Gronings Ontzet
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With the local festival called Gronings Ontzet ( German Groninger Entsatz ), the overcoming of the siege that took place in the so-called Rampjaar in 1672 by Christoph Bernhard von Galen , Prince-Bishop of the bishopric of Münster, is celebrated every year in the Dutch provincial capital of Groningen .
The bishop was and is popularly called Bommen Berend ("Kanonenbernhard") because of the frequent use of bombs shot down by cannons . These were the most modern weapon at the time, causing considerable damage within the city walls. On August 28, 1672, barely a month after the siege began, the Prince-Bishop ordered his troops to withdraw.
Historical context
As prince-bishop of the bishopric of Münster, von Galen laid claim to the areas in and around Groningen. The diocese of Groningen was founded in 1559 from areas of the dioceses of Münster and Utrecht . The Ommelande (German: the surrounding area ), consisting of the areas of Hunsingo , Fivelgo and Westerkwartier , was also the ecclesiastical property of the Diocese of Münster until the diocese of Groningen was dissolved in 1595 ( Reductie van Groningen ). Westerwolde , the easternmost part of the province of Groningen, was an independent glory of the Holy Roman Empire until the end of the 16th century , when it was bought by the city of Groningen in 1619. The young Dutch Republic was attacked from all sides in early 1672, Charles II of England attacked the Dutch fleet and Louis XIV of France was in the country with a large army. Von Galen saw an opportunity to attack the unprotected north and enforce his claims.
prehistory
The Prince-Bishop of Münster had invaded Westerwolde as early as 1665. The Münster soldiers were stationed in the border villages of Walchum, Dersum and Heede. Since the army command was informed about the treacherous and boggy landscape of the Bourtanger Moor and knew the Dutch military tactic of inundation , which "flooded" these areas, they came up with a ruse to get to the village of Westerwolde. Over the Hasseberg , presumably in the direction of Sellingen, they created an artificial path several kilometers long through the swampy area. They used sticks , barn doors, posts and all sorts of other materials. Instead of moving on to the fortresses Bourtange , Winschoten and the Wedderburg , they set up camp in the village of Jipsinghuizen and around the natural hill "de Spinberg". According to the stories, a small garrison from Bourtange was able to chase away the Munster troops that had been taken by surprise, so that they had to flee headlong through the mud. After that, the Bourtang soldiers destroyed the path by burning it down.
It was also thanks to the sexton Willem Maartensz from Vriescheloo that this victory could be achieved. When the garrison arrived in Jipsinghuizen, for example, he is said to have played the Dutch national song Het Wilhelmus on his trumpet so loudly that the people of Münster believed they were surrounded by a whole regiment of Dutch troops. Since they also left their weapons behind during the escape, it was a painful defeat for Bommen Berend . The legend also tells that Maartensz received a high reward for his appearance. He is said to have received permission to build what was later called Staakenborgh and is still preserved today.
The military clash at Spinberg is also known as de Slag bij Jipsinghuizen ("The Battle of Jipsinghuizen"). Street names like Heidenslegerweg and the Bisschopskerkhof are reminiscent of this.
The march against the fortress city of Groningen
In 1672, after the cities and fortresses in Twente , Salland and at the head of Overijssel had already been taken, the bishop's army moved via Bad Bentheim to the fortress Coevorden , which was besieged from July 7th. After a few days of strife, the city gave up and the soldiers moved on towards the fortress of Bourtagne. Panic had already broken out there, as the Coevorden fortress, which had just been plundered by the episcopal troops, had been considered impregnable. In those days, the defense of the fortresses was often in the hands of the mayor's sons instead of those of the more experienced military. As soon as the prince-bishop realized that he could not win with cannonballs, he proceeded to take the cities with money and gold.
The Bourtange fortress was under the direction of the capable captain Bernard Johan Prott. On July 11th, the commander-in-chief Heinrich Martel, on behalf of the bishop, called on the fortress to surrender. Captain Prott and his garrison refused. Thereupon Martel let it be known that “proper conditions” had to be discussed when the fortress was handed over, meaning 200,000 guilders for Prott and his officers and, if that wasn't enough, a large aristocratic estate in Westphalia. Prott refused and let the bishop know that 200,000 bullets were waiting for him in the fortress if he did not give up the siege. After a few days of bombardment of the fortress, the prince-bishop realized that he would not take Bourtange. With some effort he had to bypass the fortress. The Münsteraner were then able to take the Weddeburg and the town of Winschoten.
The administration of Drenthe had meanwhile sought and found shelter in Groningen. The Drost however, from Drenthe, Van Bernsaw was not among them. He thought he would gain a greater advantage through collaboration with the prince-bishop and had fled to Kampen . Thereupon the Drents appointed Carl von Rabenhaupt as the new Drost. Rabenhaupt had also been committed to the defense of the city of Groningen by the Dutch Republic as an army commander.
In order to get towards the city of Groningen, due to the terrain, the Prince-Bishop's army was forced to move along the Hondsrug , over a centuries-old army route that led from Groningen to the Westphalian hinterland. The surrounding areas around the city consisted of low-lying moorland and the Drenten stream valleys had been flooded on the orders of Rabenhaupt. He set up his headquarters in a fort near Deurze.
The siege of Groningen
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The bishop's troops began their siege in front of Groningen on July 21, 1672. The defenders were supported by a large number of refugees from Drenten. The region suffered greatly, the surrounding land was sacked by the bishop's troops. The decisive factor in the final decision to abandon the siege was based on the fact that his ally, Maximilian Heinrich von Bayern , Elector and Archbishop of Cologne , had suffered a defeat in the village of Nienhuis and his own troops were repulsed at Nordhorn , as a result of which his backing was in danger. In addition, the bishop had failed to cut off supplies for the city. He approached the city from the south, but the city could still be reached via the north side. The city was conquered in 1594 mainly because it had been completely enclosed at the time. The bombs from "Bommen Berend" mainly reached the south side of the city, whereas the northern part could not be reached by its artillery. The new built city wall thus proved its worth. On August 28, von Galen was forced to withdraw with at least half of his 24,000-strong army. On December 29th, the Coevorden fortress came back into the hands of the city. Rabenhaupt gratefully used the help of Meindest van der Thijnen , who smuggled cards from Coevoerden to Groningen.
The grand victory in Groningen was a reason for Joost van den Vondel to sing hymns of praise and for The Hague a ray of light in this gloomy year of disaster, about which the vernacular says: Het volk was redeloos, de regering radeloos, en het land reddeloos (“The people were foolish, the government at a loss and the country hopeless (lost) ”). The English were swept from the sea by the Dutch fleet, the French gentleman stranded on the Dutch waterline and the Cologne army got stuck in the Groninger mud.
Festivities
The festival has been celebrated on August 28th since 1700, after the introduction of the Gregorian calendar . The public institutions and many companies will remain closed on this day. If August 28 of a year falls on a Sunday, the holiday is already observed on August 27. Since then, the day has been the most important holiday for the city and the surrounding area with a large number of festivities, a fair, large fireworks and a music event on the harness racing track. Horses have played an important role in the festivities ever since horse breeding came up among wealthy Groningen farmers in the 17th and 18th centuries. There are horse competitions and trotting races.
Web links
- Official website
- Het ontzet van Coevorden
- Gronings Ontzet in the register of the intangible cultural heritage of the Netherlands (Dutch)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joost van den Vondel, De werken van Vondel. Deel 10. 1663-1674 dbnl. In: dbnl.org. Retrieved October 1, 2011 .