After Jena and Auerstedt, a large number of refugees appeared at the Prussian fortress of Erfurt. At first they were refused entrance, but later the gates were opened and soon the city thronged with at least 12,000 demoralized soldiers. Attempts were made by some officers to return the troops to their regiments, but the men refused to cooperate. Joachim Murat, Marshal of France, sent French Colonel Claude de Préval[fr] into Erfurt under a flag of truce.[4] The Frenchman demanded an immediate surrender, which the Prussian commandant initially refused. Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, waited near Erfurt in the hope that large numbers of troops would join the retreat; when few did so, he withdrew toward Langensalza.[4] Without support from Prussian GeneralfeldmarschallMöllendorf, collapsed from injuries suffered at Auerstedt, the fortress commandant signed articles of capitulation; included in the terms were the surrender of the Petersberg Citadel and large quantities of gunpowder and munitions. Altogether, about 12,000 Prussian and Saxon troops under William VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, became prisoners and 65 artillery pieces were captured.[4] At the time of the capitulation, Murat had about 16,000 troops near Erfurt.[5] Historian Francis Loraine Petre remarked that Erfurt was the first of a series of "pusillanimous capitulations" by Prussian fortress commanders, writing that Napoleon's plans might have been delayed had the city held out for just a few days. Instead, the French emperor was able to immediately launch the entire army after his fleeing enemies.[4]
Erfurt was administered by a civilian and military Senate[6] (Finanz- und Domänenkammer Erfurt)[7] under a French governor, based in the Kurmainzische Statthalterei, previously the seat of city's governor under the Electorate.[6] Napoleon first visited the principality on 23 July 1807, inspecting the citadels and fortifications.[6]
On 4 August 1807, Napoleon attached the Saxe-Weimar territory of Blankenhain and declared the Principality of Erfurt to be directly subordinate to himself as an "imperial state domain", separate from the Confederation of the Rhine (which was nominally a French protectorate set up to replace the now-defunct Holy Roman Empire), which the surrounding Thuringian states had joined.[7]
On 27 September 1808, Napoleon was ceremonially presented the keys to the city at the Brühler-Tor before going to meet Tsar Alexander I on the road to Weimar to re-enter the city with the tsar.[7] Between 27 September and 14 October 1808, Napoleon hosted the Congress of Erfurt in the principality, intended to reaffirm the alliance with the Tsar, which had been concluded the previous year with the Treaties of Tilsit at the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition. The meeting became a great conference involving an array of kings, princes, dukes, barons and notables from all over Europe, including the kings of Saxony, Bavaria, Württemberg and Westphalia (the last being Napoleon's brother Jérôme).[8] The resulting convention recognised the Russian conquests of Finland from Sweden and the Danubian Principalities from the Ottoman Empire and stated that, should France go to war again with Austria, Russia should make common cause,[9] though the tsar's support in the War of the Fifth Coalition was minimal.[10]
During their administration, the French introduced street lighting and a tax on foreign horses to pay for maintaining the road surface.[7] The Peterskirche suffered under the French occupation, with its inventory being auctioned off to other local churches — including the organ, bells and even the tower of the Corpus Christi chapel (Fronleichnamskapelle) — and the former monastery's library being donated to the University of Erfurt (and then to the Boineburg Library when the university closed in 1816).[7] Similarly the Cyriaksburg Citadel (Zitadelle Cyriaksburg) was damaged by the French with the city-side walls being partially dismantled in the hunt for imagined treasures from the convent, with workers being paid from the sale of the building materials.[11]
In 1811, to commemorate the birth of the Prince Imperial (later Napoleon II), a 70-foot (21-metre) ceremonial column (Die Napoleonsäule) of wood and plaster was erected on the common, on the instigation of the French administration and funded by the city treasury.[7][12] Inaugurated on 20 March 1811; it was burned and destroyed by the citizenry on 6 January 1814 when the Sixth Coalition finally entered the city after over 2 months of siege.[7][12][13] Similarly, the Napoleonshöhe — a Greek-styletemple topped by a winged victory with shield, sword and lance and containing a bust of Napoleon sculpted by Friedrich Döll[7][12][14] — was erected in the Stiegerwald woods on the direction of the senate-president von Resch; the design included a grotto with fountain and flower beds, using a large water basin removed from the Peterskirche.[12] Inaugurated with ceremony on 14 August 1811 after extravagant celebrations for Napoleon's birthday,[7] with a eulogy on Napoleon being given by Resch to little celebration from the citizenry, the French administration commissioned a painting of the temple from Nikolaus Dornheim[de] in 1812, but it was burned on 1 November 1813 and completely destroyed by Erfurters and their besiegers in 1814.[7][12] The celebrations of Napoleon's birthday were repeated in 1812, with a concert in the Predigerkirche, conducted by Louis Spohr.[7]
Siege and fall
The former Benedictine monastery buildings of Peterskloster within the Petersberg Citadel, as seen from the northeast in 1800. These buildings were damaged in the siege by the Sixth Coalition; in green is the Peterskirche, blue is the Corpus Christi chapel (Fronleichnamskapelle) and red is the Chapel of Saint Anne.
