Introduction
On 29 07.1474 marches Charles the Bold, "the grace of God Duke of Burgundy, Lorraine, of Brabant, Limburg, Luxembourg and Geldern, Count of Flanders, of Artois, of Burgundy (Franche-Comte), Count Palatine of Hainault, of Holland, Zeeland, of Namur and Zutphen, Margrave of the Holy Empire, Lord of Friesland, Salins and of Mechlin, "as he could name at that time," the finest army he ever had, especially in mounted men, and a very large and powerful artillery "Maastricht ago on the city of Neuss on the Lower Rhine in the Electorate of Cologne.
The Burgundian region
About twenty thousand men, not counting auxiliary troops and baggage, were the ones he had summoned, and never was a campaign by him so long and been so thoroughly prepared like this. An invitation to surrender to the Duke, had the city earlier politely but firmly rejected, on a renewal of the demand for surrender, now, in the face of the army, answered the people with scorn and derision, the Council found it difficult to delegates sure to escort out of town. The next day the Duke began the siege. Burgundian cavalry, Picardy soldiers, mercenaries from Lombardy, English archers, quotas Dutch city militia of Flanders herbeordert to funds put a ring around the city, which closed only after two important for the replenishment of both sides of the Rhine islands on the east side, the in the first few days had changed hands several times, finally fell into the hands of the Lombards, and from now on - remained closed the whole time - not quite impenetrable.
The Duke had expected, he took with his brilliant and formidable army, the best that then existed in Europe appear to be just, and it would take a few days until the city would. But he "hit things harder, as he had expected." The small, well fortified, and was by successful resistance against a number of previous sieges had become self-conscious city and had been warned early on warnings not thrown to the winds. Charles the Bold, the summer before that in the immediate vicinity of the Duchy of funds, is busy in internal quarrels of the reigning family, between father and son sent switch-on, almost effortlessly had - had the Meuse city Roermond and Venlo arise without much resistance, Nijmegen, the capital , was dropped after a short siege - had given every indication that Neuss would be the next target of his Rhenish policy of conquest.
The occasion offered him internal conflict over the chair, Archbishop of Cologne, and therefore, as the archbishop more than two centuries, the dignity of an elector of the empire was coming to the Electorate of Cologne. The acting Archbishop Ruprecht, a brother of the Elector Frederick of the Palatinate and also a distant relative of Charles the Bold, had with the citizens of Cologne, then the largest city of the empire, fallen and had been driven from her, he sought refuge and assistance for the recovery of his worldly and spiritual power of the Burgundian duke, and found all hope of it - not without calling him a large sum of money and territorial rights in the Electorate of Cologne in this view. Cologne had been the brother of the reigning Landgrave of Hesse, the young Hermann of Hesse, previously elected canon of the city, the administrator of the archdiocese. Among the cities that were entered at the earliest and most outspoken on his side, while others were still at Ruprecht, was one of Neuss.
The "Holy Cologne" direct attack, had Charles, although it had been feared by the inhabitants, not daring. First, it seemed to him too much as long as its outposts had not fallen, on the other hand he had to assume that an attack on this city the resistance of the empire, and that his free cities, as well as his electors and even his timid emperor, Habsburg Frederick III., had challenged, contrary to the usual inertia in the hour of danger. But Neuss: what is the name of this town in the kingdom meant? The Duke, however, the city meant a lot. For him it was the bar, was about to leave he, in order to open the door to the Middle Rhine with violence and the left bank of the country on him to win easily translucent Kurtrierer and Kurmainzer areas and the already sympathizing with him Palatinate way up to Strasbourg and Basel and pledged to bring him to the Austrian foreland in the Upper Rhine under his rule. Upstream from the mouth up to Cleves approached, he had the Rhine already in possession, the Duchy of Cleves, joined by relatives of the reigning house since ancient times to the House of Burgundy was one, long to his allies, and the north of Neuss to the Rhine, extending county Moers, was because the Count 'had held with the Geldrern been occupied by him and the dukes of Jülich and Berg, politically unstable, since time immemorial and the kingdom of Burgundy, the Duke himself tended to the more, the greater its power was . Electorate of Cologne only put him Ruprecht after the expulsion of his protégé as a barrier in the way of the middle Rhine. And the most advanced base to the northwest, not a day's march of his lands and money from Limburg, the title of duke, he was wearing, was Neuss. Charles the Bold Dream of the renewal of the ancient kingdom of Lorraine between France and the Rhine, for which he claimed the crown, should start in Neuss, to gain reality.
