During the Old Zürich War, in May 1444, the Old Swiss Confederacy laid siege to the nearby town of Greifensee, held by about 70 defenders, most of them inhabitants of the Amt Greifensee, and a few Habsburg and Zürich soldiers. The town was captured after four weeks, on May 27, and all but two of the surviving 64 defenders were beheaded on the next day, including the leader, Wildhans von Breitenlandenberg. Even in times of war, mass execution was widely considered a cruel and unjust deed. On May 29, the Castle of Greifensee and the city walls were broken.
