Captured within this seemingly peaceful landscape is a history of a dramatic clash. This is White Mountain near Prague. It is a place where the course of Czech history was forever altered.
White Mountain witnessed the Battle of White Mountain on November 8 1620. The battle had a profound impact. It shaped the fate of the Czech lands for the next three centuries. Czech history distinguishes between pre and post White Mountain periods.
Back then in the early 17th century, Bohemia was a kingdom of dual faith. Most Bohemian estates had large Protestant populations. But the Holy Roman Empire was predominantly Catholic. Protestants had been granted rights. These rights allowed them varying degrees of religious and political freedom.
Ferdinand II became Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia in 1617. He was a devout Catholic. He wanted to impose absolutist rule on Bohemia. He also wanted to encourage conversion to the Catholic faith. Many Bohemian Protestants feared losing their properties. They also feared losing their traditional semi-autonomy.
In May 1618, Bohemian noblemen aired their grievances. They met representatives of the Emperor at Prague Castle. The meeting ended dramatically. Two representatives and their scribe were thrown out of a high window. This was the Third Defenestration of Prague. It triggered the Bohemian Revolt.
In November 1619, Frederick V was chosen as King of Bohemia. He was a Calvinist. Ferdinand II set out to conquer Bohemia in 1620. He wanted to make an example of the rebels.
The Protestant army had 30000 men. Ferdinand countered with 25000 men. Field Marshal Tilly led Ferdinand’s army. Tilly’s army included Imperial troops and soldiers of the German Catholic League. Even René Descartes was present as an official observer.
The Imperial army headed for Prague. The Bohemian army tried to block them. They set up defensive positions. The Imperial army bypassed them. Christian of Anhalt gained an advantageous position on White Mountain. But he had little time to set up defensive works.
Enthusiasm was low on both sides. Christian of Anhalt’s army had been reduced to 15000 men. The mercenaries had not been paid. Winter was approaching. Conditions were not ideal.
On November 8, a small Imperial force probed the Protestant flank. The Bohemians retreated. Tilly sent reinforcements. The Bohemian flank began to crumble. Anhalt sent forward infantry and cavalry. The cavalry charged into the Imperial infantry. Tilly countered with his own cavalry. He forced the Bohemian horsemen to retire. The Bohemian infantry retreated as well.
The Bohemian army was no match for Ferdinand’s troops. The battle lasted only an hour. About 4000 Protestants were killed or captured. Imperial losses amounted to only about 700.
After the battle, Tilly entered Prague. The revolt collapsed. King Frederick fled the country. Forty-seven leaders of the insurrection were put on trial. Twenty-seven of them were executed in Prague’s Old Town Square. An estimated five-sixths of the Bohemian nobility went into exile. Their properties were confiscated.
Emperor Ferdinand ordered all Calvinists and non-Lutherans to leave the realm. He forbade practice of the Lutheran faith. By 1627, most Bohemians converted. But a significant Protestant minority remained.
The population in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown declined by about a third. The battle brought two centuries of recatholicization. The Czech-speaking aristocracy declined. The Czech language declined as well.
The Battle of White Mountain is arguably the most decisive battle of the Thirty Years War. It achieved something that lasted. The political settlement and redistribution of property lasted until 1948. Descendants of the beneficiaries were expropriated by the Communist regime.
White Mountain remains a significant site. It serves as a reminder of a pivotal moment. This moment reshaped the Czech lands. The echoes of the battle still resonate. They remind us of the struggles for religious freedom. They also remind us of the fight for political autonomy.