French troops leave a trail of devastation in the Nine Years’ War
Seeking to dominate Europe, the “Sun King” Louis XIV of France built up a large standing army, which he unleashed on the Rhineland territories. Basing his spurious claims on generous interpretations of supposed hereditary rights – which French courts confirmed but no-one else accepted – Louis invaded and annexed Alsace, the Palatinate, Saarland and other territories of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Empire, initially distracted by the war against the invading Turks, formed an alliance with other powers at the beginning of 1689 and declared an “imperial war” on France. Louis XIV withdrew his forces, but gave the order to lay waste to the Palatinate, parts of Baden and other areas. Upon leaving Heidelberg on 2 March 1689, French soldiers set fire to the city and its castle. As the war continued, the French returned years later and lay gunpowder charges to the walls and towers of Heidelberg Castle, leaving it in ruins. The peace treaty that ended the war in 1697 allowed France to keep Alsace and Strasbourg but required it to return most of the other German territories.
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