Siege of Bautzen

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The city of Bautzen has been besieged several times in the past and was the backdrop for further battles.

In 1429 and 1431 the city was besieged twice by the Hussites, without success . The Hussites had invaded Upper Lusatia repeatedly in previous years . Due to the constant threat from the Hussites, Sigismund von Kremsier gave the order to expand a fortification as early as 1422 , which the city followed with great effort; In addition, the production of 18 guns for city defense was commissioned. In 1620 the city was besieged by Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony and in 1639 by the Swedes.

First siege by the Hussites in 1429

The fighting

According to tradition, on October 12, 1429 an army of 4,000 Hussites under their leader " Molesto " marched in front of the city and devastated the surrounding country. The Hussites had looted and burned Lauban in 1427 and Kamenz in 1429 , as well as a large number of places in Upper Lusatia. The ruling mayor of Bautzen at that time was called Hans Schwerdtfeger. Refusing to surrender, the city was attacked from three sides by the Hussites. In addition to the student and empire gate , the city was attacked, especially on the southern slope in the area of ​​today's Michaeliskirche , as the city's defensive system was at its weakest at this point. According to tradition, the citizens of the city, including women and children on the orders of city governor Thiemo von Colditz , defended themselves with all their might. Among other things, hot water, boiling pitch, sulfur and pitch wreaths were poured on the attackers. The attack lasted a total of three days and was ended by the Hussites after their leader was hit by two arrows and succumbed to his injuries. As a result of his death, there was disorder in the army of the Hussites and the attackers withdrew from Bautzen without success.

The betrayal

Keystone on the archway of the Nikolaipforte

During the siege of the city in 1429, the town clerk Peter Prischwitz is said to have tried to betray the city to the Hussites. To this end, he shot arrows into the enemy camp that were wrapped in documents. In these documents he is said to have promised the Hussites that they would use water to make the city's powder supplies unusable, set fire to the houses on Kesselgasse and open the city gates at a certain time. In return, he demanded 100 shock groschen and 10 shock pension annually for his actions . In fact, Prischwitz also managed to moisten the city's powder supplies and start a fire in the city, as a result of which a quarter of the city burned down. However, this betrayal was discovered in good time by the city governor Thiemo von Colditz before its completion . According to a confession by Prischwitz, which was preceded by a corresponding interrogation, the town clerk was said to be dragged on a cow skin from the main square through the streets of the town to the place of execution, where his body was cut open, his heart torn out and thrown in his face and his body was cut into four pieces. The body parts were hung over the main gates of the city. As a warning, the head of the town clerk was also carved in stone and walled up at the gates where the enemy attacked. One of these stones can still be seen today at the Nikolaipforte .

Preparing for further attacks

Despite the winless withdrawal, a new attack by the Hussites on Bautzen was expected soon. Therefore the defense systems and means were checked. Among other things, it was also ordered that the inn owners had to get a can . In addition, the then Landvogt Hans von Polenz asked the Margrave of Meißen for support, who actually sent an army of 1200 men to Bautzen at the beginning of 1430. This army settled near the Church of the Holy Spirit. Because of these preparations, the Hussites gave up their planned attack on Bautzen in 1430.

Second siege by the Hussites in 1431

On February 20 or 21, 1431, however, the Hussites returned from the direction of Zittau and besieged the city of Bautzen a second time. For its own protection, the city of Bautzen had the houses in the suburbs burned down shortly beforehand. The Hussites tried to prevent this and holed up in the church of Our Lady . From there, a Hussite battery also bombarded the city. Another battery was posted on the southern ledge of the Gunbleach. At the same time the city was attacked from Eselsberg. There the Hussites are said to have even managed to climb over the walls of the city at times. In a nine-hour fight, however, the attackers were pushed back again. According to another source, the army sent by the Duke of Meissen, the governor's entourage and the Bautzeners on the one hand, and the Hussites on the other, confronted each other for five days without an attack. However, after the Meissen knights had secretly withdrawn one night, the Hussites attacked the city.

Ultimately, the cities of Zittau and Bautzen made peace with the Hussites in 1432 against payment of 300 shock groschen, after they had invaded Upper Lusatia again and again.

