The siege of Frankenthal was a siege of the
Palatinate campaign
The Palatinate campaign (30 August 1620 – 27 August 1623), also known as the Spanish conquest of the Palatinate or the Palatinate phase of the Thirty Years' War was a campaign conducted by the Imperial army against the Protestant Union i ...
during 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 ...
. A Spanish army under
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (1 September 1453 – 2 December 1515) was a Spanish general and statesman who led successful military campaigns during the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars. His military victories and widespread p ...
besieged the Palatinate fortified city of
Frankenthal
Frankenthal (Pfalz) ( pfl, Frongedahl) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
History
Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, af ...
and its mostly English garrison commanded by
John Burroughs. The siege lasted from 1621 to March 20, 1623, when
King James I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
ordered the city to surrender.
Background
In the early seventeenth century, the city's fortifications were upgraded by
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (german: Kurfürst Friedrich IV. von der Pfalz; 5 March 1574 – 19 September 1610), only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" (german: ...
in preparation for war. Frederick also refortified
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
and created the fortress-city of
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
.
[Childs, John. ''Warfare in the Seventeenth Century'', eds. John Keegan. London: Cassell & Co., 2001 p. 17.] Frankenthal had an important strategic role within the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
.
On May 23, 1618, the
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...
rose in revolt against
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and offered the crown to
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 ...
, who, by accepting the Bohemian offer, brought the Electorate of the Palatinate into the war, thus broadening the conflict.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankenthal, Siege of
1621 in Europe
Conflicts in 1621
1622 in Europe
Conflicts in 1622
1623 in Europe
Conflicts in 1623
Wars involving the Holy Roman Empire
Wars involving Spain
Wars involving England
Battles of the Thirty Years' War
History of the Palatinate (region)
Electoral Palatinate
Battles in Rhineland-Palatinate