POPULARITY
Emperor Ferdinand of the Hapsburg empire has entrusted his ceremonial gold curtains to the governor of Prague, Rudolf, who has in turn entrusted them to his chamberlain Hradek. When the curtains go missing, the blame falls quickly on the Jews, who have entrusted everything to Hashem and are miraculously saved through the intercession of the famous MaHaRal of Prague
Get your tickets to Intelligent Speech Conference now! It's on Saturday 25 June, so don't delay! Matchlock and the Rebel is out NOW! Grab your copy of this Thirty Years' War historical fiction series here.Wallenstein exhausts Emperor Ferdinand's patience, the Battle of Nordlingen ushers in a new era of Habsburg supremacy, and an Austro-Spanish alliance is forged just in time to meet France on the battlefield. 1633 may have been quiet, but 1634 would prove the most consequential year of the war yet. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
By late 1628, the Habsburgs appeared supreme. The Danes were on the ropes, and all of the Empire was firmly in the grip of Wallenstein. But appearances were deceptive. The Emperor's triumph was assured, but his cousins were having less luck. Spanish problems in North Italy demanded a united Habsburg response. Spain needed all the help it could get in its Dutch War, but it was the North Italian front, specifically in Mantua, that the Spanish seemed most invested.Wallenstein was even petitioned. He could spare some men, right? Well, actually, keeping the German peace was a difficult enough task, and the Emperor didn't make it any easier! Flush with victory, Emperor Ferdinand issued the Edict of Restitution, a document so ill-timed and contentious, it changed everything. The Empire had soured on the Emperor and his trusty generalissimo. The Edict was the final straw. By summer 1630, Wallenstein was dismissed to appease Vienna's court, just as Germany was fracturing internally, and a new threat appeared on the scene. It was the King of Sweden, and Wallenstein had been warning of his arrival for some time. Worse, he was backed by French money, and a France newly freed from its own domestic troubles. The Thirty Years' War had truly begun.**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) Matchlock and the Embassy, our new historical fiction novel, is out NOW! Get it here Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
At the beginning of 1618, the Holy Roman Empire is at peace. By the end of the year, there is a rebellion in Bohemia, and Protestants and Catholics throughout the empire are at each others' throats. In the Third Defenestration of Prague, Bohemian Protestants, tired of royal abuses, have literally thrown Emperor Ferdinand's royal representatives out the window. This local revolt could have been restrained to Bohemia. But Emperor Ferdinand makes a series of blunders and overreaches that draw outside powers into the war. Within a few years, the Thirty Years' War will engulf much of Europe. Check out The History Voyager podcast, with Ben Kitchings: https://t.co/lD9RQOe76R?amp=1 SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE! Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q Subscribe on Google Music: https://bit.ly/30hUTRD Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo RSS feed: https://bit.ly/2R0Iosz Relevant History on Twitter: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm Relevant History SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/relevant-history Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4 Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vR4-v4x0gAnLnaeUbjZI-9RLq-xUKtYGVAdrFOrMG0u8Ua1NdlZCOglorMelWZx1BinAah5aKKJkYSr/pub Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan
Welcome to the Thirty Years War...like you've never seen it before! Learn here how the personal rivalry and hatred between Emperor Ferdinand and his subject Frederick pushed Europe to the brink of the abyss...Over three decades, this history spat out a wide range of fascinating stories and tales, but in this episode I'm going to focus on one in particular - the incredible story of Frederick V's rise, fall then rise and then fall again! It's a winding tale, but it's also emblematic of the wider war, which could make winners out of loser in the space of a day, and where everything, across the continent of Europe itself, could be changed.This is the Thirty Years War at its most dramatic and captivating, and I believe if we look at the story of Frederick from the beginning, the escalation of the conflict into the 30 year mess we know today makes much more sense. Frederick's departure represented the beginning of a free for all for the sake of power and influence, but so long as he was alive, Frederick's rivalry with Emperor Ferdinand did more than any other relationship to further the war's flames, until virtually every power of consequence was sucked into the vortex.Sure, you could listen to the real story of the Thirty Years' War, but why not listen to a fictional story, set during this same period? Matchlock is a historical fiction series set during the Thirty Years' War, beginning in 1622, when Matthew Lock lands in Europe to investigate the brutal murder of his parents. If epic drama, conflict and adorable characters are your thing, Matchlock will be ideal for you!Order your copy of Matchlock and the Embassy by clicking here. