on Prague and forces Rudolf II to hand over Hungary, Austria and Moravia. Rudolf keeps Bohemia and the imperial title for the moment.
- July 9, 1609Rudolf II grants the Letter of Majesty to Bohemia's Protestants
On 9 July 1609 Rudolf II, as King of Bohemia, signs the Letter of Majesty. It grants Protestants religious freedom and a committee of the Estates, the Defensors, to guard it. Its violation is later a cause of the 1618 revolt.
- May 1611Matthias is crowned King of Bohemia after Rudolf II is forced out
In May 1611 Matthias is crowned King of Bohemia after he forces his brother Rudolf II to cede the kingdom. Rudolf keeps only the imperial title until his death.
- January 20, 1612Rudolf II dies in Prague and Matthias becomes emperor
Rudolf II dies in Prague on 20 January 1612. Matthias is elected emperor later that year and moves the court from Prague to Vienna, leaving Bohemia without an imperial residence.
- 1617Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs agree the secret Treaty of Oñate
In 1617 Philip III of Spain agrees to back Ferdinand of Styria's succession in Bohemia and Hungary. In return Ferdinand gives Spain the route linking Italy to the Netherlands and rights in Alsace. Sources give March, June or July.
- June 29, 1617Ferdinand of Styria is crowned King of Bohemia
On 29 June 1617 the Catholic Archduke Ferdinand, known for his Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria, is crowned King of Bohemia as Matthias's heir. Bohemian Protestants fear for the Letter of Majesty.
- May 23, 1618Protestant nobles throw royal regents from a window at Prague Castle
On 23 May 1618 Bohemian Protestant leaders throw the Catholic regents Martinitz and Slavata and their secretary Fabricius from a window of the Bohemian Chancellery. All survive. The act starts the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years' War.
- 1619A Bohemian army under Count Thurn reaches the walls of Vienna
In 1619 the Bohemian rebel army, led by Count Thurn, advances into Austria and reaches the walls of Vienna, threatening the new ruler Ferdinand at his own capital. The Bohemian estates also seek allies in Hungary and the Empire.
- March 20, 1619Emperor Matthias dies in Vienna, leaving the Bohemian crisis to Ferdinand
Emperor Matthias dies on 20 March 1619, aged 62, without surviving children. His cousin Ferdinand of Styria, already crowned King of Bohemia, inherits the Habsburg lands as Bohemia is in open revolt.
- August 26, 1619Bohemian estates depose Ferdinand II and elect Frederick V as king
In August 1619 the Bohemian estates depose Ferdinand II and on 26 August elect the Calvinist Frederick V of the Palatinate as king. Sources date the deposition 19 or 26 August. Frederick accepts on 28 September.
- November 4, 1619Frederick V is crowned King of Bohemia in Prague
On 4 November 1619 the Calvinist Elector Palatine is crowned Frederick I of Bohemia. His reign ends a year later at White Mountain, which earns him the nickname "Winter King".
- November 8, 1620Imperial and League forces crush the Bohemian army at White Mountain
On 8 November 1620 Tilly and Bucquoy rout Christian of Anhalt's Bohemian army near Prague in about an hour. Frederick V flees, and the Bohemian Revolt collapses.
- June 21, 1621Twenty-seven Bohemian rebel leaders are executed in Prague's Old Town Square
On 21 June 1621 twenty-seven leaders of the Bohemian Revolt, nobles, knights and burghers, are executed in Old Town Square. Twelve heads hang from the Old Town Bridge Tower until the Saxon invasion of 1631.
- July 25, 1625Wallenstein is commissioned to raise an imperial army for Ferdinand II
On 25 July 1625 Albrecht von Wallenstein, made Duke of Friedland that year, receives his commission to raise an army for Ferdinand II at his own expense. It grows to tens of thousands, and sources differ on whether 30,000 or 50,000.
- 1627Ferdinand II issues the Renewed Land Ordinance, making Catholicism Bohemia's only religion
In 1627 Ferdinand II's Renewed Land Ordinance makes the Bohemian lands hereditary Habsburg possessions, strips the Estates of their powers and allows only Catholicism, except for Jews. It stays in force, modified, until 1848.
- 1632Ferdinand II recalls Wallenstein after Tilly's defeats
In 1632, after Gustavus Adolphus's victories at Breitenfeld and the Lech and Tilly's death, Ferdinand II recalls Wallenstein. He raises a new army within weeks and drives the Saxons from Bohemia.
- January 24, 1634 – February 18, 1634Ferdinand II removes Wallenstein from command and declares him a traitor
On 24 January 1634 Ferdinand II signs a secret patent removing Wallenstein, and on 18 February an open patent charges him with treason and orders him brought to Vienna "dead or alive". Wallenstein had been negotiating secretly with Saxony, Sweden and France.
- February 25, 1634Wallenstein is murdered at Eger
On the night of 25 February 1634, Scottish and Irish officers in Wallenstein's own force kill his loyal officers at a feast at Cheb Castle. Captain Walter Devereux then spears Wallenstein. Ferdinand II rewards the assassins.
- March 6, 1645Swedes destroy the Imperial army at Jankau
On 6 March 1645 Torstensson defeats Hatzfeldt, who is captured, at Jankau in Bohemia. Hunger and exhaustion stop the Swedes from exploiting it, and they leave Bohemia by February 1646.