The siege of the city of Brno: why the clock strikes noon at eleven ... (ending)
War at all times was a difficult, bloody and dirty affair, that is, it was the legalized killing of one's neighbors, covered with a veil of various verbal nonsense that stemmed from the inability to solve the matter with the world. However, then, in the period of the Thirty Years War, the matter was worsened by the fact that the war was also going on for faith, that is, for the correct salvation of its immortal soul. But this soul had to be saved in the mud of trenches and bastions, under the cores and bullets, and in addition on the hungry belly! Yes, yes, the siege, and the two warring parties, was also added by the lack of food. The Czechs, who got used to good beer, sausage, dumplings and smoked meat, suffered this painfully. And then all this had to be simply forgotten. But the worst thing was that the defenders of the city had gunpowder running out. Therefore, they saved ammunition and fought mostly cold weapons, and only in the most extreme situations did they start firing from guns and muskets.
The Battle of White Mountain (Peter Snayers, 1620).
The Imperials knew about the plight of the city. Zrzgertsog Leopold-Wilhelm gave the order to Field Marshal Kolaredo to assist him in any way, and the Marshal sent six hundred cavalrymen from Prague under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Count Vrbny.
Shield and helmet infantryman. Augsburg, 1590. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden. Since it was very difficult to break through the system of pikemen, in the armies of Europe at the end of the 16th century, round shields, which began to arm infantrymen, were revived. On the left and on the right, heavy ones, as called Walloon swords, are exhibited, with which, again, both horsemen and infantrymen fought.
He quickly reached the outskirts of the city and 26 June unexpectedly attacked the Swedes from the rear, trying to give the impression that they were being attacked by a whole army. And this provocation he failed! At some point, the Swedes actually believed that the Imperials were much larger, which caused a fair amount of confusion among them. Taking advantage of this, the Austrians divided into two groups. Two hundred horsemen portrayed the attack of many thousands of Imperial cavalry, while four hundred managed to slip into the city. Of course, four hundred horsemen are not God knows what forces, but the main thing was that they delivered a twenty-kilogram bag of gunpowder to the city of 172. Moreover, only half of the arrivals remained in the city, while the other immediately left it - due to the banal reason for the lack of food.
During the Thirty Years' War, cavalry, dressed in the characteristic "three-piece armor", played a very important role. Now it became not necessary to protect the legs below the knees, but the armor for the torso and for the thighs were improved in a very significant way. Before you are the so-called field armaments of the work of Christian Meller 1620, the Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden.
All of this so outraged the Swedes that they surrounded Brno with an absolutely impassable system of redoubts, ramparts and trenches, and the city was literally cut off from the outside world.
It should be noted that the unification of military uniforms in European armies began only in the second half of the 17th century, and during the Thirty Years' War, it was still in its infancy. That is, the soldiers were dressed according to the principle of "all sorts of different ways", but as insignia of their own from others, ribbons on camisoles and feathers on hats and helmets were of certain colors. For example, the color of the Spaniards and Austrians was red, the Swedes - traditionally yellow, the French - blue, the Dutch - orange. (From the book on stories military uniform, published in Germany in 1905 year.)
Meanwhile, the troops of the ally of the Swedish king, Transylvanian prince Rakosi, 10 of thousands of soldiers, including German infantry, Transylvanian cavalry and Hungarian haiduks, also approached Brno. Torstensson, however, was well aware that there would be little benefit from such an ally, since he was already negotiating with the emperor for a separate truce (although according to the plan, Torstensson and Rakosi should have met under Vienna and jointly take the city).
Horseman's semi-armor by master Jacob Goring, 1640 Year, Dresden. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden.
Meanwhile, the famine in Brno has intensified so much that on August 8 citizens were officially allowed to eat horse meat. Then there was not enough water. The only consolation for them was the prayers and preaching of Martin Strzheda, who, according to Suchet, seemed to take power from Heaven and pass it on to the defenders of the city.