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Did you miss it? We're launching a historical fiction series called Matchlock, and beginning with Matchlock and the Embassy! Read here to see how it'll affect patrons, and read here to find out more about the series generally - you're gonna love this!The war was going well for Emperor Ferdinand by 1629, fallout from the Edict of Restitution notwithstanding, but the Habsburg dynasty wasn't based in Vienna alone. Over in Madrid, things by 1629, with the Dutch war, were beginning to look increasingly dicey. How did such things happen, especially when the Dutch were brought to such a low ebb by 1625? Well, let's find out, we we trace the story of Dutch deliverance, beginning with a now famous scene. In 1625, the new Stadholder, Frederick Henry, faced a terrible challenge. The siege of Breda was nearing its end, and the Spanish success seemed guaranteed. But this was Maurice's greatest conquest, and if it fell, just as the legendary Maurice died, surely that didn't bode well for the beleaguered Republic? All that was left to do, was grin and bear it.**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) For everything else, visit our website!5) For merchandise including tees and mugs, all you have to do is click here!6) Get our new Thirty Years War book, For God or the Devil! Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Keep an eye out for a huge announcement, in the two news episodes!Emperor Ferdinand had it all. The Habsburg dynasty had never been so supreme, and his enemies had been utterly vanquished. But it was not enough for him, or the Jesuits that whispered in his ear. They wanted more than victory, they wanted spiritual triumph as well and to do this, they would risk everything. The Edict of Restitution was the fruit of the Emperor's triumph, but it would prove a bridge too far. Listen here to find out why, what the Edict entailed, and how everything was about to change for the Habsburgs, at the worst possible time.**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) For everything else, visit our website!5) For merchandise including tees and mugs, all you have to do is click here!6) Get our new Thirty Years War book, For God or the Devil! Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
By late 1626, Emperor Ferdinand was riding high. But this season of triumph was not enough. Ferdinand had bigger dreams than the mere destruction of his enemies. He imagined a new world order, where threats to the Habsburg dynasty ceased to exist, and the Catholic Church bloomed. Sound too tyrannical and storybook to be true? Judge for yourself. After turning down the best opportunity for a German peace in summer 1627, it was hard to avoid the impression that the Habsburgs were going for broke, and aimed at nothing less than total victory. To create their supremacy under the force of so many Habsburg levies, the dynasty would have to ignore many ill-omens on the way. Perhaps the greatest ill-omen of all was the idea that the Emperor could only push Europe so far, before it united against him. The lesson was heard, but it was not learned. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Check out Sharp Mind Media, where Anna and I are releasing Sudoku books, colouring books, and we have huge plans to make even more! For screen-free entertainment in a screen-filled world, Sharp Mind Media is for you!With the King of Denmark on the march, and the net closing in on him, Emperor Ferdinand was forced to go big or go home. So instead, he went big, VERY big. He turned to Albrecht von Wallenstein, thus far his most important loan shark and self-made millionaire, not to mention influential landowner. What would be the consequences if the Emperor created his own private army, answerable to nobody but him? In fact, you could argue that this was the moment when the war became the conflict we know today. Ferdinand raised the stakes, and those stakes would eventually swallow him whole.**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) For everything else, visit our website!5) For merchandise including tees and mugs, all you have to do is click here!6) Get our new Thirty Years War book, For God or the Devil! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Winter King had to carry on, and over November 1619- April 1620, he did just that. Frederick embarked on his royal progress, doing his best to persuade those he met that he was legit, and that his regime was here to stay. He had no other choice - Emperor Ferdinand was gathering his allies, and on the Habsburg side of the ledger, the omens were not good for the Elector Palatine. One by one, as 1620 progressed, his allies left his side.Frederick was unfortunate to have to rely on people who had their own agendas. The Dutch were preparing for the resumption of the war with Spain; Brandenburg was terrified into quiescence, and his own father in law James I and VI was doing his best to arrange a grand partnership with a Spanish match. In short, the Winter King was alone, with only his increasingly anxious Bohemian subjects for company, and a looming threat of doom just over the horizon...**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) For everything else, visit our website!5) For merchandise including tees and mugs, all you have to do is click here!6) Get our new Thirty Years War book, For God or the Devil! