Beginning of Siege of Godesberg

Date: November 18, 1583 • Location: Königswinter, Germany

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1583–1583.

The Siege of Godes­berg, the first major siege of the Cologne War, began.

The siege of Godesberg, 18 November – 17 December 1583, was the first major siege of the Cologne War (1583–1589). Seeking to wrest control of an important fortification, Bavarian and mercenary soldiers surrounded the Godesberg, and the village then of the same name, now Bad Godesberg, located at its foot. On top of the mountain sat a formidable fortress, similarly named Godesburg, built in the early 13th century during a contest over the election of two competing archbishops.