The 1587 siege of Kraków took place between 14 October and 29 November 1587, after the contested 1587 Polish–Lithuanian royal election, which resulted in a double selection of opposing candidates - Zygmunt Waza was elected by the nobility on the 19th of August, while another faction of the gentry chose

Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria Maximilian III of Austria (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), was a member of the House of Habsburg and the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death. He was also briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the Polish ...

, on the 22nd of August. Maximillian attempted to enforce his election by force, leading to the War of the Polish Succession (1587-1588), and in the course of the campaign besieged the city of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Kraków was defended by the

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

Jan Zamoyski Jan Sariusz Zamoyski (; 19 March 1542 – 3 June 1605) was a Polish nobleman, magnate, statesman and the 1st '' ordynat'' of Zamość. He served as the Royal Secretary from 1565, Deputy Chancellor from 1576, Grand Chancellor of the Crown f ...

, and a general attack by the pro-Austrian forces was repelled on 22 November. Many affluent burghers of German background participated directly in the defense against "the German enemies", while others donated funds for the city's defense. Several of them were ennobled as a result and admitted into the ranks of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraków 1587 Sieges of Kraków 1587 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Sieges involving Austria Sieges involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Conflicts in 1587