Hello and welcome to the history of the Germans.

Episode 214, A Trial, a Siege and More Than Noyce, which is also episode 12 of season 11 the

Fall and Rise of the House of Habsburg.

The venerable city of Noyce between Cologneologne and Dissolo was founded in 16 BC as a Roman

army camp, making one of the oldest in Germany.

Its history is marked by the usual mix of feuds with its Arch-Ebiscopal overlord and the

establishment of a trading and pilgrimage hub.

But despite its Roman remains, the impressive church of St. Quirinius and the

proximity to where I grew up, noise may never have appeared on the history of the Germans'

podcast had it not sustained a ten-month-long siege in 1474, 1475. A siege even a brutal and a

prolonged one is still not sufficiently unusual to be included

in the show, but this one merits almost a whole episode.

Tales of the heroic defense of a small town on the Rhine against an overbearing foe, intent

on wiping out their way of life, coalesced the Empire in a way it had not come together since

the long gone days of Frederick Barbarossa. A watershed was crossed under the leadership

of an emperor who was more surprised than anyone else to be put at the head of the resistance.

And that isn't even all.

In this episode, we will also cover the very first war crimes tribunal ever.

That also took place in a small town on the Rhine and the same year, 1474.

But before we start, a quick update on the Christmas special. Over a hundred of you have already cast their votes.

The survey is still open, so the final result will have to be announced next week,

so there's still room to sway the outcome.

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