Destruction of Godesburg fortress during the Cologne War 1583

The Cologne War (1583–88) devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany. The war occurred within the context of the Protestant Reformation in Germany and the subsequent Counter-Reformation. In December 1582, Gebhard, Truchsess von Waldburg, the Prince-elector of Cologne, converted to Protestantism. The principle of ecclesiastical reservation required his resignation. Instead, he declared religious parity for his subjects and, in 1583, married Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben, intending to convert the ecclesiastical principality into a secular, dynastic duchy. A faction in the Cathedral Chapter elected another archbishop, Ernst of Bavaria. Initially, troops of the competing archbishops of Cologne fought over control of sections of the territory. The conflict coincided with the Dutch Revolt, 1568–1648, encouraging participation of the rebellious Dutch provinces and the Spanish. The Cologne War resulted in the consolidation of Wittelsbach authority in northwestern German territories and in a Catholic revival on the lower Rhine. Importantly, it also set a precedent for outside intervention in German religious and dynastic conflicts. (Full article...)