The Battle of Brüx was fought on 5 August 1421 in North

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

. The Hussite troops, led by

Jan Želivský Jan Želivský (1380 in Humpolec – 9 March 1422 in Prague) was a prominent Czech priest during the Hussite Bohemian Reformation, Reformation. Life Želivský preached at Church of Saint Mary Major. He was one of a few Utraquism, Utraquist prie ...

, were defeated by the Catholic Imperial forces of

Frederick I of Saxony Frederick Augustus I (; ; ; 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Electorate of Saxony, Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Kingdom of Sa ...

Battle

On 16 March 1421, the Hussite troops under the command of

Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czechs, Czech military leader and Knight who was a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus, and a prominent Radical Hussite who led the Taborites, Taborite faction during the Hu ...

had stormed the town of

Chomutov Chomutov (; ) is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. There are almost 80,000 inhabitants in the city's wider metropolitan area. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as ...

, located a few kilometers west of Brüx, and killed its approximately 2,500 inhabitants. They then went to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, causing extensive damage in the towns populated by Germans or Catholics. In early July, the Hussites headed north, this time led by the priest

, pillaging the passing

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

and Duchcov, and on July 12 seized

Bílina Bílina (; ) is a town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It is known for its destination spa, spas and as a source of the strongly mineralized water, Bílinská kyselka. The ...

. Two weeks later, they set up a

Wagenburg Wagenburg may refer to: * Wagenburg (wagon fort), a temporary fortification made of wagons * Wagenburg (trailer park), a humorous term for trailer parks * Wagenburg (museum), the Imperial Carriage Museum in Vienna, Austria * Wagenburg (Seegräb ...

(fortress formed by wagons) in the village of Saras and from there launched attacks against Brüx, until they were defeated on 5 August by forces sent by Frederick of Saxony and supported by the Brüx neighbors.

Aftermath

The victory of the Imperial-Catholic had no major impact on the further development of the Hussite wars since the Hussites retained military superiority over the following years. However, this success meant Frederick I of Saxony was elevated to the rank of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and Elector, while Želivský was removed from command shortly after and executed in March 1422. Despite the defeat, it did not cease altogether attacks from the Hussites against the territories of Saxony and

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

so that they could not provide military support to the emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

Tradition

Since 1421, the city of Brüx, now called Most, holds a festival every year in thanks for deliverance from the Hussites. This tradition continued even after their expulsions in 1945–46 outside of the home to this day. This custom is one of the traditions from the Hussite wars to live on to the present day.

References

Lawrence of Březová Lawrence of Březová (; around 1370 – around 1437) was a Czech writer of Hussite period, author of ''Carmen insignis Corone Bohemie'' and ''Historia Hussitica''. He wrote in Czech and Latin. He was a historian of the Hussite movement. His w ...

: The Hussites, a contemporary chronicle, last in German published in 1988 by Verlag Styria (translated from Latin and Old Czech; Title of the original: Chronicon) * Frantisek Palacky: The history of Hussitenthums; in: Critical Studies, Prague, 1868 * F. von Bezold: King Sigmund and the Empire wars against the Hussites; Munich, 1872 * A. Kutschera: From the days of the Hussite Wars - King Siegmund in the struggle for Prague; in: From Austria's past, Vol 5, Leipzig, Prague, Vienna, 1917 * Piotr Marczak: Hussite wars, Warsaw Egros * Heinz Rieder: The Hussites, Casimir Katz Publishing, 1998, {{DEFAULTSORT:Brux 1421 in Europe Battles involving the Holy Roman Empire Battles of the Hussite Wars Conflicts in 1421 History of the Ústí nad Labem Region