Dinner Lecture: The Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War began in Prague, Bohemia, in 1618, stemming from the conflict between the Protestant princes of northern Germany and the Catholic princes of southern Germany. The latter were allied with Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg, who was also Catholic.

This local religious war escalated and became a European political conflict. It drew Denmark, and later Sweden—both major Protestant nations—into the conflict. As for Richelieu and Louis XIII, although they were Catholic, they secretly financed the Protestants to undermine their common enemies, the Habsburgs, before entering the war in 1634.

The war ended in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia, which ceded Alsace to France. It claimed approximately five million lives, mostly civilians, and the population of Alsace was reduced by half.

The speaker, Yves Moritz, is the author of several historical works, including "Dictionnaire Metternich, le cocher de l’Europe".

Fiches associées

• Garden of the blue farm

• Accès handicapé : Entrée plain-pied - rampe

• Animaux acceptés : No

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