Wigbolt, Baron Ripperda was the city governor of Haarlem

Haarlem

Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

 when the city was under siege

Siege of Haarlem

The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From December 11, 1572 to July 13, 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the previous summer...

 by the Spanish army in the Eighty Years' War.

Biography

Wigbolt Ripperda was the son of Baron Focko Ripperda van Winsum and Baroness Clara van Ewsum, and born in Winsum

Winsum

Winsum is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.The town of Winsum was officially established in 1057 as the fusion of three historic villages: Obergum , Winsum and Bellingeweer...

. The Ripperda

Ripperda

Ripperda is the name of and old and prominent family that belongs to the German and Dutch nobility. Members of this family have played a major role in European history as soldiers, politicians and diplomats.-Origins:...

 family was one of the oldest and most powerful noble families in the Ommelanden

Ommelanden

The Ommelanden are the parts of Groningen province that surround Groningen city. Usually mentioned as synonym for the province in the expression Stad en Ommeland ....

, nowadays known as the province of Groningen

Groningen (province)

Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...

 in The Netherlands. Focko and Clara Ripperda had four sons: Peter, Asinge, Onno, Wigbolt and Johanna, a daughter.
Wigbolt studied in Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

 and Orléans

Orléans

-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...

, together with his brother Onno. There he studied Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and other languages. In Geneva, where Calvin

John Calvin

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...

 was preaching, he got into contact with Protestantism

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

, the new religion that inspired the Dutch Revolt

Dutch Revolt

The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...

. He became a strong believer in Protestantism.

When he returned to Winsum he was involved in the wave of iconoclasm

Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...

 in the Netherlands (the Beeldenstorm). On 14 September 1566 Wigbolt and his brothers, as well as two other men, broke into the church in Winsum and destroyed the statues of saints and the altar

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

.

Wigbolt joined the army of the Prince of Orange

Prince of Orange

Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....

, the geuzen

Geuzen

Geuzen was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen...

, and became hopman . Until August 1572 he was commander of the guard of William van der Marck, Lord of Lumey, who brought him to the city of Haarlem. He became governor of Haarlem after that.

On 4 December, a week before the siege started, Ripperda 'cleaned' the Sint-Bavokerk

Sint-Bavokerk

The Grote Kerk or St.-Bavokerk is a Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem...

 of all catholic symbols.

Siege of Haarlem

When it became clear that a large Spanish army under command of Don Fadrique was approaching the city he inspired the citizens and municipality of Haarlem

Haarlem

Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...

 not to give in to the demands of the Spanish king, but to fight and defend the city.

The city stayed loyal to the Prince of Orange and resisted the Spanish army in a 7-months siege

Siege of Haarlem

The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From December 11, 1572 to July 13, 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the previous summer...

. After this long and bitter siege the city had to surrender because of a lack of food and supplies. On 12 July 1573 the city officially surrendered to Don Fadrique.

Death

Ripperda was captured together with other soldiers and imprisoned in a church in Haarlem. On 16 July at 11.00 o'clock he was transferred to the Grote Markt, where he was beheaded. His brother Asinge, who was also in the city, was smuggled out of the city by a Spaniard.

Although the city was defeated, the siege of Haarlem had been so exhausting for the Spanish army that in the Siege of Alkmaar

Siege of Alkmaar

The Siege of Alkmaar was a turning point in the Eighty Years' War. The burghers of the Dutch city of Alkmaar fought the Spanish with boiling tar and burning branches from their renewed city walls...

they were defeated.

His brother Onno died on 17 June 1580.

A number of streets and buildings in Haarlem and Winsum are called after Ripperda.