In 1617, Roman Catholic officials in Bohemia (now Czechia) closed down two Protestant chapels being built by residents of Broumov and Hrob, violating laws protecting religious liberty. A trial was held at Prague Castle and, when two Catholic regents and their secretary were found guilty, they were thrown out of the castle windows. Miraculously they walked away uninjured, though the event – known as the Defenestration of Prague – sparked a Bohemian revolt against Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II, an opening phase of the Thirty Years’ War.

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