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Have some spare time on YouTube? Why not check out friends of the show Kings & Generals? They're even bigger history nerds than me! (well...) Last time in our 30 Years War story, Frederick V, a big time German ruler with small time power, accepted the Crown of Bohemia, and Europe seemed to breathe a sigh of shock. Some were shocked of course, but others were positively bouncing, and excited for the potential of what Freddy could achieve. All that was required to happen was for his friends and allies and relatives to stand up and be counted, and Emperor Ferdinand wouldn't stand a chance. Against the combined forces of England, Denmark, the Netherlands and countless Protestants in Germany, what chance did Emperor Ferdinand have? In fact, the Emperor was as cynical as he was fortunate - fortunate to have friends who depended on him as much as he depended on them. Bavaria and Spain, motivated by much more than religious and familial ties, could not afford to let this opportunity slide.Was Frederick doomed as soon as he set out for Bohemia, or were matters outside of his control? As he marched for Prague, there was no shortage of promises and declarations in his favour, but a disconcerting shortage of practical contributions. This was the first sign of many that matters were perhaps not as rosy as Frederick had believed, but he pressed on regardless. Frederick set up his regime in Prague, making a grand impression upon the Bohemians, being joined by his wife Elizabeth, in addition to their infant children. Optimism was not hard to find, even if the omens were not good. There was a reason why history determined Frederick and Elizabeth the Winter King and Queen, and Frederick was about to find out precisely what it was…**DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) For everything else, visit our website, where you'll find the shop, archive, and much more!5) To purchase merchandise of all sorts, including mugs, books and clothing, check out our Merchants' Quarter6) Get our new Thirty Years War book, For God or the Devil! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Welcome to the Thirty Years War...like you've never seen it before! Learn here how the personal rivalry and hatred between Emperor Ferdinand and his subject Frederick pushed Europe to the brink of the abyss...Over three decades, this history spat out a wide range of fascinating stories and tales, but in this episode I'm going to focus on one in particular - the incredible story of Frederick V's rise, fall then rise and then fall again! It's a winding tale, but it's also emblematic of the wider war, which could make winners out of loser in the space of a day, and where everything, across the continent of Europe itself, could be changed.This is the Thirty Years War at its most dramatic and captivating, and I believe if we look at the story of Frederick from the beginning, the escalation of the conflict into the 30 year mess we know today makes much more sense. Frederick's departure represented the beginning of a free for all for the sake of power and influence, but so long as he was alive, Frederick's rivalry with Emperor Ferdinand did more than any other relationship to further the war's flames, until virtually every power of consequence was sucked into the vortex.I hope you'll listen in to see what you think, and I hope listeners new and old will be able to take something from this story too. What's your favourite story, and do you have a pressing question you need answered about this conflict? Then be sure to tune into our Q&A on Wed 16 September, and make sure you send YOUR QUESTIONS into me as well, because I want to answer them!********DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THESE LINKS!**1) To support the podcast financially in return for some extra audio content, check out Patreon!2) To find a community of history friends, look at our Facebook page and group!3) To keep up to date with us, follow us on Twitter!4) For everything else, visit our website, where you'll find the shop, archive, and much more!5) To purchase merchandise of all sorts, including mugs, books and clothing, check out our Merchants' Quarter6) Get our new Thirty Years War book, For God or the Devil! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The Battle of White Mountain was the decisive battle of the early part of the Thirty Years' War. The Thirty Years' War really began in Prague when the Protestant nobility of Bohemia threw the Catholic representatives of King Ferdinand out of a window. Because Ferdinand was also the Holy Roman Emperor, he was able to amass a large army against Bohemia. Meanwhile, Bohemia would elect a new King, the very Protestant Frederick V, Elector Palatine. This elevated Frederick from a minor prince to a King, and was seen to provide a variety of Protestant alliances for the Bohemians. They needed it, because Emperor Ferdinand had gathered his own army, which was much better trained and drilled under the command of Johann Tsercales, Count of Tilly. Tilly's army carved through Western Bohemia, and easily came upon Prague in the late fall of 1620. The Bohemian army came out to meet Tilly's force at White Mountain near Prague, where they were routed. Almost as soon as any engagement took place, the Bohemian army fled the field. Frederick and his family needed to flee Prague, and Ferdinand would reclaim the throne of Bohemia, re-Catholicizing the nation by force.
