![27p](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/27p.png)
Old Town Square execution ( cs, Staroměstská exekuce) was the
execution
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...
of 27
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n leaders (three
noblemen
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...
, seven
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
s and 17
burghers) of the
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 ...
by the Austrian
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
that took place on 21 June 1621 at the
Old Town Square
Old Town Square ( cs, Staroměstské náměstí or colloquially ) is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is located between Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge.
Buildings
The square fe ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.
After the
Prague Defenestration
The Defenestrations of Prague ( cs, Pražská defenestrace, german: Prager Fenstersturz, la, Defenestratio Pragensis) were three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated (thrown out of a window). Though already exi ...
in 1618 and subsequent
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
uprising of the
Bohemian estates against the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Habsburgs resulted in
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
and a final defeat in the
Battle of White Mountain
), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic)
, coordinates =
, territory =
, result = Imperial-Spanish victory
, status =
, combatants_header =
, combatant1 = Catholic L ...
, Habsburgs took their revenge and executed some of the key leaders of the uprising, although with some others the punishment was reduced and some were pardoned.
Execution
![Cestipani](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Cestipani.jpg)
The execution of the 27 leaders of the Bohemian Estates Uprising began on 21 June 1621 in Prague on the Old Town Square. The executioner was an
utraquist
Utraquism (from the Latin ''sub utraque specie'', meaning "under both kinds") or Calixtinism (from chalice; Latin: ''calix'', mug, borrowed from Greek ''kalyx'', shell, husk; Czech: kališníci) was a belief amongst Hussites, a reformist Christi ...
, so they could pray before the execution.
Joachim Andreas von Schlick was beheaded first. This was followed by the execution of
Jan Jesenius
Jan Jesenius, also written as Jessenius (german: Johannes Jessenius, hu, Jeszenszky János, sk, Ján Jesenský; December 27, 1566 – June 21, 1621), was a Bohemian physician, politician and philosopher.
Life Early years
He was from an old nobl ...
, whose tongue was cut out first, then he was beheaded. His body was quartered and the parts impaled on stakes. Jan Jesenius was punished most severely for several reasons: firstly, he persuaded Hungary to break with the emperor and secondly, he wrote a political-philosophical treatise ''Pro vindiciis contra tyrannos'' (en: ''Can a tyrant be overthrown by people?''). Others were beheaded by the sword; some of them had their right hands cut off first. The members of the
Unity of the Brethren Unity of the Brethren (Latin ''Unitas Fratrum'') may refer to:
*Unity of the Brethren (Czech Republic), the province of the Moravian Church in the Czech Republic
*Unity of the Brethren (Texas), a Protestant church formed in the 1800s by Czech immig ...
were hanged, which was the most disgraceful death for them.
Headless bodies were handed over to the families, who buried them. Twelve heads were put into iron baskets and attached by the executioner to the
Old Town Bridge Tower
Old Town Bridge Tower ( cs, Staroměstská mostecká věž) is a gothic monument located in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction began in 1357
Year 1357 ( MCCCLVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) ...
. The heads hung there until the invasion of the
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
army took place here in 1631.
City clerk Mikuláš Diviš was nailed to the gallows by the tongue for one hour for welcoming
Frederick V of the Palatinate
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 r ...
on his arrival to Prague. Some nobles involved in the uprising escaped into exile, such as
Jindřich Matyáš Thurn
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 Bohemian ...
. Martin Fruwein z Podolí (
cs,
de) was also expected to be executed, but he committed suicide by jumping from the White Tower of
Prague Castle
Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...
.
List of the executed
Consequences
![Tribute to the 27 victims](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Tribute_to_the_27_victims.jpg)
Execution was only one of the consequences of the
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 ...
, which failed. Other consequences were the possession of the
Bohemian royal crown in the hands of the
Habsburgs
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
(now hereditary), which meant another nearly 300 years of their domination. Another major consequence was the subsequent
recatholization, and since 75-90% of Bohemians were
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, it meant a great emigrant wave (which was the majority of Bohemian intelligence). The
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
was made fully equal to the
Czech language
Czech (; Czech ), historically also Bohemian (; ''lingua Bohemica'' in Latin), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 10 million people, it serves as the official language of the Czech Re ...
, so Germanization of the entire population (not only the nobility) was also carried out.
The executioner's
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
, on whose blade the names of eleven executed are engraved, is in the collections of Hus House (Husův dům) in Prague. However, it is likely that it is a fake sword, as in the list on the blade is engraved the name of Jan Kutnauer, who was actually hanged.
At that time there was a struggle for balance in Europe, Europe was divided into Catholic and Protestant, absolutist and estates monarchy. The uprising itself triggered a conflict to which the powers were already heading. Execution in the Old Town Square celebrated for the Spanish-Catholic party the triumph of victory. Eventually, in the Thirty Years' War, there were no winners or losers, leaving only a ruined Europe.
Sources
* Josef Svátek: ''Paměti katovské rodiny Mydlářů - rozličné příběhy katovské'' Volume 2, Publisher: XYZ, Prague 2005,
External links
* {{commons category inline, Execution on the Old Town Square 1621
Aftermath: the executions on the Old Town Square
1621 in the Habsburg Monarchy
17th-century executions in the Holy Roman Empire
17th century in Prague
History of Prague
Old Town Square