Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583 – 1634) was a Bohemian-born general who served as supreme commander for Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II in the Thirty Years' War. He raised an army of tens of thousands at his own expense and offered it to the emperor, becoming Duke of Friedland and Duke of Mecklenburg in return; dismissed in 1630, he was recalled when the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus advanced and faced him at Lützen in 1632. In 1634, suspected of treason, he was murdered by his own officers at Eger (modern Cheb in the Czech Republic).
| Lived | 1583 – 1634 |
|---|---|
| Active in | Bohemia · Moravia · northern Holy Roman Empire (Mecklenburg, Saxony) |
| Known for | Imperial supreme commander in the Thirty Years' War; Duke of Friedland |
| Game start | 1618 · age 35 · Colonel of the Moravian Estates (knightly rank) — The Prague window |
Life at a glance
- 1583 Born on 24 September into a Protestant family of minor nobility at Heřmanice in Bohemia; by about twelve he has lost both parents.
- c. 1606 Converts to Catholicism. In 1608 the astronomer Kepler casts his horoscope.
- 1609 Marries the rich widow Lucretia Nekšová, and when she dies in 1614 he inherits large estates in Moravia.
- 1619 When the Bohemian revolt spreads to Moravia, he goes over to the emperor in Vienna, taking the regimental chest from Olomouc.
- 1625 Buying up land confiscated after the Battle of the White Mountain, he becomes Duke of Friedland, and with an army raised at his own expense becomes imperial supreme commander. The next year he wins at the Dessau Bridge.
- 1628 Becomes Duke of Mecklenburg, but fails to take the Baltic port of Stralsund.
- 1630 Dismissed at the electoral diet of Regensburg at the demand of princes who fear his power.
- 1632 Recalled after the defeat at Breitenfeld, he holds off the Swedes at the Alte Veste and faces them at Lützen on 16 November. Gustavus Adolphus is killed in that battle.
- 1634 In January he takes an oath of loyalty from his officers at Pilsen, but the emperor dismisses him and declares him a traitor. He is murdered at Eger on 25 February.
Family
The family members who appear with this character when you start the game. Years follow the historical record; where none survives, a ? is shown.
| Relation | Name | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | Wilhelm von Wallenstein | ? – 1595 | Lord of Heřmanice |
| Mother | Markéta Smiřická | ? – 1593 | Of the great Bohemian Smiřický family |
| First wife | Lucretia Nekšová | ? – 1614 | Heiress of Landek, married 1609. Already dead when the game starts |
| Second wife | Isabella Katharina von Harrach | 1601 – 1655 | Daughter of Count Harrach, a confidant of the emperor; married 1623. In the game she enters your life later |
In the game
You begin in May 1618 in Moravia as a colonel of thirty-five, just as news arrives that the emperor's regents have been thrown out of a window in Prague. You live on the estates left by your wife Lucretia, who died four years ago, and a horoscope lies in your drawer. Your cousin Jaroslav, the paymaster, his Protestant cousins and the Brethren pastor Jan Bartoš are the people of this life.
In the first event, “Out of the window”, you choose whether to write to Vienna, pay the regiment in advance to keep the soldiers' loyalty, or open the horoscope again. As 1622's “The long coinage” and 1625's “Twenty thousand at my own expense” show, the power of this life comes from gold, and when the emperor calls you back in the winter of 1631 at Jičín, the terms on which you return follow you to the nights at Pilsen and Eger.
The turning point is “Breitenfeld”. Your dismissal at Regensburg in 1630 is its eve. If the Swedish king wins, real history runs through the Alte Veste, the fog of Lützen and the oath of Pilsen to the night at Eger in 1634; if the emperor wins, another branch runs to the end in which you become general of the Baltic and look towards the crown of Bohemia.
- Scenario guide The Prague window
- Era guide Renaissance and the Age of Discovery
- Related turning points What if the Emperor had won the Battle of Breitenfeld?
Frequently asked questions
Why was Wallenstein murdered?
Emperor Ferdinand II suspected that he was holding a huge army like a private force and negotiating secretly with Sweden, Saxony and France to betray him. After the emperor secretly dismissed him and declared him a traitor in January 1634, on 25 February at Eger Irish and Scottish officers killed his close associates, and Captain Devereux ran him through with a halberd in his bedroom. Whether he really plotted treason is still debated.
How did Wallenstein raise such a large army?
After the Bohemian revolt he bought up confiscated land cheaply and was involved in minting coin, amassing a great fortune; he then raised an army on his own money and credit and offered it to the emperor. The army was kept up by contributions levied in occupied territory, a method summed up in the phrase “war feeds war”.
Are there works about Wallenstein?
The most famous is the dramatic trilogy Wallenstein, completed in 1799 by the German poet Friedrich Schiller. Schiller also wrote a history of the Thirty Years' War, and his play made Wallenstein widely known as a tragic figure of ambition and fate.
Sources
Friedrich Schiller, History of the Thirty Years' War; Golo Mann, Wallenstein (biography); general histories of the Thirty Years' War.