Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)
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The Battle of Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld, was fought at a crossroads near Breitenfeld approximately 8 km north-west of the walled city of Leipzig on 17 September, or 7 September, 1631. A Swedish-Saxon army led by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Saxon Elector John George I defeated an Imperial-Catholic League Army led by Generalfeldmarschall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. It was the Protestants' first major victory of the Thirty Years War.
Gustavus Adolphus at the battle of Breitenfeld, painting by J. J. Walther, 1632 painting in the Musée historique de Strasbourg.
Landing of Gustav II Adolf in Pomerania (1630) by an unknown artist.
Contemporary German newspaper image from the 1630s depicting Gustavus Adolplhus forcing Pope Urban VIII, the symbol of the Catholic faith, to surrender all Protestant cities and fortresses in Germany conquered by the Catholics.
Generalfeldmarschall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial and Catholic League Armies respectively. Engraving by Anthony van Dyck.
Leipzig
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Leipzig is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the eighth most populous city in Germany. The name of the city and those of many of its districts are of Slavic origin.
Image: Old city hall of Leipzig (20)
Image: Das Gewandhaus und der Mendebrunnen in Leipzig bei Nacht
Image: Völkerschlachtdenkmal 2023 (cropped)
Image: Bundesverwaltungsgericht Leipzig Eingang 2013