Pistol set mid XVII century. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden.
Pistols with a wheel lock, that is, a mechanism igniting gunpowder in the barrel, precisely in the era of the Thirty Years War, were most prevalent. One of their design features was an almost straight handle. This form was born due to the fact that they only had to shoot at insignificant distances, when the weapon became something of a continuation of the arm. In addition, it helped keep the pistols when fired, because of the large caliber they had a strong return. The round apple on the handle was a counterweight and helped to snatch the weapon from the holster located at the time by the saddle. Usually there were two such holsters - on the left and on the right, and the pistols were put in them with their arms outwards, and not inwards, so that they would not interfere with the saddle. To a pair of pistols, the obligatory accessory was a powder flask-dispenser, usually trimmed with carved or engraved bone, a bag with bullets and ... the key - to start the spring of the pistol wheel! This pair is exhibited in the municipal museum of the city of Meissen, Germany.
Spilberk fortress aerial view.
15 August Torstensson first held a one-hour artillery preparation, and then ordered the start of a general assault. But before that, he promised his soldiers, too, to the exhausted order that he would stop the siege in the event that the city would not be taken until 12 o'clock in the afternoon. He pledged in front of everyone, moreover, most likely, and he swore to God how without it. Meanwhile, many buildings in the city caught fire and were destroyed, and the Swedes moved to the attack in six places at once. At two sites of the city’s defense, they managed to break through it and enter its streets. One of the Špilberk bastions fell, and the Swedish banner splashed on it. The fierce battle boiled right on the streets. Far from all citizens had a weapon, but the city needed to be defended, and people began to fight with pitchforks and axes. Cobblestones were turned out of the city pavement and thrown from the windows at the heads of Swedish soldiers. Both O'Gilvi and Suchet fought here on a par with everyone, wielding their heavy swords. Do not lag behind their men and women. In the church of St. Thomas they took the icon with the face of the Black Madonna and went through the procession of the city, praying for intercession. And the faith of these simple people was so strong that many later swore that they really saw that face in the sky over the city the face of the Mother of God. True, the fact that today the experts prefer not to say anything definite about where this shrine came from, but then, in the 17th century, people sincerely believed that this icon was written by none other than the evangelist Luke himself, and that she would help them. And here the bell ringer from the church on Petrov, seeing the procession from the tower, began to ring the bell, and exactly at 11 hours, that is, an hour before noon. Well, while Torstensson heard this ringing, he decided that ... it was already midday, and, fulfilling his promise, he gave the order to his troops to withdraw, because he could not break the word given to the soldiers. Then he asked for a truce in order to bury his dead and take the wounded, and on August 23 completely lifted the siege from the city, which remained undefeated!
Peter and Paul Cathedral towering over the city of Brno. You can go down to it from the Spilberk fortress along the path through the park, after passing a couple of hundred meters, and there is already the city and the market square, so it’s not surprising why the Swedes were so eager to seize this particular fortress.
Cabbage, it is Green and Market Square. There and today they sell all kinds of greens, fruits and vegetables from their gardens. A bit unusual, but funny. Everything is open-air, but ... very clean, no flies (only bees), and nasty market smells! Immediately behind the fountain is the very interesting Moravian Museum Brno, and behind it, again, the spiers of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul - everything is absolutely there!
The facade of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul.
The very original external cathedral of Peter and Paul Cathedral, with which Martin Strzheda just admonished his fellow citizens to hold on to the end. “God is with us!” He argued and ... it turned out to be so, because otherwise the Swedes would have won.
This is how it has become a tradition since then that the bells on the clock in Brno ring 11 and then beat the 12 again!
It is impossible to photograph in this cathedral, besides, because of the early time, our group was not allowed to go further than the porch, because the floors were rubbed there and the cleaning took place. But outside it could be removed as much as necessary ...
