Count Jindřich Matyáš of Thurn-Valsassina (german: Heinrich Matthias Graf von Thurn und Valsassina; it, Enrico Matteo Conte
della Torre di Valsassina) (24 February 1567 – 26 January 1640), was one of the leaders of the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Bohemian Revolt
The Bohemian Revolt (german: Böhmischer Aufstand; cs, České stavovské povstání; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Bohemian estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both relig ...
against Emperor
Ferdinand II. He took part in events that led to the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, and after the war he became a military leader and diplomat in Swedish service, who eventually resided in
Swedish Estonia.
Life
He was the son of a member of the ''
geheimrat
''Geheimrat'' was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic r ...
'' of
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria (Linz, 14 June 1529 – 24 January 1595, Innsbruck) was ruler of Further Austria and since 1564 Imperial count of Tirol. The son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, he was married to Philippine Welser ...
, Franz Napus von
Thurn und Valsassina (František Thurn), count of
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital ...
(1508–1586) and his second wife, Countess Barbora
Gräfin von
Schlick
Schlick or Schlicke may refer to:
People
* Moritz Schlick, German philosopher and the founding father of logical positivism and the Vienna Circle
* Arnolt Schlick, German organist and composer of the Renaissance
* Robert H. Von Schlick, German- ...
(1547–1581), daughter of
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Hieronymus Schlick of Bassano and Weißkirchen and countess Katharina von Gleichen-Tonna.
Both of his parents were
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
s. Count Jindřich Matyáš was born on in
Lipnice nad Sázavou castle in the
Crown of Bohemia
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bo ...
. After the death of his father, he was fostered to his Catholic uncle John Ambrose.
Young count Thurn served in the
Imperial Habsburg embassy, and visited
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
, Syria, Egypt and
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. From 1592 he served in the imperial army against
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
. In imperial service, Thurn rose to the ranks of colonel and War Councillor. By marriage, he came into remarkable landholdings, in
Croatian Krajina
The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary.
History
Founded in the late 1 ...
among other places. The Emperor granted him the burgraviate of
Karlštejn Castle
Karlštejn Castle ( cs, hrad Karlštejn; german: Burg Karlstein) is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well ...
in central Bohemia as reward for his accomplishments in the battles against the Turks in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. In northeast Bohemia he purchased 1605 the lordship of
Veliš manor (near town
Jičín
Jičín (; german: Jitschin or ''Gitschin'') is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation.
Th ...
), which brought him to the membership of the Bohemian estate of nobles (''páni'', "lords"). Politically, Thurn joined the Protestants of Bohemia where he served as marshal of the nobility.
In 1617, the devout Catholic Archduke
Ferdinand of Styria was put forward as Habsburg successor to the aged, childless emperor
Matthias, and also to be elected to the Bohemian throne. Bohemian nobles required him to commit to honor their freedom of religion, enshrined in the Decree (
Letter of Majesty
The Letter of Majesty (1609) was a 17th-century European document, reluctantly signed by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, granting religious tolerance to both Protestant and Catholic citizens living in the estates of Bohemia. The letter also ...
) of the late Emperor
Rudolf II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
. Thurn was one of signatories of Bohemians' critical reply to Ferdinand.
Leader of the Bohemian Revolt
Despite his accession to the crown of Bohemia in 1617, Ferdinand was not willing to agree to the demands of the Bohemian nobility. Furthermore, their demands also failed to prevent Ferdinand's election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1619. What the nobles did achieve was that in 1618, in a stormy event at the
Royal Castle of Prague, count Thurn was a key leader of that faction of the nobility who incited a crowd that
defenestrated two of Ferdinand's representatives,
Jaroslav Bořita of Martinice and
Vilém Slavata of Chlum
Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka (; ) (1 December 1572 – 19 January 1652) was a Czech nobleman from old Bohemian family. As viceregent ''(místodržící)'' of Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg (from 1617) he became famous as co-victim, a ...
together with their scribe, Philip Fabricius.
Following the defenestration, Thurn was elected as one of the thirty Defenders of the Protestant Faith elected by the
Estates of Bohemia. The revolt of the Protestant population of Bohemia began on 23 May 1618 and Thurn took command of the national army. His command was signified by a series of ineffective campaigns, faults in the campaign plan in some cases beyond his control, which frustrated imperial efforts to quickly crush the revolt.
He participated in deposing Ferdinand of Bohemia from the throne and in the election of
Frederick V, Elector Palatine
Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both ...
as the new Bohemian king. Count Thurn was commander of a regiment at the inauspicious
Battle of White Mountain
The Battle of White Mountain ( cz, Bitva na Bílé hoře; german: Schlacht am Weißen Berg) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the n ...
in 1620. After the Bohemians' defeat there, Ferdinand exiled him, like all the other Protestant nobility (including leaders of the uprising) and townspeople. Consequently, Thurn lost his estates in Bohemia.
In exile
After being exiled, Thurn continued to take part in the fighting and political negotiations of the Thirty Years' War against the Habsburgs, acting in the roles of both diplomat and as a soldier.
In 1626 he took command of some troops in
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. Then he served as lieutenant general in the army of King
Gustav Adolf of Sweden. His only son, count
František Bernard, who rose to the rank of colonel in Swedish service, fell ill during the Polish campaign and died in 1628.
On 11 October 1633 Thurn and his force of 8,000 soldiers were confronted by
Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
's army near
Steinau an der Oder in Saxony, where he was captured. He was ransomed soon from the captivity, and retired to the family's new holdings in
Pärnu
Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet ...
(Pernau),
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
. Count Thurn died there, and was buried in the
St. Mary's Cathedral of Tallinn.
His heir was his underage grandson, count
Heinrich von Thurn-Valsassina of Pärnu (1628–1656), son of František Bernard (1592–1628) and
Magdalena von Thurn-Valsassina (born von Hardeck).
Count Thurn wrote a booklet in German, titled ''Defensionsschrift'' ("Writing about Defenestration"), the work justifying his role in the events of 1618 as a deliberate, conscious defence of his religious beliefs. The booklet was published in Sweden.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurn, Jindrich Matyas
1567 births
1640 deaths
Bohemian nobility
People from Havlíčkův Brod District
People from Pärnu
Baltic-German people
Swedish generals
Bohemian people of the Thirty Years' War
Swedish people of the Thirty Years' War
Burials at St Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn
Swedish diplomats
17th-century diplomats
Prisoners of war
17th-century Protestants
Czech military leaders
17th-century Bohemian people