Die Katholische Liga

Katholische Liga, Die, was formed in July 1609 in Munich by Maximilian I of Bavaria in answer to the provocative formation of the Protestant Union (see Protestantische Union). Its members included the Catholic bishops of south Germany (Würzburg, Augsburg, Constance, Passau, and Regensburg) and, by 1619, most Roman Catholic Estates. It had the backing of the Pope and of Spain, and was a valuable instrument of the Counter-Reformation (see Gegenreformation) and the Habsburg dynasty. The League took a prominent part in the Thirty Years War (see Dreissigjähriger Krieg), in which its forces were commanded by Count Tilly. It was dissolved through the Peace of Prague in 1635.