During the siege of the defenders have lost 250 people. The Swedes lost up to eight thousand of their soldiers under the walls of Brno.
View of the altar inside the cathedral of st. Jacob in Brno.
After the end of the war, Emperor Ferdinand III ordered to help the city with money and building material, and also freed citizens for six whole years from taxes and customs duties and issued a number of important privileges, including the right to conduct horse trades. The last privilege was very important at that time, as if today it would be forbidden to sell cars somewhere, well, and then this prohibition would be lifted. The inhabitants of the Brno suburbs who participated in the defense of the city and lost their homes and property were given the rights of Brno citizens free of charge. An old dispute between Brno and the city of Olomouc was finally resolved for the right to be called the capital of Moravia (since the Swedes took it back in the 1642 year, and Brno stood before them, and twice!). Well, Czech students still say that this happened only because there was no student legion in Olomouc!
Field Reiter armor of Duke Johan George II of Saxony. The work of the master Christian Meller, 1650, Dresden. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden. Of course, the armor of commanders of cavalry detachments differed from the armor of mass, almost already mass production, and could represent the most real works of art.
It is always interesting to find out what fate has developed among the participants in certain events afterwards. And this is what is known about this: Jesuit Martin Strzheda, already in 1649, died from tuberculosis, surrounded by the love and respect of the inhabitants of Brno. Condottiere O'Gilvi was appointed Life Commandant Shpilberka, gave him the rank of colonel and the title of baron, so now he became known as Baron von Ogilvy. Huguenot Suchet was also promoted and made a major general and earl. In the service of the Empire over the next 30 years, he was able to rise to field marshal, fought in Poland, Transylvania, and Holland, but he was buried after all in the city of Brno, in the church of St. James, where today behind the altar his tomb can be seen his bronze statue.
The grave of Field Marshal Count Jean-Louis Redui de Suchet in the Cathedral of St. Jacob in Brno. Located behind the altar.
The memory of all these people in Brno is honored to this day. The city has a street Strzhedova, a bust of Suchet and even a restaurant "Ogilvy". By the way, the son of O'Gilvey, Baron Georg Benedict von Ogilvy, also became a commander and fought in three European armies, including the Russian army! In the 1704 year during the Northern War, it was he - the Russian Field Marshal Ogilvy took the fortress of Narva by storm. And he also compiled the first staff list of the Russian army, which operated in it until the 1731 year.
The Battle of White Mountain (Peter Snayers, 1620).
The Imperials knew about the plight of the city. Zrzgertsog Leopold-Wilhelm gave the order to Field Marshal Kolaredo to assist him in any way, and the Marshal sent six hundred cavalrymen from Prague under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Count Vrbny.
Shield and helmet infantryman. Augsburg, 1590. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden. Since it was very difficult to break through the system of pikemen, in the armies of Europe at the end of the 16th century, round shields, which began to arm infantrymen, were revived. On the left and on the right, heavy ones, as called Walloon swords, are exhibited, with which, again, both horsemen and infantrymen fought.
He quickly reached the outskirts of the city and 26 June unexpectedly attacked the Swedes from the rear, trying to give the impression that they were being attacked by a whole army. And this provocation he failed! At some point, the Swedes actually believed that the Imperials were much larger, which caused a fair amount of confusion among them. Taking advantage of this, the Austrians divided into two groups. Two hundred horsemen portrayed the attack of many thousands of Imperial cavalry, while four hundred managed to slip into the city. Of course, four hundred horsemen are not God knows what forces, but the main thing was that they delivered a twenty-kilogram bag of gunpowder to the city of 172. Moreover, only half of the arrivals remained in the city, while the other immediately left it - due to the banal reason for the lack of food.
During the Thirty Years' War, cavalry, dressed in the characteristic "three-piece armor", played a very important role. Now it became not necessary to protect the legs below the knees, but the armor for the torso and for the thighs were improved in a very significant way. Before you are the so-called field armaments of the work of Christian Meller 1620, the Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden.
