What Started the Thirty Years War?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: What Started the Thirty Years War?

Answer: The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) should be remembered as a dark chapter in the history of the Church. The Peace of Augsburg had put an end to the religious wars in Germany for a time. Rulers were now allowed to determine the religion in their own territories. Individuals were not allowed to choose their religion, and not every Protestant group was included. The peace was fragile.

Emperor Rudolf II had become the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1576). Tensions started to surface in 1606 when the imperial city of Donauwörth had chosen Protestantism. A few Catholics remained in the monastery. When they went out into the city they were attacked with clubs and stones. In 1607 Duke Maximilian of Bavaria came to Donauwörth with an army to force the people to convert to Catholicism, which violated the peace. This, in turn, led to the Protestants coming together in 1608 to form the Evangelical Union. Meanwhile, the Catholics formed the Catholic League.

Further events in Bohemia added to the buildup to war. Most of the population was Protestant (seen as heretical in the eyes of the Catholics). Ferdinand (King of Bohemia) was a loyal Catholic. Catholics had closed Protestant chapels. The Royal Council in Prague refused to listen to the objections of the people, and the Protestants threw two of the King’s advisors out of a window (known as the Defenestration of Prague). This became the spark that lit the fire known as the Thirty Years War. It became one of the bloodiest wars in European history (7.5 million people died during this time).