The siege of Székesfehérvár also known as the siege of Stuhlweissenburg (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ,

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: , ) began on 4 September 1601 when an Imperial force sent by Holy Roman emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

, under the command of Frenchman Philippe Emmanuel de Lorraine, duc de Mercoeur, besieged the Hungarian fortress of

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

occupied by the Ottomans since 1543. The battle resulted in a victory for the Imperial force.

Background

In 1600 Frenchman from the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

, Philippe-Emmanuel, duke de Mercoeur, who had volunteered to serve with the army of the Holy Roman against the Turks in Hungary, was called by

to become Commander-in-chief of the Imperial troops. In March 1601 the Ottoman Sultan sent an official complaint to

King Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

to protest about the presence of a Frenchman in command of the Habsburg army. In September 1601 an army under Mercoeur and Habsburg commander Count Adolf von Schwarzenberg was sent by Rudolf II to lay siege to Stuhlweißenburg (as Székesfehérvár was known in German).

Siege

A deserter told the duke that the city could be reached from the back via a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

where the shallow part allowed crossing by foot. The duke immediately sent General Hermann Ruswurm with 1,000 men to find the passage. Later that day, with great difficulties progressing through the mud, Russwurm found the ford and sent a signal to the duke. Mercoeur promptly launched an attack "with great noise" bringing the bulk of the Ottoman defenders towards the front of the fortress while Russwurm, according to the established plan, scaled the walls with his men and seized the city.

Lawrence of Brindisi Lawrence of Brindisi, OFM Cap. (22 July 1559 – 22 July 1619), born Giulio Cesare Russo, was an Italian Catholic priest, theologian and member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. An accomplished linguist, in addition to his native Italian ...

, a Catholic priest and a member of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

, who served as the imperial

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

for the army of Rudolph II, famously led the army during the battle for Székesfehérvár armed only with a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

. On 20 September the besieged surrendered after blowing up the church and the palace. After the taking of the fortress, the duke of Mercœur left German Colonel Staremberg and his regiment commanding the town.

Aftermath

On 9 October less than three weeks later, Hasan Pasha and a large Ottoman army returned in an attempt to retake Székesfehérvár, a Christian army under archduke Matthias defeated the Turkish Sultan at the Battle of Stuhlweissenburg. Mercoeur died of a fever on his way back to France. Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Paşa recaptured Székesfehérvár for the Ottoman Empire the following year in August 1602.

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Székesfehérvár 1601 Sieges of the Hungarian–Ottoman Wars Sieges involving Hungary Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Sieges involving the Holy Roman Empire Battles of the Long Turkish War 1601 in Europe 1601 in the Ottoman Empire Conflicts in 1601