All of this so outraged the Swedes that they surrounded Brno with an absolutely impassable system of redoubts, ramparts and trenches, and the city was literally cut off from the outside world.
It should be noted that the unification of military uniforms in European armies began only in the second half of the 17th century, and during the Thirty Years' War, it was still in its infancy. That is, the soldiers were dressed according to the principle of "all sorts of different ways", but as insignia of their own from others, ribbons on camisoles and feathers on hats and helmets were of certain colors. For example, the color of the Spaniards and Austrians was red, the Swedes - traditionally yellow, the French - blue, the Dutch - orange. (From the book on stories military uniform, published in Germany in 1905 year.)
Meanwhile, the troops of the ally of the Swedish king, Transylvanian prince Rakosi, 10 of thousands of soldiers, including German infantry, Transylvanian cavalry and Hungarian haiduks, also approached Brno. Torstensson, however, was well aware that there would be little benefit from such an ally, since he was already negotiating with the emperor for a separate truce (although according to the plan, Torstensson and Rakosi should have met under Vienna and jointly take the city).
Horseman's semi-armor by master Jacob Goring, 1640 Year, Dresden. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden.
Meanwhile, the famine in Brno has intensified so much that on August 8 citizens were officially allowed to eat horse meat. Then there was not enough water. The only consolation for them was the prayers and preaching of Martin Strzheda, who, according to Suchet, seemed to take power from Heaven and pass it on to the defenders of the city.
Pistol set mid XVII century. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden.
Pistols with a wheel lock, that is, a mechanism igniting gunpowder in the barrel, precisely in the era of the Thirty Years War, were most prevalent. One of their design features was an almost straight handle. This form was born due to the fact that they only had to shoot at insignificant distances, when the weapon became something of a continuation of the arm. In addition, it helped keep the pistols when fired, because of the large caliber they had a strong return. The round apple on the handle was a counterweight and helped to snatch the weapon from the holster located at the time by the saddle. Usually there were two such holsters - on the left and on the right, and the pistols were put in them with their arms outwards, and not inwards, so that they would not interfere with the saddle. To a pair of pistols, the obligatory accessory was a powder flask-dispenser, usually trimmed with carved or engraved bone, a bag with bullets and ... the key - to start the spring of the pistol wheel! This pair is exhibited in the municipal museum of the city of Meissen, Germany.
Spilberk fortress aerial view.
15 August Torstensson first held a one-hour artillery preparation, and then ordered the start of a general assault. But before that, he promised his soldiers, too, to the exhausted order that he would stop the siege in the event that the city would not be taken until 12 o'clock in the afternoon. He pledged in front of everyone, moreover, most likely, and he swore to God how without it. Meanwhile, many buildings in the city caught fire and were destroyed, and the Swedes moved to the attack in six places at once. At two sites of the city’s defense, they managed to break through it and enter its streets. One of the Špilberk bastions fell, and the Swedish banner splashed on it. The fierce battle boiled right on the streets. Far from all citizens had a weapon, but the city needed to be defended, and people began to fight with pitchforks and axes. Cobblestones were turned out of the city pavement and thrown from the windows at the heads of Swedish soldiers. Both O'Gilvi and Suchet fought here on a par with everyone, wielding their heavy swords. Do not lag behind their men and women. In the church of St. Thomas they took the icon with the face of the Black Madonna and went through the procession of the city, praying for intercession. And the faith of these simple people was so strong that many later swore that they really saw that face in the sky over the city the face of the Mother of God. True, the fact that today the experts prefer not to say anything definite about where this shrine came from, but then, in the 17th century, people sincerely believed that this icon was written by none other than the evangelist Luke himself, and that she would help them. And here the bell ringer from the church on Petrov, seeing the procession from the tower, began to ring the bell, and exactly at 11 hours, that is, an hour before noon. Well, while Torstensson heard this ringing, he decided that ... it was already midday, and, fulfilling his promise, he gave the order to his troops to withdraw, because he could not break the word given to the soldiers. Then he asked for a truce in order to bury his dead and take the wounded, and on August 23 completely lifted the siege from the city, which remained undefeated!
