Wigbolt, Baron Ripperda (1535? – 16 July 1573
/ref>) was the city governor of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

when the city was

under siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the ...

by the Spanish army in the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

Biography

Wigbolt Ripperda was the son of Baron Focko Ripperda van Winsum and Baroness Clara van Ewsum, and born in

Winsum Winsum () is a town and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. On 1 January 2019 the municipality merged with the municipalities of Bedum, De Marne and Eemsmond to form the new municipality Het Hogeland. The town of Winsum was ...

. The

Ripperda Ripperda is the name of an old and prominent family that belongs to the German, Austrian, Spanish and Dutch nobility. Members of this family have played a major role in European history as soldiers, politicians and diplomats. Origins The origins ...

family was one of the oldest and most powerful noble families in the

Ommelanden The Ommelanden (; ) are the parts of Groningen province that surround Groningen city. Usually mentioned as synonym for the province in the expression ("city and surrounding lands"). The area was Frisian-speaking, but under the influence of th ...

, nowadays known as the province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

in The Netherlands. Focko and Clara Ripperda had four sons: Peter, Asinge, Onno, Wigbolt and Johanna, a daughter. Wigbolt studied in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and other languages. In Geneva, where

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvi ...

was preaching, he got into contact with

Protestantism 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 ...

, the new religion that inspired the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

. He became a strong believer in Protestantism. When he returned to Winsum he was involved in the wave of

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

in the Netherlands (the ''Beeldenstorm''). On 14 September 1566 Wigbolt and his brothers, as well as two other men, broke into the church in Winsum and destroyed the statues of saints and the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

. Wigbolt joined the army of the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

, the

geuzen Geuzen (; ; french: Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen (; ; frenc ...

, and became ''hopman'' . Until August 1572 he was commander of the guard of William van der Marck, Lord of Lumey, who brought him to the city of Haarlem. He became governor of Haarlem after that. On 4 December, a week before the siege started, Ripperda 'cleaned' the

Sint-Bavokerk The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square (Grote Markt (Haarlem), Grote Markt) in the Netherlands, Dutch city of Haarlem. Another Haarlem c ...

of all catholic symbols.

Siege of Haarlem

When it became clear that a large Spanish army under command of Don Fadrique was approaching the city he inspired the citizens and municipality of

not to give in to the demands of the Spanish king, but to fight and defend the city. The city stayed loyal to the Prince of Orange and resisted the Spanish army in a 7-months siege. After this long and bitter siege the city had to surrender because of a lack of food and supplies. On 12 July 1573 the city officially surrendered to Don Fadrique.

Death

Ripperda was captured together with other soldiers and imprisoned in a church in Haarlem. On 16 July at 11.00 o'clock he was transferred to the Grote Markt, where he was beheaded. His brother Asinge, who was also in the city, was smuggled out of the city by a Spaniard. Although the city was defeated, the siege of Haarlem had been so exhausting for the Spanish army that in the

Siege of Alkmaar The siege of Alkmaar (1573) was a turning point in the Eighty Years' War. The burghers of the Dutch city of Alkmaar held off the Spanish (who had set up their camp in Oudorp) between 21 August and 8 October 1573, with boiling tar and burning bra ...

they were defeated. His brother Onno died on 17 June 1580. A number of streets and buildings in Haarlem and Winsum are named after Ripperda. File:Wigbolt Ripperda Haarlem.JPG, Bust of Ripperda in the park named after him in Haarlem File:Doelen - memorial plaque for Wigbolt Ripperda.jpg, Memorial plaque for Wigbolt Ripperda in the

meeting hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the grea ...

of the Haarlem

schutterij Schutterij () refers to a voluntary city guard or citizen militia in the medieval and early modern Netherlands, intended to protect the town or city from attack and act in case of revolt or fire. Their training grounds were often on open spaces w ...

File:Kenau-Ripperda monument on Stationsplein Haarlem 04.JPG, Statue of Wigbolt Ripperda with

Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer (1526–1588) was a wood merchant of Haarlem, who became a legendary folk hero for her fearless defense of the city against the Spanish invaders during the siege of Haarlem in 1573. Biography She was the daughter ...

on the Stationsplein Haarlem, by sculptor

Graziella Curreli Graziella Curreli (born 1960), is a French sculptor working in Haarlem, the Netherlands. She specializes in bronze figures and is known for her sculptures of strong women, most notably Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer. She attended the Sorbonne. Sh ...

References

*Het beleg van Haarlem; Haarlem's heldenstrijd in beeld en woord 1572-1572, F. De Witt Huberts, Oceanus, 1944 *Magazine of the ''Historische vereniging Winshem'', number 1 (May 1997

;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Ripperda, Wigbolt 1530s births 1573 deaths Dutch nobility Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Dutch military commanders Dutch expatriates in Spain People from Winsum People from Haarlem Executed Dutch people People executed by Spain by decapitation