Cairn at White Mountain / Mohyla na Bílé hore - Prague (Czech Republic)
N 50° 04.694 E 014° 19.156
33U E 451293 N 5547550
Depicted small cairn with stone tablet, located in Prague' suburban district Bílá Hora (White Mountain), assigns the battlefield bearing the same name... The place, where 8 November 1620 Czech Lands lost independence for 300 years...
Waymark Code: WMJJMA
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 11/25/2013
Views: 70
Depicted small cairn with stone tablet, located in Prague' suburban district Bílá Hora (White Mountain), assigns the battlefield bearing the same name... The place, where 8 November 1620 Czech Lands lost independence for 300 years...
Prelude of the Battle - An Uprising
In 1618, several Czech lords threw two governors and a secretary from the windows of Prague Castle (Defenestration of Prague) - they now drummed up 30 000 men to fight for their cause. Emperor Ferdinand II sent his own army to quash the revolt. Among the Emperor’s soldiers was philosopher Rene Descartes.
Marching on Prague
On November 8, 1620, the Imperial army moved towards Prague. The army, headed by Field Marshall Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, consisted of well-seasoned fighting men, and their leader was equally experienced. Though the Czechs outnumbered the opposition, they were no match for the superior knowledge of the Imperial army. The actual battle only lasted about an hour, with many of the Czechs retreating without fighting at all; Catholic losses were about 800, while the Czechs lost at least 4 000 men.
Battle Lost
When news reached Prague, as it did quickly, scores of citizens and the King himself left the city. No further rebellion occurred, and Tilly’s army was triumphant. Many of the nobles who survived the battle were put on trial, and twenty-seven of them were sentenced to death. Most of the Bohemian nobility (those who didn’t die in battle or on the scaffold) were exiled, and all their property seized. The citizens of Bohemia were given a choice: Convert to Catholicism, or leave the country. The Thirty Years’ War, however, would continue to rage for almost two decades after the Battle of White Mountain.
White Mountain is now in the Prague 6 city district - the site where the two armies fought is now an open area with a waymarked cairn dedicated to the fighters for the Bohemian cause. In Prague 6, several streets are named for the lords who took part in the battle.