The siege of Kraków was one of the military conflicts of the
Swedish and Transylvanian invasion of Poland, which took place in the summer of 1657. The royal city of
Kraków, had been occupied for two years by a Swedish-Transylvanian garrison led by
Paul Wirtz
Paul Wirtz (May 3, 1958 - April 6, 2006) was a Canadian figure skating coach.["A te ...]
and
János Bethlen. It was besieged by Polish Army of
Hetman Jerzy Lubomirski, supported by soldiers of the
Holy Roman Empire under Austrian field marshal
Melchior von Hatzfeldt
Melchior Graf von Gleichen und Hatzfeldt (Westerwald, 20 October 1593 – Powitzko, 9 January 1658) was an Imperial Field Marshal. He fought in the Thirty Years' War first under Albrecht von Wallenstein and Matthias Gallas, then received an i ...
.
Background
Two years prior to the 1657 siege, in the summer of 1655, two armies of the
Swedish Empire invaded the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, see
Deluge (history). The Swedish invaders moved southwards, reaching the city of Kraków in late September 1655. After the
Siege of Kraków (1655)
The siege of Kraków was one of the battles during the Swedish invasion of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Second Northern War / ''Deluge''). It started on 25 September 1655 and ended on 13 October 1655. Capitulation treatment was signed 4 ...
, the ancient Polish capital surrendered, and on October 17, Swedish soldiers along with King
Charles X Gustav
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...
entered the city. The looting of Kraków's treasures followed.
[Dariusz Milewski]
Szwedzi w Krakowie (The Swedes in Krakow)
''Mówią Wieki
''Mówią Wieki'' (meaning ''Centuries Speak'' in English) is a monthly popular science and history magazine published in Poland since 1958.
Editors in chief:
* Maria Bogucka (1958–1976)
* Bożena Krzywobłocka (1976–1977)
* Eugeniusz Duracz ...
'' monthly, 08.06.2007, Internet Archive. In some districts not a single house was left standing, as in Garbary and in Biskupie. For the next two years the amount of destruction, pillage and methodical plunder was so enormous that some former parts of the city had never recovered from it.
According to the
Treaty of Radnot signed on December 6, 1656, Kraków was to be occupied by
Prince of Transylvania,
George II Rákóczi
en, George II Rákóczi, house=Rákóczi, father=, mother=Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, religion=CalvinismGeorge II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I ...
, who was an ally of Charles X Gustav. In January 1657, the Transylvanian army invaded southern provinces of the
Kingdom of Poland (
Red Ruthenia and
Lesser Poland), and on March 28, the Transylvanians reached Kraków. Rákóczi left, in the city, some 2,500 soldiers, who strengthened the Swedish garrison already stationed there. Most of the Transylvanian army headed northwards, to meet the Swedes.
Siege
In early summer 1657, Polish Crown units under
Hetman Jerzy Lubomirski arrived near Kraków, but lacking artillery, the Poles limited their activities to cutting Swedish and Transylvanian supply routes. In early August, the 17,000 strong army of
Holy Roman Empire, under Field Marshal
Melchior von Hatzfeldt
Melchior Graf von Gleichen und Hatzfeldt (Westerwald, 20 October 1593 – Powitzko, 9 January 1658) was an Imperial Field Marshal. He fought in the Thirty Years' War first under Albrecht von Wallenstein and Matthias Gallas, then received an i ...
, reinforced the Poles, and began preparations for an assault. On August 4, however, a message from Rákóczi was received by both sides. Since his army had been destroyed in the
Battle of Czarny Ostrow (July 20), Rákóczi urged
János Bethlen to surrender the city to the Poles.
The Transylvanians capitulated, but Swedish garrison of Kraków, under
Paul Wirtz
Paul Wirtz (May 3, 1958 - April 6, 2006) was a Canadian figure skating coach.["A te ...]
, continued resistance until August 25. Five days later, Swedish units left the city, and on September 4, Poles, together with Austrians, organized a military parade, observed by King
Jan Kazimierz.
Aftermath
After a two-year Swedish and Transilvanian occupation, the ancient capital of Poland was in ruins. All villages and towns in the area were burned to the ground, as well as the suburbs of Kraków. In
Kleparz, only 15 people dwelled in huts, while at Bishop Square, only 5 houses remained, out of 51. In the district of Piaski, which had several hundred houses before the Swedish invasion, not a single building remained. The
Wawel Hill was completely looted, as Swedes and Transylvanians had stolen almost everything of value: including the Polish treasury, books, carpets and even upholstery. Furthermore, Swedes destroyed the tomb of
St. Stanislaus.
Sources
* Jaroslaw Stolicki, ''Oblezenie Krakowa przez Jerzego Lubomirskiego w latach 1656-1657''. SiM do historii wojskowosci, vol. XL, Bialystok 2003, pp. 87–117
* Leszek Podhorodecki, ''Rapier i koncerz'', Warszawa 1985, , pp. 345–346
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krakow (1657), Siege of
Conflicts in 1657
1657 in Europe
History of Kraków
Battles of the Deluge (history)
Sieges involving Poland
Sieges involving Sweden
1657 in Poland