U ovom radu bavimo se tematikom rata koji je ostavio trag na svim poljima ljudskog djelovanja tijekom 17. stoljeća, ali i kasnije. Rat koji je trajao od 1618. do 1648. bio je prvi totalni rat na europskom tlu, a prema vremenskom okviru u kojem se odvijao naziva se Tridesetogodišnji rat. Taj naziv ustvari označava niz meĎunarodnih oružanih sukoba na širem prostoru Svetog Rimskog Carstva u prvoj polovici 17. stoljeća. Iako se često prikazuje kao klasični vjerski sukob, Tridesetogodišnji rat je bio puno više od toga. Na vidjelo je izašla dugo potiskivana meĎusobna mržnja i netrpeljivost velikih europskih vladarskih kuća. Iako je povod i početni sukob nastao radi vjerske raznolikosti, uzroci su kao i uvijek bili puno kompleksniji. Slabljenje feudalizma, a samim time i nastanak prvih kapitalističkih odnosa, dodatno su opterećivali veliki broj europskih zemalja. Nakon stotina godina vjerskog jedinstva europskih zemalja, pojavom Martina Luthera stvari su se zauvijek mijenjaju. Najizraženija podjela na protestante i katolike dogodila se upravo na području Njemačke, u kojoj će desetak godina kasnije bjesnjeti rat velikih razmjera. Sam rat započinje fazom koja se najčešće naziva češkom ili češko-falačkom. Defenestracijom u Pragu, kojom češki staleži dižu pobunu i smjenjuju regente, dolazi do neizbježnog početka sukoba. Car šalje vojsku da smiri pobunu, ali je ona ubrzo poražena i prisiljena na povlačenje i sukobljene strane ostaju u pat poziciji. Borba za vlast u Češkoj bila je od krucijalne važnosti za obje strane, prije svega jer su u Carstvu trojica kneževa izbornika bili protestanti, a trojica katolici. Vjera češkoga kralja, kao sedmog kneza izbornika, nosila je prevagu. Nakon odreĎenog vremena carska vojska ipak uspijeva poraziti ustanike, a Ferdinand u Frankfurtu biva izabran za cara. Danska faza rata nastavila se u istom tonu. Protestantski danski kralj Kristijan IV. uz potporu Engleske i Nizozemske prelazi sjeverne granice Carstva, meĎutim, grof Tilly i general von Wallenstein najprije zasebno, a nakon toga i udruženi, nanose težak poraz Dancima. Ubrzo se u rat uključila i Švedska, koja je takoĎer zauzimala stranu reformista te je u ozbiljnoj mjeri zaprijetila carskoj moći. Gustav II. Adolf svoje je bitke pažljivo birao, često nanoseći teške poraze carskoj vojsci (pogotovo onoj na čijem je čelu bio grof Tilly). U većini bitaka švedska koalicija odnosila je pobjede, meĎutim, kod Nördlingena doživljavaju težak poraz s kojim su bili primorani napustiti južnu Njemačku. Već sljedeće godine raspada se i Heilbronnška liga, nakon čega se direktno uključuje sila koja je do sada ratovala iz sjene. Francuska je dugo vremena s prijezirom gledala na habsburšku vladarsku kuću. Iako je bila uglavnom katolička zemlja, Francuska se pridružila protestantskoj strani prije svega zbog rivaliteta sa Svetim Rimskim Carstvom i Španjolskom. Kardinal Richelieu je bio predsjednik vlade kralja Luja XIII. te je donosio sve bitnije vanjskopolitičke odluke u ime cara. Nakon niza sukoba, većinom sa Španjolskom koja je u jednom trenutku zaprijetila čak i samom Parizu, većih teritorijalnih izmjena nije bilo. Nakon smrti Richeliea i Luja XIII. nova vlast pokušava postići mir. Konačni mir dolazi 1648., a dogovoren je u Münsteru i Osnabrücku, dok je u povijesti ostao zapamćen kao Westfalski mir. Posljedice Tridesetogodišnjeg rata bile su strašne, neviĎene za stanovništvo do tada, a društvu je trebalo dugo vremena kako bi se oporavilo. In this paper, we deal with the theme of the war which left its mark on all fields of human activity during the 17th century and later. The war that lasted from 1618 to 1648 was the first total war on European soil, and because of the time frame in which it took place it is called the Thirty Years' War. This name actually denotes a series of international armed conflicts in the wider area of the Holy Roman Empire in the first half of the 17th century. Although often portrayed as a classic religious conflict, the Thirty Years’ War was much more than that. The long-suppressed mutual hatred and intolerance of the great European ruling houses had finally come to light. Although the cause and the initial conflict arose due to religious diversity, the causes were, as always, much more complex. The weakening of feudalism and thus the emergence of the first capitalist relations further burdened a large number of European countries. After hundreds of years of religious unity in European countries, things are forever changed with the appearance of Martin Luther. The most pronounced division into Protestants and Catholics took place in the area of Germany, where a large-scale war would rage ten years later. The war itself begins with a phase that is most often called the Bohemian Revolt. The defenestration in Prague, in which the Czech classes revolted and removed the regents, led to the inevitable beginning of the conflict. The king sent an army to quell the rebellion, but it was soon defeated and forced to withdraw, and the conflicting parties remained in a stalemate. The struggle for power in the Czech lands was of crucial importance to both sides primarily because in the Empire, three of the Dukes electors were Protestants and three were Catholics. The faith of the Czech king, as the seventh Duke elector, would prevail. After some time, however, the imperial army managed to defeat the insurgents and Ferdinand was elected emperor in Frankfurt. The Danish Phase of the war continued in the same tone. The Protestant Danish King Christian IV crosses the northern borders of the empire with support from England and the Netherlands, however Count Tilly and General Wallenstein first separately and then jointly inflict a heavy defeat on the Danes. The war was soon joined by Sweden, which also sided with the reformists and seriously threatened imperial power. Gustav II Adolf chose his battles carefully, often inflicting heavy defeats on the imperial army (especially the one led by Count Tilly). In most battles the Swedish coalition claimed victories, however at Nördlingen, they suffered a heavy defeat with which they were forced to leave southern Germany. The following year, the Heilbronn League disintegrated, after which the force that had been fighting from the shadows until now was directly involved. France had long been watching the Habsburg ruling house with disdain. Although it was a predominantly Catholic country, France joined the Protestant side primarily because of its rivalry with the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. Cardinal Richelieu was the prime minister of King Louis XIII, and made all the important foreign policy decisions on behalf of the emperor. After a series of conflicts, mostly with Spain, which at one point threatened even Paris itself, there were no major territorial changes. After the deaths of Richelieu and Louis XIII, the new government was trying to achieve peace. Finally, it was reached in 1648 and was negotiated in Münster and Osnabrück. it is remembered as the Peace of Westphalia. The consequences of the Thirty Years' War were terrible, unprecedented for the population until then, and it took society a long time to recover.