The Siege of Kraków in 1587 took place between 14 October and 29 November of that year, after the contested election of 1587. The election resulted in a double selection of candidates - Zygmunt Waza was elected by the nobility on the 19th of August, while another faction of the gentry chose Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria on the 22nd of August. Maximillian attempted to enforce his election by force and in the course of the campaign besieged the city.

Kraków was defended by the hetman

Hetman

Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

 Jan Zamoyski

Jan Zamoyski

Jan Zamoyski , was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, magnate, 1st duke/ordynat of Zamość. Royal Secretary since 1566, Lesser Kanclerz ) of the Crown since 1576, Lord Grand-Chancellor of the Crown since 1578, and Grand Hetman of the Crown since 1581...

, and a general attack by the pro-Austrian forces was repelled on November 22. Many affluent burghers of German background participated directly in the defense against "the German enemies", while others donated funds for the city's defense. Several of them were ennobled as a result and admitted into the ranks of the szlachta

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

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