Battle of Prague (1648)

Coordinates: 50°05′11″N 14°24′44″E / 50.08639°N 14.41222°E / 50.08639; 14.41222
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other battles, see Battle of Prague (disambiguation).

Battle of Prague
Part of the Thirty Years' War

Swedes on the Charles Bridge. A diorama created in 1891 by brothers Karel and Adolf Liebscher depicts the highlights of stubborn defense of right-bank Prague by students led by the Jesuit Jiří Plachý
Date25 July – 1 November 1648
Location
Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Habsburg monarchy
(now the Czech Republic)
50°05′11″N 14°24′44″E / 50.08639°N 14.41222°E / 50.08639; 14.41222
Result Sack of left-bank part of Prague (incl. the Prague Castle), failure to capture the right bank (Old and New Town) and Swedish retreat
Belligerents
Swedish Empire Bohemia
Commanders and leaders

Hans Christoff von Königsmarck

Prince Carl Gustaf

Arvid Wittenberg

Count Rudolph Colloredo-Wallsee

Jiří Plachý

Hans Georg Kauffer
Strength
c. 7,500 soldiers (unconfirmed), plus 6,000 reinforcements led by
Charles X Gustav of Sweden
 c. 2,000 soldiers, plus local militia and university students
Casualties and losses
500 dead, 700 wounded 219 dead, 475 wounded

The Battle of Prague, which occurred between 25 July and 1 November

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552–1612), the pick of which was taken down the Elbe in barges and shipped to Sweden.[1]

After occupying the castle and the western bank of the Vltava for some months, the Swedes stopped assaulting the Old and New Town at the eastern bank when news of the signing of the treaty reached them. They still remained a garrison on the western bank until their final withdrawal on 30 September 1649.

It was the last major clash of the Thirty Years' War, taking place in the city of Prague, where the war originally began 30 years earlier.

Overview

General

German priest jurist
Hans Georg Kauffer.

Sack of Prague

Unable to enter the other half of the city, the Swedes settled for looting the castle and surrounding palaces and monasteries; some historians have argued that this was the main purpose of the raid. Many of the treasures collected by

Adrien de Vries.[2] The cream of the artworks were taken into exile by Christina, Queen of Sweden (r. 1632–1654), and dispersed in groups after her death in 1689, the paintings forming the core of the Orleans Collection, which was sold in London after the French Revolution, so that many of Rudolf's paintings are now in the United Kingdom. A Swedish inventory of 1652 lists 472 paintings as having come from Prague.[3]

Monuments

On the Old Town Square a Marian column was erected to remember the salvation of Prague.

A monument erected during the 19th century on Colloredo's tomb in the Church of the Maltese Order in Prague recalls his victory over the Swedes. Its German inscription reads thus:

HIER RUHT RUDOLF GRAF COLLOREDO K.K. FELDMARSCHALL UND MALTHESERORDER GROSSPRIOR Vertheidiger der Alt und Neusstad Prags gegen die Schweden Geb. am 2 Nov. 1585 Gest. am 27 Jan. 1657.

("Here lies Rudolf, count Colloredo, Imperial and Royal Feldmarshall and Grand Prior of the Order of Malta, defender of the Old and New Town of Prague against the Swedes. Born 2. Nov. 1585 Dead 27 Jan. 1657")

On Charles Bridge tower a 17th-century Latin inscription says:

SISTE VIATOR, SED LUBENS, AC VOLENS UBI SISTERE DEBUIT, SED COACTUS GOTHORUM, AC VANDALORUM FUROR

"Rest here, walker, and be happy: you can stop here willing, but unwilling were stopped the Goths (Swedes) and their Vandalic ferocity"

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Prague (1648).
  1. ISBN 009174637X
    pp. 94, 97-98
  2. ISBN 009174637X
    p. 122
  3. ISBN 009174637X
    pp. 95-98
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