Battle of Brüx (1421)

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A campaign by radical Hussites from Prague against northern Bohemia ended with the battle of Brüx on August 5, 1421 . The Hussite troops under the command of Jan Želivský were subject to the Saxon troops of Friedrich von Meissen . It remained one of the few defeats of the Hussites against Imperial Catholic troops in the Hussite Wars, which lasted from 1419 to 1436 .

procedure

As early as March 16, 1421, Hussite troops under the command of Jan Žižka had taken the Komotau, a few kilometers west of Brüx, by storm and killed its 2500 inhabitants. The troops had marched in from Saaz and then moved on to Prague with considerable destruction of German or Catholic-minded cities and villages. At the beginning of July, the Hussites again moved from Prague towards northern Bohemia, this time under the command of priest Jan Želivský. They marched past Teplitz and Dux, pillaging , and on July 12th captured Bilin , located near the southeast of Brüx . On July 24th they built a wagon castle near the village of Saras, south of Brüx. From there they directed attacks against the Brüxer Schlossberg and the besieged city itself, until they were put to flight north of the city by the Brüxers and the relief army of Friedrich von Meißen, who arrived in time on August 5, 1421 (the Maria Snow Day ) were.

consequences

The victory of the imperial-Catholic side at Brüx did not have a major impact on the further course of the Hussite Wars, the militarily superior Hussites soon regained the upper hand for several years. For Friedrich von Meißen, however, the success led to the rise of Duke and Elector , while Želivský was completely disempowered a little later and soon afterwards, in March 1422, was executed. However, the Hussite defeat at Brüx in the following years, especially from 1428, led to repeated and particularly bitter attacks against Meissnian and Saxon territory. In general, the attacks by the Hussites were directed primarily against those countries from which Emperor Sigismund received support.

On September 23, 1434 another battle broke out near Brüx. At this point in time, four months after the decisive Battle of Lipan , the Hussite Wars had already been decided in accordance with the compromise concluded with the moderate Hussites at the Basel Council.

tradition

Since 1421, according to a vow, the people of Brüx have held a thanksgiving service for salvation from the Hussites every year on the Maria Snow Festival. This tradition was continued by the Brüxers even after they were expelled from their homeland in 1945/46 until today (2008). Like the Further Drachenstich and the Naumburg Cherry Festival, this custom is one of the traditional festivals from the time of the Hussite Wars that have survived to the present day.

literature

  • The Hussites. The Chronicle of Laurentius von Březová, 1414–1421 (= Slavic historian. 11). Translated from Latin and Old Czech, introduced and explained by Josef Bujnoch. Verlag Styria, Graz et al. 1988, ISBN 3-222-11813-2 (title of the original: Chronicon. ).
  • František Palacký : The History of Hussiteism and Prof. Constantin Höfler. Critical Studies. 2nd Edition. Tempsky, Prague 1868, ( digitized version ).
  • Friedrich von Bezold : King Sigmund and the Imperial Wars against the Hussites. Division 2: The years 1423-1428. Ackermann, Munich 1875.
  • Adolf Kutschera: From the days of the Hussite Wars. King Siegmund in the battle for Prague (= From Austria's past. Vol. 5). Haase, Leipzig et al. 1917.
  • Heinz Rieder: The Hussites. Casimir Katz, Gernsbach 1998, ISBN 3-925825-71-1 .
  • Piotr Marczak: Wojny husyckie (= W kręgu średniowiecza. 4). Egros, Warsaw 2004, ISBN 83-88185-31-4 .