After his disastrous invasion of Russia, Napoleon briefly rested the remnants of the Grande Armée in Erfurt on 15 December 1812, on their way back to France proper.[7]
With the Sixth Coalition forming after French defeat in Russia, on 24 February 1813 Napoleon ordered the Petersberg Citadel to prepare for siege, visiting the city on 25 April to inspect the fortifications, in particular both Citadels.[7] The French authorities banned all burials in city cemeteries from 26 June 1813, setting up a single central cemetery in Johannesplatz, an arrangement that continued until 9 December 1816 after the city had been restored to Prussia.[7] After the imposition of martial law on the Petersberg Citadel in 1813, the Peterskirche was used as a warehouse and the counts of Gleichen[de] were reburied in Erfurt Cathedral.[15]
On 10 July 1813, Napoleon put in charge of the defences of Erfurt Brigadier General Alexandre d'Alton[fr], baron of the Empire. However, when the French decreed that 1000 men would be conscripted into the Grande Armée, the recruits were joined by other citizens in rioting on 19 July that led to 20 arrests, of whom 2 were sentenced to death by French court-martial;[7] as a result, the French ordered the closure of all inns and alehouses.[16]
With the Sixth Coalition's decisive victory at Leipzig (16–19 October 1813), French troops head to Erfurt; Napoleon visited on 23 October, Erfurt being his only major weapons and storage depot east of the Rhine.[17] Within a week of Leipzig, however, Erfurt was besieged by Prussian, Austrian and Russian troops under the command of Prussian Lt Gen von Kleist.[7][18] Coalition shelling of the Petersberg Citadel on 6 November caused substantial damage to districts to the north of the cathedral and the destruction of much of the monastery buildings and the Peterskirche.[7]
After a capitulation signed by d'Alton on 20 December 1813 the French troops withdrew to the two fortresses of Petersberg and Cyriaksburg,[18] allowing for the Coalition forces to march into Erfurt on 6 January 1814 through the Schmidtstedter Gate, to jubilant greetings;[19][20] the Napoleonsäule ceremonial column was burned and destroyed as a symbol of the citizens' oppression under the French.[19] After a call for volunteers 3 days later, 300 Erfurters joined the Coalition armies in France.[19]
Finally, in May 1814, the French capitulated, with 1,700 French troops vacating the Petersberg and Cyriaksburg fortresses.[19] During the two and a half months of siege, the mortality rate rose in the city greatly; 1,564 Erfurt citizens died in 1813, around a thousand more than the previous year.[20]
After the Congress of Vienna, Erfurt was restored to Prussia on 21 June 1815, becoming the capital of one of the three districts (Regierungsbezirke) of the new Province of Saxony, but some southern and eastern parts of Erfurter lands joined Blankenhain in being transferred to the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach the following September.[19] Although enclosed by Thuringian territory in the west, south and east, the city remained part of the Prussian Province of Saxony until 1944.
Related Research Articles
Erfurt (German pronunciation:[ˈɛʁfʊʁt] ) is the capital and largest city of the Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the River Gera, in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest, and in the middle of a line of the six largest Thuringian cities, stretching from Eisenach in the west, via Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Jena, to Gera in the east. Together with Kassel and Göttingen, it is one of the cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants lying closest to the geographic centre of Germany. Erfurt is 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Leipzig, 250 km (155 mi) north-east of Frankfurt, 300 km (186 mi) south-west of Berlin and 400 km (249 mi) north of Munich.
William I was King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840.
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Graf (count), later elevated to Fürst (prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall. He earned his greatest recognition after leading his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
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August Wilhelm Antonius Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau was a Prussian field marshal. He was a prominent figure in the reform of the Prussian military and the War of Liberation.
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria and Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz. Its creation brought about the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire shortly afterward. The Confederation of the Rhine lasted for only seven years, from 1806 to 1813, dissolving after Napoleon's defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition.
Blankenhain is a town in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is 14 km south of Weimar.
In the siege of Mainz, from 14 April to 23 July 1793, a coalition of Prussia, Austria, and other German states led by the Holy Roman Empire besieged and captured Mainz from revolutionary French forces. The allies, especially the Prussians, first tried negotiations, but this failed, and the bombardment of the city began on the night of 17 June.
