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Feb 5, 1555
The Peace of Augsburg
It was held in Augsburg by Ferdinand I, empowered by his brother Charles V, and the peace recognized only the Christianity of Catholics and Lutheranists (Calvinists, for ex., were ignored). It established that every state within the empire can choose its own form of Christianity depending on the preference of the person ruling that state. It was a serious compromise that saved the empire from internal conflicts for the next 50 years. <a href='http://www.britannica.com/event/Peace-of-Augsburg' > -
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King Christian IV of Denmark
King Christian IV of Denmark is the one who left behind himself the Frederiksborg Castle, Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange and the Round Tower, and the famous districts of Christianshavn and Fredericia. However, he was defeated by Ferdinand II during the Danish period and left Denmark in very poor economic condition. Source -
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Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII
Cardinal Richelieu was the chief minister of King Louis XIII. They both had huge ambitions for France's future and supported Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden because they wanted a decentralized Germany. They began the Franco-Spanish conflict and couln't reach peace with Spain until they both left their positions. Source -
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King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was the most prominant figure in the Swedish period who saved Protestant Germany and managed to defeat Wallenstein's army and defend the Protestant ideals even though he died in the same battle. Source -
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Ferdinand of Styria as king of Bohemia
He was a notorious supporter of Catholicism who revoked the religious freedom of Protestants when he became the King of Bohemia. His actions created an international war about religion, but during the Bohemian Period when he was king of Bohemia, he was the big winner. Source -
Defenestration of Prague
It was the response of the Portestants to Ferdinand's desire to revoke their rights and religious freedom. Two officials of Ferdinand were thrown out of the Bohemian Chancellery's windows when a furious crowd entered it. The officials were not harmed, but it was the symbolic beginning of the Bohemian revolt. Source -
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The Bohemian Period
Ferdinand, the archduke of Styria, took over Bohemia and took away the religious freedoms of Protestants. Their response was the Defenstration of Prague - thhrowing his officials out of the windows, which began the Bohemian revolt (1618). Protestants claimed that their ruler will only be Frederick V which resulted in a war that Ferdinand won and Bohemia became Catholic again. Source -
Battle of White Mountain
The army of Ferdinand defeated Frederick V's army (the Palatinate). It was the first military clash of the 30 Years War and proved the dominance of the Catholic forces since they won it for less than two hours. Source -
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Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain was one of the major participants in the Franco-Spanish conflict from the French period. He agreed his daughter Maria Theresa to marry Louis XIV for the sake of peace. Source -
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The Danish Period
Ferdinand II, Maximilian of Bavaria, and Albrecht of Wallenstein against Christian IV of Denmark, who was supporting the Protestants. The Catholicists won. Ferdinand re-emphasized the illegality of Calvinism and required all church lands which the Lutherans possessed since 1552 to be returned back to the church. Source -
Treaty of Lubeck
Wallenstein gave back Holstein to Christian IV under the condition that the King of Denmark had to stop intervening in the German affairs. The Catholics won, and this was the end of the Danish period. Source -
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The Swedish Period
Ferdinand II opposed Gustavus Adoplhus of Sweden who became an influential leader of the Protestants in the empire. Adoplhus was supported by France and Netherlands. Even though initially Sweden started winning the battle, Adolphus was killed by the forces of Wallenstein, Ferdinand's ally. Wallenstein was later executed for attempt of making a secret deal with France and Sweden, and Ferdinand started winning the battle again. Source -
Battle of Lutzen
Albrecht von Wallenstein was defeated by the Swedish army, but Gustavus Adolphus was captured and killed by the emperor's forces. Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar was the one who replaced Adolphus as the leader of the army, and the death of the King actually encouraged the Swedes to fight even more which resulted in their winning of that battle. Source -
The Treaty of Prague
It forbade alliances between the separate states of the Holy Roman Empire which allowed for German princes to unite and be stronger with the emperor. The Protestant States agreed and signed it (most notably Saxony, Bavaria, and Brandenburg), but Sweden refused because they wanted more territory. Source -
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The French Period
France entered the war as an ally of Sweden. Germany was weakened and about 1/3 of its population died because of the war. Ferdinand II died and Ferdinand III took the throne. The peace came in 1648 when it became clear that not only Catholicism will be tolerated within the empire, but other forms of Christianity too. Source -
The Peace of Westphalia
It legally recognized Calvinists and gave the right of the ruler of each land to choose what kind of Christianity his land will preach. It declared Sweden independent from Austria and the Netherlands independent from Spain. Sweden received the desired territory and payment. The Peace affirmed that a hegemony of Catholicism around Europe would be impossible again, and Protestantism will stay. Source -
Treaty of the Pyrenees
It was between Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain and ended the war between the two countries. Louis XIV married Maria Teresa de Austria of Spain which helped him become the most influential monarch in Europe at that time. Catalonia was returned to Spain during the treaty, and France took Roussilon and Artois. Source -
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Maximilian I of Bavaria
He was at first king-elector and later king of Bavaria, also known as the leader of Catholic league. He was an ally to Ferdinand II during the Bohemian revolt, and after its end he received the Palatinate. Source