Vienna Hofburg - Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection
The Old French Centrepiece was commissioned in Paris in 1838 on the occasion of Emperor Ferdinand’s coronation as king of Lombardy-Venetia in Milan. However, it is not known who made this piece. At court it was customary to keep large foreign commissions secret or to arrange them via the offices of the Grand Comptroller in order to avoid offending Viennese craftsmen. The centrepiece is made of gilded bronze. The rectangular mirror plateaus would have reflected the candlelight from the girandoles or candelabra. The figurative decoration and the soft, curving tendrils evoke an impression of elegant grandeur.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Vienna Hofburg - Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection
This white and gold dinner service was acquired for Emperor Ferdinand in 1851. Ferdinand, nicknamed “the Good-Natured” by the people, abdicated from the throne during the course of the bourgeois revolution of 1848 in favour of his young nephew, Franz Joseph. Ferdinand subsequently moved to the fortress at Prague, where he lived in quiet retirement until his death in 1875. The white and gold dinner service was ordered for his new household in Prague from the porcelain manufactory of the Counts of Thun at Klösterle in Bohemia. The design of the service was the very height of fashion at that time. Tastes had changed around the middle of the century, with the emphatically clear lines of the Biedermeier era giving way to a softer, more flowing formal idiom. The rich gold decoration expresses the growing need to demonstrate feudal magnificence, a tendency that also made itself felt at the imperial Viennese court.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
Vienna Hofburg - Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum, Silver Collection
The monumental Milan centrepiece was commissioned for the coronation of Emperor Ferdinand as king of Lombardy-Venetia in 1838. It is the most elaborate ensemble in the Imperial Silver Collection and together with its mirror plateaus it can be extended to a length of 30 metres. On the central piece you can see the allegorical figures of Lombardia with her mural crown and a horn of plenty together with Venetia with the doge’s cap and the lion of St Mark, while around the rim of the plateau dancing genii alternate with candelabra. Standing before this impressive centrepiece one can vividly imagine the magnificence of imperial banquets, with the tables decorated with luxuriant bouquets of flowers as well as arrangements of fruit and sweetmeats. The Classicistic figures on the centrepiece derive from the tradition of Baroque table decorations which, depending on the occasion for the meal, drew on elements of the classical pantheon, or the arts of war or love.www.hofburg-wien.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.
The portraits in this room show the emperors from the end of the 18th century, starting with Maria Theresa‘s son Leopold II, who followed Joseph II on the throne. Beside him is his son Franz, the last Holy Roman Emperor. In 1806, under pressure from the military victories won by Napoleon, he dissolved the Holy Roman Empire and proclaimed the Empire of Austria. Thus Franz II became the first emperor of Austria as Franz I. Following the Habsburg tradition of pursuing alliances by marriage to acquire influence and territory rather than by waging war, he married his eldest daughter Marie Louise to Napoleon, and his second daughter Leopoldine to the emperor of Brazil. Her portrait is displayed here on the easel. The other portraits show Emperor Ferdinand and his wife Maria Anna. Ferdinand was the eldest son of Emperor Franz and was popularly known by the affectionate nickname of “Ferdinand the Kind-hearted”. He was epileptic and incapable of ruling. The real ruler of the Austrian monarchy during that period was State Chancellor Metternich, who was known as the “coachman of Europe” for the way he controlled European policy with his skilful diplomatic manoeuvrings. www.schoenbrunn.at | Download Tour-Guide (PDF)© by Schloß Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.