Electoral Palatinate
The Rhenish Palatinate under its Wittelsbach electors, with Heidelberg as its capital, and its role as the leading Calvinist state of the Empire.
Category: States/Places
- 1563The Heidelberg Catechism is published in the Calvinist-leaning Palatinate
In 1563 Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate has the Heidelberg Catechism, mainly by Zacharias Ursinus, approved by a synod. Calvinism is not covered by the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which tolerates only Lutherans.
- May 14, 1608Protestant princes form the Protestant Union at Auhausen
On 14 May 1608 Protestant princes and cities led by Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate form the Union at Auhausen, after Donauwörth and the Diet's demand for church lands taken since 1552. Lutheran Saxony stays out.
- September 19, 1610Frederick V becomes Elector Palatine at fourteen
On 19 September 1610 the Calvinist Frederick V, aged 14, becomes Elector Palatine on his father's death and head of the Protestant Union. He later accepts the Bohemian crown in 1619 and loses it at White Mountain in 1620.
- February 14, 1613Frederick V of the Palatinate marries Elizabeth Stuart in London
On 14 February 1613 the Calvinist Elector Palatine marries Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, at Whitehall. The match ties the Protestant Union's leader to England's royal house.
- 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".
- July 3, 1620 – May 14, 1621The Protestant Union declares neutrality at Ulm and is later dissolved
By the Treaty of Ulm on 3 July 1620 the Protestant Union declares neutrality and refuses to back Frederick V. Ferdinand II later orders it to disband its army, and it is formally dissolved on 14 May 1621.
- August 1620Spain's Army of Flanders invades the Lower Palatinate
In late August 1620 Ambrogio Spinola's Spanish Army of Flanders enters the Lower Palatinate from the Netherlands and takes Kreuznach and Oppenheim. This opens the Palatinate campaign, which lasts until August 1623.
- 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.
- April 27, 1622 – June 1622Tilly defeats the Protestant armies in the Palatinate at Wimpfen and Höchst
In spring 1622 Tilly's Catholic League army invades the Palatinate and beats Protestant forces at Mingolsheim (27 April), Wimpfen (early May, sources give 6 or 8) and Höchst (June).
- September 19, 1622Heidelberg falls to Tilly after an eleven-week siege
On 19 September 1622 Tilly takes Heidelberg, capital of the Electoral Palatinate, after eleven weeks. Mannheim falls soon after, and Frederick V, already in exile, flees to the United Provinces.
- February 1623Ferdinand II transfers the Palatine electoral dignity to Maximilian of Bavaria
In February 1623 Ferdinand II strips Frederick V of his electorate and gives it to Maximilian I of Bavaria, leader of the Catholic League. Maximilian also gains the Upper Palatinate, and Catholics now hold a majority among the electors.
- August 6, 1623Tilly defeats Christian of Brunswick at Stadtlohn and ends the Palatine phase
On 6 August 1623 Tilly destroys Christian of Brunswick's Protestant army at Stadtlohn near the Dutch border. Frederick V signs an armistice, which ends the Bohemian-Palatine phase of the war.
- October 24, 1648Westphalia restores the Lower Palatinate and creates an eighth electorate
Charles I Louis regains the Lower Palatinate and a new, eighth electoral vote, while Bavaria keeps the Upper Palatinate and the Palatinate's former electoral vote, ending the dispute that began in 1623.