The Winter campaign of 1033
In the winter of 1033 emperor Konrad II besieged the castle of Murten (in today’s Switzerland). It was a miserably cold winter, a winter so cold that the horses would literally freeze into the ground over night so that they could only be freed with axes and stakes. The men were constantly frozen so that […]
Episode 238 – The Habsburg Empire at its Zenith
By the Middle of the 16th century the Habsburg empire reached its largest extent as well as its biggest challenge to date at the Siege of Vienna
Episode 237 – From the Treaty of Madrid to the Sack of Rome (1527)
in 1525, Charles V had his main opponent, the French King Francois I in his power. Still, 2 years later his soldiers sacked Rome and he was about to lose it all again..
Episode 236 – Emperor Charles V (1520-1555) – The Battle of Pavia
There is one moment in the 16th century when the political picture flips – the battle of Pavia. Nothing will ever be the same…
Episode 235 – The Youth and Election of the Emperor Charles V (1520-1555)
Charles V grew up to become the most powerful European monarch in centuries, but most of his youth was spent in thrall to his advisors
Episode 234 – The Charisma of Emperor Maximilian (1493-1519)
The first politician to fully exploit the opprtunities presented by the printing press was the emperor Maximilian I whose massive program of publications drew in artists like Albrecht Dürer, Hans Burgkmair and Albrecht Altdorfer and laid the foundation for the “Erbcharisma” der Habsburger
Episode 233 – Last Days and Legacy
Maximilian I died in 1519 – leaving behind the foundations of the Habsburg Empire. What of this was truly his legacy and what just chance….
Episode 232 – From Mehmet the Conqueror to Selim the Grim (1444-1520)
Between the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the ascent of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottomans doubled their empire, but did not attack Western Europe – why?
Episode 231 – Marrying Bohemia and Hungary
The Habsburgs did not acquire the Hungarian and Bohemian crowns in one wedding night, it was an overnights success 250 years in the making
Episode 230 – The League of Cambrai
The Italian wars begin for real in 1508 when Margaret of Austria puts together the League of Cambrai to rescue her father, the now “Emperor” Maximilian I
Episode 229 – How the Habsburgs gained Spain
Did the Habsburgs gain Spain in the horizontal? Was Joanna of Spain really mad or just mad at/about her husband? Was Philipp just handsome or playing chess with Louis XII to unify Europe? Questions, questions….