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The siege of Kolberg took place from March to 2 July 1807 during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. An army of the First French Empire and several foreign auxiliaries of France besieged the fortified town of Kolberg, the only remaining Prussian-held fortress in the Province of Pomerania. The siege was not successful and was lifted upon the announcement of the Peace of Tilsit.
In the Capitulation of Erfurt on 16 October 1806, a large body of troops from the Kingdom of Prussia under Lieutenant General the Prince of Orange surrendered to Marshal Joachim Murat of France, at the city of Erfurt. The Prussian soldiers were demoralized by their shattering defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt on 14 October and unwilling to put up much resistance. The event occurred during the War of the Fourth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Erfurt is located on the Gera River about 40 kilometers west of Jena.
In the siege of Hamelin or siege of Hameln, First French Empire forces captured the fortress of Hamelin from its garrison composed of troops from the Kingdom of Prussia. The siege was begun by the VIII Corps under French Marshal Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier. The marshal initially left General of Division Jean-Baptiste Dumonceau in charge of operations. General of Division Anne Jean Marie René Savary soon arrived to conduct negotiations with the Prussian commander General Karl Ludwig von Lecoq, who was quickly persuaded to surrender. Technically, the operation from the War of the Fourth Coalition was a blockade because a formal siege never took place. Hamelin is located 36 kilometers southwest of Hanover.
Karl Ludwig von Lecoq or Karl Ludwig von Le Coq, born 23 September 1754 – died 14 February 1829, of French Huguenot ancestry, first joined the army of the Electorate of Saxony. He later transferred his loyalty to the Kingdom of Prussia and fought during the French Revolutionary Wars, earning a coveted award for bravery. While serving variously as a staff officer and diplomat, he became renowned as an expert cartographer. In 1806 he was entrusted with command of the forces in northwest Germany. Cut off from the main body of the Prussian army after the disaster at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, he concentrated his troops in the fortress of Hameln. After a brief siege, he surrendered his troops to an inferior force of enemies. For this, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, he was later pardoned and continued his map-making until he went blind.
The German campaign was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and the armies of the Confederation of the Rhine – an alliance of most of the other German states –, which ended the domination of the First French Empire.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Erfurt, Germany.
Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt, central Germany, is one of the largest and best-preserved town fortresses in Europe. The citadel was built on Petersberg hill, in the north-western part of the old town centre from 1665, when Erfurt was governed by the Electorate of Mainz. It is surrounded by over two kilometres of stone walls and is 36 hectares in size.
↑ Gerhard Robert Walter von Coeckelberghe-Dützele (1834). Ruinen oder Taschenbuch zur Geschichte verfallener Ritterburgen und Schlößer (etc.)[Ruins, or: A pocketbook on the history of dilapidated knights' castles] (in German). Mich. Lechner. p.21. Retrieved 23 January 2016. Nach der unglücklichen Schlacht bei Jena und dem Rückzuge der Preußen, wurde sie durch Kapitulation den Franzosen übergeben, und erhielt anfangs eine ziemlich starke Besatzung; doch wurde sie in der Folge so von ihnen vernachläßigt, daß in einer gewissen Epoche der Marketender Sturm mit seiner Familie und ein alter Unteroffizier ihre ganze Garnison ausmachten. Damals war es, wo der Intendant Devismes und der Domainen-Direktor Gentil in der nach der Stadt zugekehrten Seite der Mauer einen Schatz suchen ließ, der noch aus den Zeiten des ehemaligen Benedektiner-Nonnenklosters hier versteckt seyn sollte, ohne zu bedenken, daß zufolge der oben angeführten, an der Mauer befindlichen Inschrift, kein Schatz von 1478 her in einer Mauer versteckt seyn konnte, die über 100 Jahre darnach erst erbaut worden war; aber die Habsucht eilte hier jeder nähern Untersuchung vor. Bei dieser Gelegenheit wurde auch die alte Burgkapelle demoliert und aus den verkauften Baumaterialien die Arbeiter bezahlt, die beim Schatzgraben hilfreiche Hand geleistet hatten. [After the unfortunate battle of Jena and the retreat of the Prussians, it was handed over by capitulation to the French, and was initially fairly strongly garrisoned; but was subsequently so neglected that at one time the whole garrison consisted of the sutler Sturm with his family and an old sergeant. At that time, Intendant de Vismes[fr] and Domain-Director Gentil searched in the city-side walls for treasure hidden since the times of the former Benedictine nunnery — without considering that an inscription located on the wall above showed that it had been built just over 100 years later, so no treasure could have been hidden there in 1478, but greed hastened this before any closer investigation. On that occasion the old chapel was demolished, and the workers who had helped dig for treasure were paid from the sale of the building materials.]
