1803. During the German Peasant's War, in 1525, the town and fortress surrendered to the peasant host, under the condition that the fortress would not be plundered. Following the intervention of the Swabian League, the peasants were forced out on 25 July, 1525. Kronach was once again plunged into conflict in 1552, during the Second Margrave War. Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, attempted to put the town under siege but failed due to the insufficient size of his army. During the Bamberg witch trials, Kronach found itself at the center of witch hysteria, with several of its inhabitants being executed for alleged witchcraft. The trials were only ended by the Swedish invasion of Bamberg. During the Thirty Years' War, the town experienced one of its most dramatic episodes. It was put under siege for two years, from 1632 to 1634, by a Swedish Army and its German allies, numbering between 3,000 and 5,000. Despite improbable odds, the town and fortress remained unconquered. Famously, after a Swedish sap tore a hole in the town wall in 1634, the Swedish soldiers were repulsed by the town's women, who rained down boiling substances on them and forced them to retreat. The unlikely victory is, to this day, commemorated by a "Swede's Procession" on the Sunday after Corpus Christi, where the citizens and clergy, lead by women, march from the fortress to the town square. The siege also gave rise to a popular legend: allegedly, the siege finally ended after the citizens of Kronach let the last living animal in the town, a female rabbit (the Kroniche Housnküh) run free on the walls. This convinced the Swedes that the siege was hopeless, since Kronach had enough provisions to set a rabbit loose. The Kroniche Housnküh remains a mascot of the city. The siege is also commemorated, in a macabre manner, on the town's greater coat of arms. The supporters of the shield are two flayed men: according to legend, saboteurs who were executed by the Swedes and their corpses sent back to the town gates. During the war, Kronach was struck twice by plague, in 1629 and 1634, killing circa 300 and circa 400 people respectively. Kronach was once again put under siege by the Prussian Army during the Seven Year's War. Situated on the Kreuzberg, a hill overlooking the fortress, the Prussians attempted to use field artillery to destroy the fortress. However, their