First defenestration of Prague

The town hall where it happened

The First defenestration of Prague, on July 30, 1419, marked the beginning of the Hussite Wars. Jan Hus had been burnt four years earlier at the stake at the Council of Constance. On July 30, Hussites stormed the Prague town hall, to free other Hussites who had been captured.

At the event, ten people were thrown out of the window: the mayor, two councillors, an aide of the judge, five elders, and a serf. Falling out of the window did not kill them, but the crowd used cutting weapons to kill those that had fallen. One councillor died while he was being tortured. Jan Želivský had planned the uprising. In 1960, a statue was put in front of the town hall to commemorate him.