Torgau Bund

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Johann the Steadfast, portrayed by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Ä. 1526
Philip the Magnanimous
The Protestant Torgauer Bund (purple) and the Catholic Dessau Bund (yellow).

The Torgauer Bund (also called Gotha-Torgauisches Bündnis or Torgauer Bündnis ) was a reaction of Protestant princes to the Dessau Bund , the union of Catholic sovereigns in northern Germany at the time of the German Reformation . The original treaty for the Torgau Bund was signed on February 27, 1526 (according to another source on March 5, 1526) in Gotha between Hesse and Electoral Saxony . This agreement formed the basis for a number of subsequent alliances in Torgau , where the Ernestine line of the Wettins resided. With the Torgauer Bund a Protestant association was constituted for the first time.

backgrounds

After information about the formation of the Catholic community of interests leaked out, Elector Johann von Sachsen and Landgrave Philipp von Hessen met in Gotha . They vowed to stand by each other if there were difficulties with the implementation of a new church order in their countries or in questions of faith or if military aid were necessary.

A delicate situation arose in Magdeburg . The majority of the citizens were fond of Lutheranism, but in Cardinal Albrecht they had an archbishop whose declared intention was to fight the "Lutheran sect". He was therefore part of the anti-Protestant Dessau Bund from the start.

To defend against archbishop measures, Magdeburg allied itself with the Elector Johann von Sachsen and Landgrave Philipp von Hessen on May 4th 1526 in Torgau. Johann von Sachsen invited the Reformation-minded princes to a meeting in Magdeburg to discuss the regional political constellation together. Then the Magdeburg Treaty of June 12, 1526 came about with the accession of further princes inclined to the Protestant faith to the Torgau Bund. The latter should prove to be the basis for all future political and military undertakings on the Lutheran side.

consequences

The princes united in the Torgau League acted more successfully than their Dessau counterpart. At the Diet in Speyer in 1526 , the supporters of both Christian faiths tried to reach a political understanding through compromise. The Edict of Worms was repealed. The Reichs Farewell contained the toleration of the new religion up to a council .

At the second Reichstag in Speyer in 1529 and the Reichstag in Augsburg in 1530 , however, the tide turned in favor of the Catholic side, especially since Emperor Charles V adhered to the traditional code of faith. The Protestant side therefore united in 1531 to form the Schmalkaldic League , which replaced the Torgauer Bund.

Members

The Torgau League of Protestant Princes included:

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