Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, also von Waldstein, was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). His successful martial career made him one of the richest and most influential men in the Holy Roman Empire by the time of his death. Wallenstein became the supreme commander of the armies of the Imperial Army of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and was a major figure of the Thirty Years' War.
Portrait by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, after a 1629 original by Anthony van Dyck
Isabelle von Harrach, Wallenstein's second wife
Wallenstein depicted as Mars, the god of war, riding the sky in a chariot pulled by four horses. Ceiling decoration in the main hall of the Wallenstein Palace
The battle of Lützen was one of the most important battles of the Thirty Years' War, in which the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus was killed.
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, or disease, while parts of present-day Germany reported population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, the Torstenson War, the Dutch-Portuguese War, and the Portuguese Restoration War.
Left to right: The Defenestration of Prague (23 May 1618) The death of Gustavus Adolphus at Lützen (16 November 1632) Dutch warships prior to the Battle of the Downs (21 October 1639) The Battle of Rocroi (19 May 1643)
"Winter's King", Frederick V of the Palatinate, whose acceptance of the Bohemian Crown sparked the conflict
The Catholic counter-offensive; Tilly's campaign during the Bohemian revolt and Palatine campaign
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria whose seizure of the Palatinate expanded the war