"At the time, went to the country in question: Had the Duke Neuss taken, it would have been reason to fear that many large countries and cities would become the Duke will, because he at that time in distant countries after several victories, the he had suffered in France, the country of Liege and in money, and it was feared by his great power of countries, people and wealth.
The war in Neuss 'Burgundy Esch legend' of 1477
And were therefore above the Rhine and down because of his threatening words many monasteries and beautiful residential buildings that were outside the walls of the cities, abandoned. In Strasbourg, Bonn, Cologne and elsewhere in Saxony, in Lübeck and in Friesland "As described a Cologne chronicler of the general mood in the country at the time when Charles the Bold is getting ready for the siege of Neuss. He was not the only one who expressed these concerns, in Erfurt, as in lions thought and wrote it will not be different.
To this lofty, yet well-prepared plans Resistance to oppose, had Cologne the Landgrave Hermann along with a few hundred men sent him accompanying knighthood from his country and several hired by the City of mercenary troops in the threatened Neuss, before the Duke, under the general customs of war before the harvest, was approaching . The city had been put into a state of defense, they had also taken out of their own money in mercenary service. From the surrounding country were corn and other perishable foods have been stored in large quantities, from the Rhine and Moselle had bought at wine larger stocks than usual, before the approaching enemy, the livestock of the farming community, but also the farmers of neighboring Döffer, "not by the law of war, but because of the necessity, in virtue of which everything belongs to everybody, "driven into the city, two old, driven by horse-power mills, which had been abolished in case of emergency, were again made ready for use. Among the armed men to defend themselves were a number of Liege, who had to pay the city provided. Of the ore and coal deposits used to work in their home and under the earth and particularly adept, they were later in Neuss in digging trenches and tunnels, as well as blasting out. Their presence has helped in the Rhine lands already vivid reminder of the terrible destruction of the Burgundians had not yet six years before preparing the neighboring city of Liege, to keep current.
Not least of these preparations, especially the will to resist the militia, and they reinforced mercenaries and knights, led by the military genius of the young Landgrave to that of the Burgundy proved to be in this position as an equal was to be thanked, that Neuss the siege could withstand the "Burgundian" almost a year, until it was exhausted, terrified by the imperial army under the Emperor at last. It is because of his reluctance to the emperor, who took ten months to raise an army and to appear with this before Neuss, and then the Burgundians still left the field, political - strategic vision, so badly not deny its military vigor was : A defeated Burgundy would be too easy prey of the background lurking king of France, his true implacable enemy, become, the Habsburg but aimed remains with the reversion of Burgundy to the empire (or to his power base) through marriage, the sole heiress Mary's Maximilian's son - a lenient end of the affair Neuss, possibly an honorable withdrawal was sensitive to the Duke in his honor at the other most, without doing damage to the cause of Cologne. The long-desired marriage of Frederick since the two young heirs land was kept secret from Neuss, first, done deal.
Charles the Bold departed, without having taken the city, but also undefeated. However, he left his camp before Neuss "as hard-hinged and in all things poor have become man," as they did not notice at the French court without malice: "He had before Neuss four thousand men that were in his pay, lost, died with them part of the best people he had. "Not even ten years throughout the reigns of Charles the Bold of Burgundy has, for nearly a year of which he has tirelessly appealing and anführend spent in the field in front of Neuss. Such a long uninterrupted absence from his country had a fatal for him. The face fixed upon the stubbornly reluctant city, he could not prevent himself contracted behind his back the spoils. While he was besieging Neuss, he announced Duke René of Lorraine on the loyalty and invaded with fire and sword in his country of Luxembourg, ravaged and pillaged Louis XI. of France him his northern countries Picardy, Artois and Hainault, and in the south of Burgundy himself, refused him the flandischen cities obedience, he said Basel to the war, agreed the Swiss with the Upper Rhine towns, joined forces, the Confederates that the emperor military service to Neuss repulsed, with France, sent him Bern, the Emperor urged on behalf of all the confederates, the declaration of war, waiting IV in England, King Edward, he finally had to actionable allies can win for him in vain for joint action against France: as he was able to deduct from Neuss, without, as he thought he had suffered in his loss of honor, it was too much too late. After seven of the Contemporaries also in the violent years of the reign of Charles the Bold, bright Neuss was the beginning of the end of his reign. There sat down, after the brief interlude of the restoration of his power in the fallen Lorraine, a year after the siege of Neuss on in the defeat of Grandson and Morat by the Swiss and completed in early 1477 before Nancy, and a half years after the lifting of the siege of Neuss , by the death in battle. A small town that wanted to say anything but itself, has taken five hundred years ago a turning point in Western European history.