Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg
Christian Wilhelm von Brandenburg (born August 28, 1587 in Wolmirstedt ; † January 1, 1665 in the Zinna Monastery ) was a Margrave of Brandenburg and ruled as administrator of Magdeburg from 1608 to 1631 .
Life
Christian Wilhelm was a son of Elector Joachim Friedrich von Brandenburg (1546–1608) from his first marriage to Katharina (1549–1602), daughter of Margrave Johann von Brandenburg-Küstrin (1513–1571).
He was elected administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 1598 at the age of 10 (with the stipulation that he should only take over the business of government on his 21st birthday, see electoral capitulation of Elector Joachim Friedrich on March 24, 1598) and took 1614, because of his marriage , the title of Lutheran administrator . From 1598 to 1608 the affairs of government were conducted by the Magdeburg Cathedral Chapter . In the year it was renamed, he also became coadjutor and, in 1624, administrator of Halberstadt . The city of Magdeburg , however, did not recognize Christian Wilhelm for its area, as it claimed imperial immediacy for itself ; she made use of the fact that Christian Wilhelm lacked confirmation from the Catholic emperor.
The 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation falls during Christian Wilhelm's term of office. On this occasion, memorial services were held everywhere in the Archbishopric. The city of Magdeburg even minted coins of ½ thaler, one thaler and a few double thalers.
During the Thirty Years' War he entered into an alliance with Denmark, took command of the Lower Saxon army in 1626, fought in the battle at the Dessau Bridge , was then defeated and chased away by Wallenstein and deposed by the cathedral chapter in 1631.
Christian Wilhelm fled abroad, most recently to Sweden in 1629 to see Gustav Adolf , with whom he re-entered German soil in 1630. He was accepted into the city of Magdeburg through the promise of Swedish assistance ; But his attempts to recapture the archbishopric failed and he was dangerously wounded in the conquest of Magdeburg in 1631, taken to the Pappenheim camp and transferred to the Catholic Church in captivity in 1632, a step that the Speculum veritatis published in his name was intended to justify. He was then set free and in the Peace of Prague in 1635 awarded him an annual sum of 12,000 thalers from the income of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. In the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 he was given the offices of Loburg and Zinna instead . In 1651 he bought the Neuschloß estate in Bohemia.
Marriages and offspring
Christian Wilhelm was married three times. First on January 1, 1615 in Wolfenbüttel with Dorothea (1596–1643), daughter of Duke Heinrich Julius of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel ; then on February 22, 1650 in Prague with Barbara Eusebia († 1656), daughter of Count Jaroslav Borsita von Martinic ; he finally concluded his third marriage on May 28, 1657 in Prague with Maximiliane (1608–1663), daughter of Count Weichard von Salm-Neuburg .
He had his only child from his first marriage:
- Sophie Elisabeth (1616–1650)
- ⚭ 1638 Duke Friedrich Wilhelm II of Saxony-Altenburg (1603–1669)
literature
- Berent Schwineköper : Christian Wilhelm. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 226 ( digitized version ).
- Karl Janicke: Christian Wilhelm . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, pp. 164-168.
Web links
- Works by and about Christian Wilhelm von Brandenburg in the German Digital Library
- Publications by and about Christian Wilhelm von Brandenburg in VD 17 .
- Christian Wilhelm von Brandenburg in the Saalestadt Halle , contribution to the history of the city in the Kulturfalter , February 2010
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Joachim Friedrich of Brandenburg |
Archbishop / Administrator of Magdeburg 1598–1631 |
Leopold Wilhelm of Austria |
Christian von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel |
Administrator of Halberstadt 1625–1628 |
Leopold Wilhelm of Austria |
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Administrator of the Archbishopric Magdeburg and the Hochstift Halberstadt |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 28, 1587 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Wolmirstedt |
DATE OF DEATH | January 1, 1665 |
Place of death | Zinna Monastery |