Peter and Paul Cathedral towering over the city of Brno. You can go down to it from the Spilberk fortress along the path through the park, after passing a couple of hundred meters, and there is already the city and the market square, so it’s not surprising why the Swedes were so eager to seize this particular fortress.
Cabbage, it is Green and Market Square. There and today they sell all kinds of greens, fruits and vegetables from their gardens. A bit unusual, but funny. Everything is open-air, but ... very clean, no flies (only bees), and nasty market smells! Immediately behind the fountain is the very interesting Moravian Museum Brno, and behind it, again, the spiers of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul - everything is absolutely there!
The facade of the Cathedral of Peter and Paul.
The very original external cathedral of Peter and Paul Cathedral, with which Martin Strzheda just admonished his fellow citizens to hold on to the end. “God is with us!” He argued and ... it turned out to be so, because otherwise the Swedes would have won.
This is how it has become a tradition since then that the bells on the clock in Brno ring 11 and then beat the 12 again!
It is impossible to photograph in this cathedral, besides, because of the early time, our group was not allowed to go further than the porch, because the floors were rubbed there and the cleaning took place. But outside it could be removed as much as necessary ...
During the siege of the defenders have lost 250 people. The Swedes lost up to eight thousand of their soldiers under the walls of Brno.
View of the altar inside the cathedral of st. Jacob in Brno.
After the end of the war, Emperor Ferdinand III ordered to help the city with money and building material, and also freed citizens for six whole years from taxes and customs duties and issued a number of important privileges, including the right to conduct horse trades. The last privilege was very important at that time, as if today it would be forbidden to sell cars somewhere, well, and then this prohibition would be lifted. The inhabitants of the Brno suburbs who participated in the defense of the city and lost their homes and property were given the rights of Brno citizens free of charge. An old dispute between Brno and the city of Olomouc was finally resolved for the right to be called the capital of Moravia (since the Swedes took it back in the 1642 year, and Brno stood before them, and twice!). Well, Czech students still say that this happened only because there was no student legion in Olomouc!
Field Reiter armor of Duke Johan George II of Saxony. The work of the master Christian Meller, 1650, Dresden. The Armory of the Palace-residence in Dresden. Of course, the armor of commanders of cavalry detachments differed from the armor of mass, almost already mass production, and could represent the most real works of art.
It is always interesting to find out what fate has developed among the participants in certain events afterwards. And this is what is known about this: Jesuit Martin Strzheda, already in 1649, died from tuberculosis, surrounded by the love and respect of the inhabitants of Brno. Condottiere O'Gilvi was appointed Life Commandant Shpilberka, gave him the rank of colonel and the title of baron, so now he became known as Baron von Ogilvy. Huguenot Suchet was also promoted and made a major general and earl. In the service of the Empire over the next 30 years, he was able to rise to field marshal, fought in Poland, Transylvania, and Holland, but he was buried after all in the city of Brno, in the church of St. James, where today behind the altar his tomb can be seen his bronze statue.
The grave of Field Marshal Count Jean-Louis Redui de Suchet in the Cathedral of St. Jacob in Brno. Located behind the altar.
The memory of all these people in Brno is honored to this day. The city has a street Strzhedova, a bust of Suchet and even a restaurant "Ogilvy". By the way, the son of O'Gilvey, Baron Georg Benedict von Ogilvy, also became a commander and fought in three European armies, including the Russian army! In the 1704 year during the Northern War, it was he - the Russian Field Marshal Ogilvy took the fortress of Narva by storm. And he also compiled the first staff list of the Russian army, which operated in it until the 1731 year.
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