The siege of Frankenthal was a siege of the Palatinate campaign during the

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 ...

. 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 po ...

besieged the Palatinate fortified city of Frankenthal and its mostly English garrison commanded by

John Burroughs John Burroughs (April 3, 1837 – March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist and nature essayist, active in the conservation movement in the United States. The first of his essay collections was ''Wake-Robin'' in 1871. In the words of his bio ...

. The siege lasted from 1621 to March 20, 1623, when King James I ordered the city to surrender.

Background

In the early seventeenth century, the city's fortifications were upgraded by Frederick IV, Elector Palatine 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 2 ...

.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 Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archd ...

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 r ...

, 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