Siege by Elector Johann Georg I 1620

Siege of Bautzen in September 1620

In 1620, Bautzen was besieged by the Elector Johann Georg I. The siege of the city began on September 9, 1620. On the same day, the commander of the Jägerndorf troops in the city had the roof of the Nikolaikirche removed to defend the city and then set up a battery in the vault of the church . As a result of the improper use, the church was considerably destroyed and devastated, especially in the following period.

Siege by the Swedes 1639

In 1639 the city of Bautzen was besieged and occupied by the Swedes . According to a legend, strange things should have happened on the Ortenburg shortly before the siege . In particular, the dogs are said to have gathered at the school ditch and started a pathetic howl that reached its climax on October 17, 1639. The next day, the Swedes are said to have come under Manke's leadership and occupied the city. The tradition of the pathetic howling could be due to the fact that in the old town of Bautzen, due to the structural conditions, a steady noise is generated in stronger winds that resembles a howl.

Trivia

According to legend, the Archangel Michael appeared with his sword during the fighting during the siege by the Hussites in 1429 and fought with the citizens of the city. This should have encouraged the citizens of the city, the Hussites were frightened. In honor of the Archangel Michael, the citizens built today's Michaeliskirche at the site of the fighting on the southern slope of the city .

See also

literature

  • Richard Jecht : The Upper Lusatian Hussite War and the land of the six cities under Emperor Sigmund . In: Neues Lausitzisches Magazin , Part 1, Volume 87, Görlitz 1911, pp. 35-279
  • Richard Jecht: The Upper Lusatian Hussite War and the land of the six cities under Emperor Sigmund . In: Ebda, Part 2, Volume 90, Görlitz 1914, pp. 31–151
  • Lutz Mohr : The Hussites in Upper Lusatia with special consideration of their campaigns in the years from 1424 to 1434 . Special edition No. 2 of the series: History and stories from Neusalza-Spremberg , Greifswald a. Neusalza-Spremberg 2014.

Sources and Notes

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g "History of the City of Bautzen", Richard Reymann , printing and publishing house: Gebrüder Müller, 1902, page 24ff.
  2. ^ A b c Johann Georg Theodor Grasse, "The treasure of sagas of the Kingdom of Saxony", 1855, No. 613 "The head at the Nicolaipforte in Budessin.", Pp.456f .; mwN.
  3. ↑ a b c d "The Michaeliskirche zu Budissin", Bautzener Sagen, Verlag Johannes Vieweg, Leipzig 24, page 3.
  4. ↑ In other sources the name "Molesko" ("The Michaeliskirche zu Budissin", Bautzener Sagen, Verlag Johannes Vieweg, Leipzig 24, page 3) and "Mielasko" is written.
  5. ↑ At this point there was a plateau in front of the city walls, from which the Hussites offered themselves a good attack surface.
  6. ↑ This name is also spelled "Preischwitz" in other sources.
  7. ^ "The head of the traitor at the Nikolaipforte zu Budissin", Bautzener Sagen, Verlag Johannes Vieweg, Leipzig 24, page 3.
  8. ↑ Another source only reports on a fire in Reichengasse (cf. Johann Georg Theodor Grasse, "Der Sagenschatz des Kingdom of Saxony", 1855, No. 613 "The head at the Nicolaikirche in Budessin.", P.456f. ; with further references ).
  9. ↑ In another source, February 3, 1430 is given as the day of execution ("Geschichte der Stadt Bautzen", Richard Reymann , print and publisher: Gebrüder Müller, 1902, page 24ff.).
  10. ↑ In a legend ("The Michaeliskirche zu Budissin", Bautzener Sagen, Verlag Johannes Vieweg, Leipzig 24, page 3) is told of 12,000 knights in armor , but this is likely to be a mistake in tradition.
  11. ↑ The Eselsberg is the plateau in the south of the old town on which the Michaeliskirche is located today . The name is probably based on the donkeys present there, which were driven up and down the mountain to transport flour and grain between the mills on the Spree and the city (see also Mühltor ).
  12. ^ "History of the City of Bautzen", Richard Reymann , printing and publishing: Gebrüder Müller, 1902, page 307ff.
  13. ^ "Harbingers of the Siege of Budissin", Bautzener Sagen, Verlag Johannes Vieweg, Leipzig 24, page 15.
  14. ↑ see also wind noises at St. Petri Cathedral .