The Second Defenestration

JAN 01 1618 · 12:00

Contemporary 1618 broadsheet, Wahrhafftige Zeitung aus Prag, showing the defenestration of Slavata, Martinic, and Fabricius from the eastern window of Prague Castle. Place: Bohemian Chancellery, Prague Castle, third-floor window of the eastern wing Figures: Heinrich Matthias von Thurn, Protestant leader · Jaroslav Bořita of Martinice, regent (thrown) · Vilém Slavata of Chlum, regent (thrown) · Filip Fabricius, secretary (thrown) Rudolf II had signed a Letter of Majesty in 1609 guaranteeing Bohemian Protestants the right to build churches. His successor Matthias and the future Ferdinand II read it narrowly. Two Protestant churches at Hroby and Broumov are closed. The Protestant Estates, meeting in May 1618, draw up a list of grievances and a list of those responsible: Martinice and Slavata, both Catholic regents, both at the Castle. On the morning of May 23, a delegation led by Count Thurn climbs to the chancellery. There is shouting, an attempt at justification, and then, around nine o'clock, the act.