This article is about the specific polity Duchy of Württemberg and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
At the Diet of Worms of 1495, Maximilian I, the Holy Roman Emperor, declared the Count of Württemberg, Eberhard V "the Bearded," Duke of Württemberg.
Establishment
July 1495: On July 21, 1495, Württemberg was made a duchy by the Roman-German king Maximilian I at the Reichstag in Worms.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Were a series of wars in Europe (and the overseas possessions of European countries) the 16th, 17th and early 18th that started after the Protestant Reformation. Although the immediate causes of the wars were religious, the motives were complex and also included territorial ambitions.
1.1.Thirty Years' War
Was a war that took place mainly in central Europe between 1618 and 1648. The war began as a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestant in the Holy Roman Empire but then escalated into a conflict for the hegemony in Europe between Habsburg Spain and Austria, Sweden and France.
1.1.1.Thirty Years' War Minor Scenarios
A series of conflicts related to the Thirty Years' War.
1.1.1.1.Invasion of Franche Comté (Ten Years War)
Was French invasion of modern-day Franche-Comté, at the time a possession of the Habsburg, during the Thirty Years' War.
January 1645: Following a treaty concluded with Cardinal Mazarin in 1644, France committed to cease hostilities in Franche-Comté, in exchange for the considerable sum of 40,000 écus, thus guaranteeing the region's neutrality once again. The year 1644 thus marked the end of the Ten Years' War in Franche-Comté.
1.1.2.Franco-Swedish Period
Was the fourth main period of the Thirty Years' War. It started with the intervention of the Kingdom of France.
1.1.2.1.North German Front (Sweden)
Was the north German front during the Franco-Swedish period of the Thirty Years' War.
January 1635: In 1634, Schorndorf was occupied by Sweden.
September 1635: Imperials under Matthias Gallas liberate Swedish-occupied Schorndorf (east of Stuttgart).
November 1637: After the death of Swedish King Ferdinand II, his son and successor Ferdinand III brought the Swedish troops back to Pomerania, leaving the territories occupied by Sweden in Germany.
November 1648: When in November Gustaf of Sweden received a report about the signed peace, he ordered his troops to leave. Also the French troops started leaving the occupied territories in the Holy Roman Empire.
1.1.2.2.Rhineland Front (France)
Was the Rhineland front during the Franco-Swedish period of the Thirty Years' War.
January 1638: France occupies Laufenberg.
December 1638: France occupies Breisach.
November 1643: Battle of Tuttlingen: a surprise attack by Imperial forces caused the French army to retreat across the Rhine.
May 1645: French General Thurenne advanced up to Bad Mergentheim, where a battle with German field Marshal Franz von Mercy would take place on May, 5 1645.
November 1645: The French evacuate their ephemeral conquests in Germany, systematically devastating them.
May 1648: The French returned to Swabia and then to Bavaria. They defeated the Imperial forces at Zusmarshausen (May 17, 1648) and drove Maximilian of Bavaria out of Munich.
Was a war between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic.
January 1677: Imperial forces recaptured Philippsburg in September 1676.
2.1.Peace of Nijmegen
Were a series of treaties that ended various interconnected wars, notably the Franco-Dutch War.
September 1678: Peace of Nijmegen
The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Philip of Anjou and Charles of Austria, and their respective supporters. It was a global war, with fighting taking place in Europe, Asia, and America. At the end of the war, Philip II, who was the successor chosen by Charles II as a descendant of Charles' paternal half-sister Maria Theresa, became King of Spain and of its overseas empire. The Spanish possessions in Europe were partitioned between various European Monarchies.
3.1.Dutch and German Theatre (War of the Spanish Succession)
Was the theatre of war of the War of the Spanish Succession in Germany and the Low Countries.
October 1703: Marshal Tallard, a French military leader, captured Breisach am Rhein in September 1703.
3.2.Treaty of Baden
Was a treaty between France and the Holy Roman Empire, to end the War of the Spanish Succession.
September 1714: In the Treaty of Baden the French and their allies returned the east bank of the Rhine River (the Breisgau) to Austria.
Was a European conflict caused by the succession to the Habsburg Domains. Maria Theresa succeeded her father Charles VI, and the opposition to female inheritance of the throne was a pretext for starting a war. It was a global conflict that saw fight in Europe, Asia, America and Africa.
4.1.Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Was the treaty that ended the War of the Austrian Succession, following a congress assembled on 24 April 1748 at the Free Imperial City of Aachen.
October 1748: The County of Horburg had been under French sovereignty since 1748 and was ceded to France along with the other possessions on the left bank of the Rhine in 1793.
Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.
November 1802: As part of the secularization, ownership of the Rottenmuenster monastery was taken over by Württemberg on November 23, 1802.
January 1803: In 1802, the territory of Zwiefalten was secularized and suppressed, leading to its transfer to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was part of the secularization process in Germany, which aimed to transfer ecclesiastical territories to secular rulers.
January 1803: In 1802, the territory of Heilbronn was transferred to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was part of the territorial changes that occurred in Germany during the Napoleonic Wars, with Württemberg gaining control over various regions previously under different rulers.
January 1803: The Imperial City of Aalen is acquired by the Duchy of Württemberg.
January 1803: In 1802, the territory of Esslingen was transferred to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was made as part of the territorial reorganization in Europe following the Napoleonic Wars.
January 1803: Rottweil acquired by the Duchy of Württemberg.
February 1803: In 1803, as a result of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, territories of Hall, Gmünd and Giengen were transferred to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was part of a series of territorial reorganizations in the Holy Roman Empire led by Napoleon Bonaparte.
