Storm Petition (1619)

As Sturmpetition to the designated audience a delegation of the Protestant estates of Lower Austria at Archduke Ferdinand (1619-1637 reg. As emperor in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation ) on June 5, 1619 in Vienna's Hofburg . The representatives of the estates, led by Count Paul Jakob von Starhemberg , tried to obtain from the Archduke a renunciation peace with the rebellious Bohemians and concessions with regard to the practice of the Protestant faith. However, the Archduke was not persuaded to compromise. When, during the audience, some cornets (companies) of cavalry from the Dampierre regiment , which had only recently been formed, entered the Hofburg under the command of Gilbert de Saint-Hilaire , the class representatives, intimidated by the unexpected appearance of the cavalrymen, finally gave in. The events in the Hofburg took place at a time of great uncertainty among broad sections of the population, not least because during this audience an army of the rebellious Bohemian estates commanded by Heinrich Matthias von Thurn (1567–1640) was approaching Vienna. As a result, they soon became the subject of rich legends and, even in older Austrian historical works, they were often viewed as decisive for the further course of Austro-Habsburg history.

literature

Helmut Kretschmer: Storm petition and blockade of Vienna in 1619 (= military historical series, issue 38). Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1978, ISBN 3-215-02743-7 .

References and comments

↑ Ferdinand succeeded his father as Prince of Inner Austria in 1590 , although the business of government was initially in the hands of a guardianship government. From 1596 he had ruled the inner Austrian group of states alone. In June 1617 Ferdinand was "accepted" as King of Bohemia, which means that he was not elected by the Bohemian estates, but rather confirmed as the future king by each and every one of the representatives. In 1618 he was elected King of Hungary and in August 1619 he was finally elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
↑ In July 1619 the estates of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia had merged to form the Confoederatio Bohemica and thus gave themselves a new constitution which, among other things, laid down the electoral monarchy in the countries of the Wenceslas Crown. The Protestant estates of today's Austrian federal states of Upper and Lower Austria did not join the confederation, but maintained close relationships with it.

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[1] Ferdinand succeeded his father as Prince of Inner Austria in 1590 , although the business of government was initially in the hands of a guardianship government. From 1596 he had ruled the inner Austrian group of states alone. In June 1617 Ferdinand was "accepted" as King of Bohemia, which means that he was not elected by the Bohemian estates, but rather confirmed as the future king by each and every one of the representatives. In 1618 he was elected King of Hungary and in August 1619 he was finally elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

[2] In July 1619 the estates of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia had merged to form the Confoederatio Bohemica and thus gave themselves a new constitution which, among other things, laid down the electoral monarchy in the countries of the Wenceslas Crown. The Protestant estates of today's Austrian federal states of Upper and Lower Austria did not join the confederation, but maintained close relationships with it.