Christoph Leopold von Schaffgotsch

Christoph Leopold Graf von Schaffgotsch , until 1674 Freiherr von Schaffgotsch , completely Schaffgotsch (e) from and to Kynast and Greiffenstein, Trachenberg, called Semperfrei (* April 8, 1623 in Trachenberg ; † June 30, 1703 in Breslau ) was a German soldier and Statesman .

Life

Christoph Leopold came from the noble family of the same name and was the son of General Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch . His mother died in 1631, his father was executed in Regensburg in 1635 . As an orphan he converted to the Roman Catholic Church . He went to Olomouc . There he went through the educational institutions of the Jesuits . He then began studying law at the Catholic University of Ingolstadt . While still a student, on August 5, 1641, he received the Greiffenstein rule back when his father was arrested . After completing his studies in Ingolstadt, he became an officer in the imperial troops.

As a captain , he stood out for his will to fight and his perseverance. He thus earned the emperor's recognition. In 1647, as the only imperial captain near Eger, he did not want to sign the surrender to the Kingdom of Sweden . Emperor Ferdinand III. thereupon appointed him in 1649 to the Oberamtsrat in the Duchy of Silesia . He was introduced to his office on November 9, 1649 by his uncle, Duke Georg Rudolf von Liegnitz und Wohlau , the governor of Silesia . In the following year he got back the rule of cynastics from the emperor . In addition, he got back other lost offices. In 1651 the emperor gave him again the office of hereditary steward and court judge in the principality of Schweidnitz-Jauer , which his family had held for a long time .

Schaffgotsch was able to establish himself as a statesman and received a large number of offices and tasks from the 1660s. On February 27, 1661 he was appointed a Privy Councilor by the Emperor . In 1662 he received the Hungarian Indigenous and also the baronate . In 1665 he was appointed President of the Silesian Chamber, and in the same year he was appointed Governor of the Principality of Schweidnitz-Jauer . Two years later he was active as the emperor's envoy to the king of Poland . In the same capacity he was sent to Poland three more times, namely in 1668, 1670 and 1674, and in 1683 he was sent to the King of Poland as an Imperial Plenipotentiary. In 1672 he finally received the office of governor of Silesia. In 1674 he was ennobled to the hereditary count status .

Christoph Leopold von Schaffgotsch was married to the Protestant Agnes Freiin von Rackwitz (1634–1693), who remained true to her Lutheran faith. In 1675 his son, Johann Anton Gotthard (1675-1742) was born, who later became the Catholic governor of the principalities of Schweidnitz and Jauer, imperial count and chief official director of Silesia in Breslau and was also the imperial commissioner who implemented the Treaty of Altranstädt .

After his relative Georg Wilhelm Herzog von Liegnitz, Brieg and Wohlau died in 1675 , his duchies fell to the Crown of Bohemia as settled fiefdoms . On August 30, 1676, the Emperor gave Schaffgotsch the management of Liegnitz , Brieg and Wohlau . He also represented the emperor on various other occasions, such as bishops' elections . In 1694 he was personally awarded the Order of the Golden Fleece by the Emperor for his many services .

Schaffgotsch also had good relations with the church. So he was from Pope Innocent XI. valued. He also had good relationships with the College of Cardinals and maintained, among other things, a lively correspondence with the Cardinals Spada, Barberini and Santa-Croce.

literature

Julius Krebs: Schaffgotsch, Christoph Leopold, Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 30, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, p. 541.
Schaffgotsche, Christoph Leopold Graf von in: General historical lexicon, in which the life and deeds of their patriarchs, prophets, apostles ... together with those heretics, like no less those Käyser, kings, Chur and princes ... in alphabetical order be presented with reinforced certificates, Volume 3 and 4, H – Z, Fritsch, Leipzig 1709, p. 379 f.

Individual evidence

^ Norbert Conrads : Johann Anton Graf von Schaffgotsch (1675–1742). In: Schlesische Lebensbilder, VIII. Neustadt an der Aisch 2004, pp. 121–128.
↑ Michael Sachs: The flight of the evangelical wife Anna Magdalena von Reibnitz (1664– ~ 1745) with her five children from Silesia, threatened by forced Catholicization, in 1703 - a mood picture from the age of the Counter Reformation and Pietism. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 34, 2015 (2016), pp. 221–263, here: 231.

personal data
SURNAME	Schaffgotsch, Christoph Leopold von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Schaffgotsch from and to Kynast and Greiffenstein, Trachenberg, called Semperfrei, Christoph Leopold Graf von (full name); Schafgootsch, Christoph Leopold Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German soldier and statesman
DATE OF BIRTH	April 8, 1623
PLACE OF BIRTH	Trachenberg
DATE OF DEATH	June 30, 1703
Place of death	Wroclaw

[1] Norbert Conrads : Johann Anton Graf von Schaffgotsch (1675–1742). In: Schlesische Lebensbilder, VIII. Neustadt an der Aisch 2004, pp. 121–128.

[2] Michael Sachs: The flight of the evangelical wife Anna Magdalena von Reibnitz (1664– ~ 1745) with her five children from Silesia, threatened by forced Catholicization, in 1703 - a mood picture from the age of the Counter Reformation and Pietism. In: Medical historical messages. Journal for the history of science and specialist prose research. Volume 34, 2015 (2016), pp. 221–263, here: 231.