page_title: Siege of Hainburg
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Hainburg / Background
caption_attribution_description: Archduchy of Austria (1477)
context_page_description: The Siege of Hainburg were two sieges of Hainburg conducted by Matthias I, King of Hungary, during the Austro-Hungarian War. The first siege was broken in July 1482 by the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. Corvinus laid siege to the town again in August 1482, this time with better preparations, and took Hainburg in September 1482.
context_section_description: Matthias I assisted Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, during the Bohemian Wars. Subsequently, relations deteriorated when Frederick III formed a Holy-Roman-Czech-Polish alliance in Nürnberg on 11 March 1474 against Hungary.
  A period of rearmament and mobilization in 1477, followed by a short war, resulted in the Treaty of Korneoburg-Gmunden; the treaty required the Holy Roman Empire to pay 100,000 florins of reparations to Hungary. However, the sum was never paid despite several warnings and delays. As tensions rose, both countries began looking for allies amongst the other's nobility.
  The situation was further inflamed by the defection of Johann Beckensloer, Archbishop of Esztergom in Hungary, to the Holy Roman Empire where he laid claim to the Archbishopry of Salzburg. He left Hungary on a feigned pilgrimage to Aachen; the real reason was he was not in favor with the Gabriel Rangoni of Verona, the Bishop of Gyulafehérvár. Beckensloer took with him part of the Hungarian treasury he had access to, and lent it to Frederick III in exchange for Salzburg. The incumbent, Bernard II of Rohr, was convinced to step down, but Bernard II recanted and reasserted his claim the same year. The emperor had the canons of Salzburg ignore Bernard II's claim, who in turn sought the protection of Matthias I of Hungary on 18 November. On Bernard II's behalf, Hungary seized the properties of the archdiocese of Salzburg in Styria and Carinthia by the end of the year. Since the archdiocese was a secular-independent principality with holdings spread across the secular provinces, this did not mean war with the Empire.
  The Hungarian army confronted Imperial troops several times during the seizures. The ambiguous state of conflict led the Hungarians to occupy some Imperial castles, including Radkersburg, and resulted in the siege of Graz. Frederick III declared this a breach of the peace, but Matthias I replied Hungarian troops were entering territories belonging to Archbishop Bernard II, and were there on the archbishop's invitation. Furthermore, the Hungarian king reminded the Emperor of the outstanding reparations payment from the Treaty of Korneoburg-Gmunden, which entitled Hungary to collect the debt by other means. Finally, Matthias I accused the Empire of taking advantage of Hungary during the then-ongoing Ottoman–Hungarian Wars, using the southern deployment of the Hungarian army to violate Hungarian territory, including an attack on Győr that killed 800 civilians.
  In the spring of 1482, Matthias I sent 4,000 cavalry, led by Captain Johann Zeleny of Schonau, to plunder Austrian territory along the Danube up to Passau. The incursion was stopped by the intervention of Cardinal Antonio Caffarelli, Bishop of Ascoli, who organized a truce. Nonetheless, war was inevitable as both sides continued to strengthen their forces.
caption: Duchies and principalities in Austria province in 1477
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