Heilbronner Bund

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Foundation of the Heilbronner Bund in 1633 (lithograph around 1842)

The Heilbronn League (also Heilbronner Convent ) was during the Thirty Years' War on April 23, 1633 Heilbronn closed alliance between Sweden and the Protestant stalls of Franconia , Swabia , kurrheinischen and Upper Rhine imperial districts .

prehistory

The Protestant imperial estates found themselves in the dilemma that, on the one hand, they could not defend themselves against the uncompromising Catholic party and the emperor without Swedish help and, on the other hand, they did not want to accept Swedish dominance and land gains on the soil of the German Empire. Sweden wanted at least adequate compensation for its support, which included not only money but also areas on the German Baltic coast.

As early as October 1632, the Swedish king, Gustav II Adolf , commissioned his chancellor, Count Axel Oxenstierna , to convene the Protestant estates of the Franconian, Swabian, Kurhine and Upper Rhine imperial circles in Ulm. The chancellor was supposed to get the estates to renounce the emperor and place themselves under the protection of Sweden. In addition, the estates should bear the war costs.

On November 1st, Jul. / November 11, 1632 greg. - a few days before the battle of Lützen - the invitation to a convention took place. After Gustav Adolf's death on November 16, 1632 in the Battle of Lützen, Oxenstierna first had to obtain the necessary powers for government affairs from the Swedish Reichstag and he also tried exploratory talks with the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg I, whose consent was to be given to him To obtain convention, which however did not succeed. Instead, Johann Georg I tried to prevent the meeting in advance, since he saw himself as the head of Protestant Germany and claimed that the invitation to a meeting of Protestants should come from him. Elector Georg Wilhelm von Brandenburg , however, supported the idea. On January 8, 1633, the formal announcement of the convention took place on January 28, jul. / 7th February 1633 greg. should begin in Ulm. Troops of the Catholic League under Johann von Aldringen threatened the region around Ulm, which is why Oxenstierna moved the convent to Heilbronn on February 20 and set the start on March 1.

history

On March 8th, July / March 18, 1633 greg. Oxenstierna finally opened the convent in the German House in Heilbronn. He submitted his proposal for a close alliance under Swedish leadership.

The negotiations turned out to be difficult and protracted, as the estates of each Reichskreis first discussed their position separately before they came to July 17th . / March 27, 1633 greg. a joint statement to the Swedes. The tendency was to avoid close ties to Sweden and the granting of extensive competencies to them. They wanted to keep the door open for the Saxon Elector and postpone everything to a general convention of German Protestants - Württemberg in particular worked in this direction. Only in view of the renewed advance of the Catholic armies was it understood that a federation should act as a provisional arrangement up to a general alliance. On March 18, Jul. / March 28, 1633 greg. Oxenstierna negotiated verbally with the stands in order to move the processes forward. He let her feel his displeasure with the statement. Two days later, the Swedes presented a draft contract that made few concessions to the estates. Oxenstierna also asked the French envoy to comment, who emphasized the importance of the alliance, since Saxony had announced peace negotiations with the emperor and the southern German estates would have to fear poor peace conditions without an alliance. April 1st July / April 11, 1633 greg. the estates gave Oxenstierna their joint answer to his draft contract, which in turn aroused his indignation. He threatened to refuse any participation in the federal directorate and instead to join forces with other foreign powers. Now the booths were docile and on April 5th July. / April 15, 1633 greg. an agreement was reached that was in favor of the Swedes. The Act of Confederation was signed on April 13th July. / April 23, 1633 greg. and on April 15th jul. / April 25, 1633 greg. there was also an agreement with the imperial knighthood , whose cantons were not part of the imperial circles. An alliance between Sweden and France was also concluded in Heilbronn.

This union was headed by a board of directors, chaired by Count Axel Oxenstierna . This was supported by a council called Consilium Formatum , which was composed of three Swedish and seven German assessors.

After the armed forces were decisively weakened in the battle of Nördlingen on September 6, 1634, the importance of the federation rapidly declined. According to the provisions of the Peace of Prague , the Heilbronn League was finally dissolved in 1635.

Participant in the negotiations in April 1633

In addition to the Swedish Chancellor Oxenstierna, a number of prominent Protestants personally attended the meeting. Among the imperial princes were the Margrave Friedrich V of Baden-Durlach and the Dukes of Württemberg, Duke Julius Friedrich von Württemberg and Duke Eberhard III. from Württemberg present. Württemberg had also sent its Chancellor Jakob Löffler . Among the other representatives of the high nobility were the wild and Rhine Count Otto Ludwig von Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen and Count Georg Friedrich von Hohenlohe for the Margrave Christian of Brandenburg . Represented by ambassadors were a. the Electoral Palatinate , Palatinate-Lautern and Palatinate-Zweibrücken . Of the imperial cities were u. a. Nuremberg , Schweinfurt , Strasbourg , Frankfurt am Main , Augsburg and Ulm are represented.

The French ambassador Manassès de Pas, Marquis de Feuquières also took part in the negotiations and successfully sought to increase France's influence. England was represented by the Scot Sir Robert Anstruther and was accompanied by John Durie .

literature

  • Johannes Kretzschmar : The Heilbronner Bund . Rathjens, Lübeck 1922 (3 volumes).
  • Herbert Langer: The Heilbronner Bund (1633–35). In: Volker Press, Dieter Stievermann (Ed.): Alternatives to the Imperial Constitution in the Early Modern Age? Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-486-56035-2 , pp. 113-122 ( writings of the historical college , colloquia, volume 23).
  • Albert Küsel: The Heilbronn Convent. A contribution to the history of the Thirty Years War . Hall 1878, archive.org
  • Actorum Publicorum Tomus Quartus. That is / war and peace deal / Weyland GUSTAVI ADOLPHi, Königs in Schweden / .... , Frankfurt, Verlag Johann Gottfried Schönwetter, 1641, Tractate XIV. - XXXVI., Pp. 31–72, books.google.de

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ s. Küsel p. 8
  2. ^ Samuel von Pufendorf : Swedish and German War History , Frankfurt a. M. and Leipzig, 1688, pp. 132-135 books.google.de
  3. ^ A detailed list of the participants can be found in Franz Ludwig Freiherr von Soden: Gustav Adolph and his army in southern Germany from 1631 to 1635. On the history of the Thirty Years' War , Volume II: From Gustav Adolph's death to the conquest of Regensburg by King Ferdinand von Hungary and Bohemia. 1633 to 1634. Erlangen 1867, pp. 81–84, archive.org
  4. ↑ a half-brother of James Spens
  5. ^ Steve Murdoch: Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial And Covert Associations in Northern Europe 1603-1746 . P. 290, books.google.de ; s. also Soden p. 82, who, however, erroneously writes to Robert Anstrutter
  6. ↑ Continuation of the work by Michael Caspar Lundorp ; s. also catalog entry on HEIDI katalog.ub.uni-heidelberg.de