↑ Frank Palmowski (2015) [First published 2013]. Die Belagerung von Erfurt 1813–1814[The Siege of Erfurt 1813–1814] (in German). Sutton Verlag. p.25. ISBN978-3-95400-604-5. Retrieved 17 January 2016. Preußische Truppen marschieren in der Stadt ein. Auf dem Anger kommt es zu Jubelszenen. Der Napoleon-Obelisk wird zerstört. [Prussian troops march into the city. On the village green this leads to scenes of jubilation. The Napoleon obelisk is destroyed.]
↑ Frank Palmowski (2015) [First published 2013]. Die Belagerung von Erfurt 1813–1814[The Siege of Erfurt 1813–1814] (in German). Sutton Verlag. pp.16, 73. ISBN978-3-95400-604-5. ...Gruft der Grafen von Gleichen in der Peterskirche öffnete man am 19. August 1813 und überführte den Grabstein zum Dom. [...Tomb of the Counts von Gleichen in the Peterskirche to be opened on 19 August 1813 and transferred the gravestone to the Cathedral.]
↑ Karl Bade (1841). Napoleon im Jahre 1813: politisch-militairisch geschildert, Band 4[Napoleon in the year 1813: the political and military situation described, volume 4]. Altona: G Blatt. p.234. OCLC16891036. Cited within Belagerung von Erfurt (1813) on the German Wikipedia.
1 2 Christoph Wilhelm von Koch (1838). Histoire abrégée des traités de paix entre les puissances de l'Europe depuis la paix de Westphalie, Volume 3[Abridged history of the peace treaties between the powers of Europe since the Peace of Westphalia, Volume 3] (in French). Meline, Cans et Compagnie. Le général Kleist assiégeait Erfurt. Par suite d'une capitulation signée le 20 décembre, le générale français d'Alton se retira dans les deux forts de Petersberg et Cyriacsbourg, et la ville fut remise aux Prussiens le 6 janvier 1814. [General Kleist laid siege to Erfurt. As a result of a capitulation signed on 20 December, the French general d'Alton withdrew to the two forts of Petersberg and Cyriaksburg, and the town was handed over to the Prussians on 6 January 1814.]
1 2 3 4 5 "1814–1850: Erfurt im preußischen Staat"[1814–1850: Erfurt in the Prussian state] (in German). Erfurt Stadtverwaltung [Erfurt city administration]. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
1 2 Georg Friedrich Hühn (1839), Kurzgefasste Nachricht von der Belagerung, Blokade und Einzug der Königlich Preußischen Truppen in Erfurt. Vom 21sten Oktober 1813 bis zum 8ten Januar 1814. In einem Briefe als ein Journal abgefasst, und an einen vertrauten Freund abgesendet. Bei Gelegenheit der 25jährigen Jubelfeier neu abgedruckt[Concise news of the siege, blockade and entry of the Royal Prussian troops into Erfurt. From 21 October 1813 to 8 January 1814. In a letter as a journal written and sent to a trusted friend. Reprinted on the occasion of the 25th jubilee], Erfurt. Cited within Belagerung von Erfurt (1813) on the German Wikipedia.
Robert Huth (2009) [First published 1908]. Die Citadelle Petersberg zu Erfurt[The Petersburg Fortress in Erfurt] (in German). Mitteilungen des Erfurter Geschichtsvereins [Erfurt Historical Society]. ISBN978-3-86777-069-9.
Klaus-Dieter Kaiser (2002). Erfurt, Napoleon und Preussen 1802 bis 1816[Erfurt, Napoleon and Prussia, 1802 to 1816] (in German). Verein für die Geschichte und Altertumskunde von Erfurt [Society for the History and Archaeology of Erfurt]. ISBN978-3-9807188-7-5.
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![Die Napoleonshohe im Steiger bei Erfurt
, painted by Nikolaus Dornheim [de] in 1812. Inaugurated in March 1811 to celebrate Napoleon's birthday, this Greek-style temple with grotto, flowerbeds and fountain in the Stiegerwald
was burned in November 1813 and completely destroyed by Erfurters and their besiegers in 1814. Die Napoleonshohe im Steiger bei Erfurt von NH Dornheim.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Die_Napoleonsh%C3%B6he_im_Steiger_bei_Erfurt_von_NH_Dornheim.jpg/220px-Die_Napoleonsh%C3%B6he_im_Steiger_bei_Erfurt_von_NH_Dornheim.jpg)
