On 23 February 1541 the Emperor entered Regensburg. In consideration of his difficult political situation, especially of the threatened war with the Ottoman Turks and the negotiations of the French king with the Protestants in his country, it was his desire to pacify Germany. The conference was opened on 5 April. The negotiators were Gropper, Pflug, and Eck on the Catholic side, under the oversight of the Papal Legate Cardinal Contarini; Bucer, the elder Johannes Pistorius, and Melanchthon for the Protestants. Besides the presidents, Count Palatine Frederick and Granvella, six witnesses were present, among them Burkhardt and Feige, chancellors of Saxony and Hesse respectively, and Jakob Sturm of Strasbourg.