Historical Calendar: November 18, 1655 – the beginning of the Blazing of Jasna Góra

Historical calendar – the anniversary of the beginning of the Swedish army commanded by General Burchard Müller, the siege of the monastery on Jasna Góra.

Today, in our calendar, we will look at an event that proved to be a breakthrough in the time of the alleged “ Flood”.

Contrary to the promises made to Poles in the Łódź and Kiejdany, Swedes did not spare local civilians. Rape, robbery, and execution were on the line. Villages and manors were burned, and churches and Catholic monasteries were massively robbed and desecrated, frequently turning them into military magazines. There was mass plunder of works of art and valuable manuscripts specified as the works of Nicholas Copernicus. The vast areas of the flourishing country have been ravaged.

The expanding business panic led to a boil; in many places armed troops were organized to fight the partisan with the invader. The most celebrated guerrilla was Krzysztof Żegocki, who, as 1 of the first, began to fight the Swedes in Wielkopolska. However, the opposition of the fewer noble-boy troops was besides weak and posed no greater threat to the hostile rule.

In order to prevent Jan Kazimierz from returning to the country, the Swedish troops planted the Silesian border. As part of these activities, an effort took place to occupy the monastery in Jasna Góra, undertaken by General Burchard Müller. This commander was ordered to take all valuable fortress in the area.

Although the monastery had defensive walls, it was not of large military value; it was considered to be the spiritual capital of the country for a long time. The general's motivation was the classical “money sting” – Jasna Góra was celebrated for her wealth, deposited as a voluntary sacrifice by Catholic pilgrims. Prior of the Augustine Kordecki monastery did not let the Swedish troops in, so the greedy Swede began the siege, which lasted from 18 November to 27 December. 160 members of the Polish squad, assisted by about 100 monks, gave effective opposition to 4,000 Swedes.

When Müller was told about the impending rescue in the form of the Krzysztof Żegocki driveway, he decided the another way around. A brave defence crucial in the eyes of Poles of the monastery, opened her eyes to the actual aims of the Swedish invasion. News of the enemy's opposition spread all over the country, causing mass uprisings.

On December 29, 1655, gathered by the captains of Potocki and Lanckoroński troops, they declared obedience to the Swedes and bound the Tyszowiecki confederation, which aimed to displace the enemy and reconstruct the power of John Casimir. The king returned to the country in early January 1956, and on April 1 made a celebrated ‘Livow weddings’in which he gave Poland to the parent of God in care. After the weddings, a fresh force resumed the enlistment of the army and the fight against the occupier.

Pursuing the Hetmans, Karol Gustaw was surrounded in the forks of Vistula and Sanu, and on April 7, Stefan Czarniecki defeated the Swedish reinforcement corps at the conflict of Varka. The Swedish king managed to escape the lap, then withdrew to Warsaw. Meanwhile, in Lithuania, opposition to submission to the Swedes grew. Paul John Sapieha, who defeated Bogusław Radziwiłł in March 1656 at the conflict of Janów Podlaski (previously, as Janusz Radziwiłł died in December 1655).

On 1 July Warsaw was won, and the full run began to take a successful turn for the Polish side.

Previous entry from our calendar is available Here.