February 1803: In 1803, Buchhorn (Ravensburg) was transferred to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was part of the territorial rearrangements in Germany following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
February 1803: The Ellwangen Imperial Monastery is secularised to Württemberg.
February 1803: In 1803, Reutlingen was transferred to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was part of the territorial rearrangements in Europe following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
February 1803: Reichsdeputationsschluss: the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the Reichstag (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Empire. The law secularized nearly 70 ecclesiastical states and abolished 45 imperial cities to compensate numerous German princes for territories to the west of the Rhine that had been annexed by France as a result of the French Revolutionary Wars.
February 1803: In 1803, the imperial city of Weil was transferred to the Duchy of Württemberg. This decision was part of the territorial rearrangements in Europe following the Treaty of Lunéville, which aimed to compensate various German states for territories lost to France.
January 1804: In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte elevated the Duchy of Württemberg to the Electorate of Württemberg, granting it the highest status within the Holy Roman Empire. This change in status was significant for the ruling family of Württemberg, the House of Württemberg.
5.1.War of the First Coalition
Were a series of wars between the Kingdom of France (later the French Republic) and several European Monarchies. The French Revolution had deteriorated the relations of France with the other European countries, that tried several times to invade France in order to crash the revolutionary government.
5.1.1.Rhine campaign of 1796
Were a series of battles in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition.
July 1796: French conquest of Cannstadt.
August 1796: French forces occupy Neresheim.
5.1.2.Treaty of Campo Formio
Was a treaty between France and Austria that ended the War of the First Coalition.
January 1798: The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI). The treaty transferred the Austrian Netherlands to France. The territories of Venice were partitioned, most were acquired by Austria. Austria recognized the Cisalpine Republic and the newly created Ligurian Republic. Extension of the borders of France up to the Rhine, the Nette, and the Roer.
5.2.War of the Second Coalition
Was the second war that saw revolutionary France against most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples, and various German monarchies. Prussia did not join this coalition, and Spain supported France.
5.2.1.German Front (War of the Second Coalition)
Was the German theatre of the War of the Fifth Coalition.
March 1799: On 1 March 1799, the French Army of Observation, in an order of battle of approximately 30,000 men in four divisions, crossed the Rhine at Kehl and Basel.
March 1799: At the intensely fought Battle of Ostrach, 21-22 March 1799, French suffered significant losses and were forced to retreat from the region, taking up new positions to the west at Messkirch.
May 1800: After French general Claude Lecourbe had captured Stockach, the Austrians led by general Paul Kray retreated to Messkirch, where they enjoyed a more favourable defensive position.
December 1800: Austria was defeated by France in the Battle of Hohenlinden (3 December 1800). By december, 25th the French forces were 80 km from Vienna. The Austrians requested an armistice, which French general Moreau granted on 25 December.
5.2.2.Treaty of Lunéville
Was a treaty between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Empire that formally ended the partecipation of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire in the War of the Second Coalition.
February 1801: The Treaty of Lunéville was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville between the French Republic and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Certain Austrian holdings within the borders of the Holy Roman Empire were relinquished, and French control was extended to the left bank of the Rhine, "in complete sovereignty" but France renounced any claim to territories east of the Rhine. Contested boundaries in Italy were set. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was awarded to the French.
January 1505: Löwenstein fell to Württemberg.
January 1518: The line of Helfenstein died out in 1517 with George I.
January 1520: Württemberg proper is acquired by Austria.
January 1535: The Duchy of Württemberg is restored.
January 1548: Based on Gustav Droysen's Map of the Holy Roman Empire at the time of the Reformation.
January 1752: The Justingen Lordship is sold to Württemberg.
Disestablishment
January 1804: In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte elevated the Duchy of Württemberg to the Electorate of Württemberg, granting it the highest status within the Holy Roman Empire. This change in status was significant for the ruling family of Württemberg, the House of Württemberg.
Selected Sources
Articles secrets et convention additionelle du traité de Campo Formio. Retrieved on March, 24th 2024 on https://books.google.de/books?id=SStJAAAAcAAJ&dq=Trait%C3%A9%20de%20paix%20de%20Campo%20Formio&hl=de&pg=PA1#v=onepage&q=Trait%C3%A9%20de%20paix%20de%20Campo%20Formio&f=false
Droysen, G. (1886): Historischer Handatlas, Bielefeld and Leipzig (Germany), p. 48
Droysen, G. (1886): Historischer Handatlas, Bielefeld and Leipzig (Germany), pp. 38-39
Fournier. A (1913): Napoleon I. Eine Biographie, Vienna (Austria), p. 255
Frieden von Campoformio. Retrieved on March, 24th 2014 on https://books.google.de/books?id=UbGMtENHaBIC&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false
Gagliardo, J. (1980): Reich and Nation: The Holy Roman Empire as Idea and Reality, 1763–1806, Bloomington (USA), p. 192
Krumenacker, Y. (2008): La Guerre de Trente Ans, Paris, Ellipses, pp. 144-145
Krumenacker, Y. (2008): La Guerre de Trente Ans, Paris, Ellipses, pp. 146-147
Poole, R.L. (1902): Historical Atlas of Modern Europe, Oxford (United Kingdom), Plate XI
Schmidt, G. (2006): Der Dreißigjährige Krieg, Munich (Germany), p. 65
Schmiele, E. (1887): Zur Geschichte des schwedisch-polnischen Krieges von 1655 bis 1660, Berlin (Germany), p. 5
Zeller, O. (2024): La Bresse et le pouvoir: Le Papier journal de Jean Corton, syndic du tiers état (1641-1643), Dijon (France), p. 12
Duchy of Württemberg
