Christoph von Houwald

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Christoph von Houwald (1601–1661)

Christoph von Houwald (born December 20, 1601 in Grimma ; † November 29, 1661 in Straupitz ) was a royal Swedish , electoral Saxon and Kurbrandenburg general, as well as a privy councilor and chamberlain and lord of the Straupitz class in today's Dahme-Spreewald ( Brandenburg ) district as well Lord of Maldeuten ( Małdyty ), Drenken ( Drynki ) and Posorten ( Pozorty ) in East Prussia (today Powiat Ostródzki of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship , Poland).

Life

origin

His parents were Christoph Haubal (* around 1575 in Wohlhausen near Markneukirchen; † September 26, 1617 in Grimma), a citizen and cloth maker in Grimma, and his wife Ursula Löbenstein called Völckel.

Military career

His parents sent him to the grammar school in Halle (Saale) and in 1613 he traveled through Germany with Captain Wilhelm von Bodendick. In 1616 advertisers were in Augsburg to recruit troops for the war against Venice , and Houwald was also advertised. He became a shooter in the company of Captain Strafoldo in the “Buquoy” regiment . He fought in Italy until 1618 . After the end of the campaign he went to Bohemia, where he joined the musketeer regiment of Count Thun. He was promoted to private there. As such, he then switched to the Saxon regiment "Kraßen" (?). In 1621 the regiment in Merseburg was disbanded. Now Houwald went to the Lower Palatinate and changed as a private corporal to the "Karpzow" regiment under Count Mansfeld . He fought as Fourier in the Battle of Fleurus and was wounded in the arm. After the defeat, the army was crushed. Houwald then joined Christian von Braunschweig's army ; this made him sergeant of the life guards. The Duke gave the order to recruit 50 men and bring them to the model site in Gröningen in the Principality of Halberstadt . Houwald was the first to succeed and he was named senior sergeant in gratitude. After that he came to several skirmishes. During the fighting for the city of Loo, he was shot in the left thigh and hit in the head. He was already naked among the dead, was barely able to save himself and recovered. Then he returned to the Duke, who welcomed him with pleasure. This then sent him as a sergeant in the bodyguard of Duke Bernhard von Weimar . But the troop was soon disbanded and so he came to Hamburg in January 1623 . He let himself be recruited by the Swedes and became a sergeant in the bodyguard of Colonel Hans Georg von Arnim . With him he came to the fighting in Livonia . But the regiment was dismissed as early as 1624.

On the recommendation of the colonel, the Swedish King Gustav Adolph Houwald took over as captain in his personal company. He stayed there until 1627, when he was transferred to the Blue Regiment as a major during the Prussian War . He fought very bravely with the regiments in Prussia and Livonia and was repeatedly wounded. When the Swedes turned to Germany, Houwald became a lieutenant colonel in the Blue Regiment. After the fighting near Frankfurt an der Oder and Ribnitz he was to be promoted to colonel , which he refused. The king saw in the bravery of Houwald the reason why the city of Frankfurt could be taken by storm. In return, Houwald received confirmation of his nobility and a new coat of arms. In 1631 he fought at Breitenfeld . Then he received the order from the Swedish king to set up a regiment of 3000 men. With the troops he conquered Hanau , became a real colonel and was commissioned to recruit three regiments - one on horseback and two on foot. After only three months he was able to present 1000 horsemen and 3500 infantrymen with equipment to the king in Frankfurt. For this he was given the command of various garrisons: the city and fortress Hanau and Friedeburg, plus the imperial cities of Worms , Speyer , Gochhausen , Höchst and the fortress of Rüsselsheim . In 1632 he was appointed major general over 11,000 infantry. With the troops he fought in various battles until the death of the king.

A year after Gustav Adolf's death, he switched to the Electoral Saxon service. There he was given command of all troops and garrisons in Silesia. After the Peace of Prague he demanded and received his departure. He switched to the service of the Polish King Władysław IV. Wasa , who passed it on to the Magistrate of Danzig . There he was given the command of the city. Regardless of this, he received from Emperor Ferdinand III. (HRR) , Louis XIV. And Christian IV. (Denmark and Norway) honorable offers, all of which he declined. After the death of his first wife in 1647, he returned to the army of Władysław IV. Wasa. When the king died in 1648, Houwald came into Prussian service under Elector Friedrich Wilhelm . This made him major general and secret war council. As such, he immediately had to recruit cavalry and infantry for the King of Poland. In the same year he was also given command of all war matters.

He was very wealthy and was therefore able to acquire the Maldeuten, Seegerswalde, Zippeln, Zilpenmühle, Hofchen Falkenau and Figeiken estates on September 30, 1648.

Coat of arms of the Houwald after Siebmacher

On May 4, 1651 he was also appointed to the official council of war. On November 30, 1652, Houwald also bought the Drenken and Posorten estates in Prussia and in 1655 received the Prussian indigenous community from the state parliament . On June 6, 1655, he became a pawn of Liebemühl , Kuppen and Koscheinen. On July 14, 1655 he bought the estate of Straupitz , then Saxony-Merseburg , in what is now the Dahme-Spreewald district (Brandenburg). 1656 he groin Duke Christian I the hereditary homage.

When the Cossacks rebelled in Ukraine, the Polish King John Casimir demanded troops from the Elector. He sent an army under the command of Houwald with permission to temporarily serve the Polish king. Indeed, King Houwald gave supreme command over the Polish army, which took three campaigns against the Cossacks. In 1657 he was able to defeat an allied army of Cossacks and Tatars in the battle of Berestetschko . For this he also received the Polish Indigenous and the king added the crowned Polish eagle to the coat of arms. He then left the Polish services and retired to the Straupitz rule. He died there in 1661 at the age of 60 and was buried in the newly built church in Straupitz. He designated Straupitz as a majorate, which his son Willibald inherited. The younger son Adolf inherited the East Prussian estates.

family

Houwald was married twice. He married Florentine von der Beecke on June 1, 1641 († May 20, 1647), with whom he had two sons and a daughter:

  • Willibald (June 10, 1642; † January 12, 1717), Upper Saxony-Merseburg President of the Margraviate Niederlausitz and lord of the Straupitz estate, ⚭ June 21, 1660 Margarethe Elisabeth von Breitenbach (* September 23, 1647; † June 30, 1719)
  • Adolf (November 1, 1643 - July 1, 1672), Brandenburg captain, killed in a duel
  • Florentina (1644–1695) ⚭ May 8, 1661 Marcus von der Lütcke (* July 25, 1603; † November 26, 1686), Major General of Brandenburg, Lord of Groß-Ziethen , Kremmen (since 1649) and Vehlefanz (since 1651) Oranienburg

His second wife became the widow of Christoph von Polenz in 1651 Gottliebe von Bredow. This marriage was without children.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Bahl : The court of the great elector. P. 505
  2. ↑ Monthly sheet of the Heraldisch-Genealogischen Verein "Adler". Volume 4, 1896, p. 108, digitized
  3. ↑ Alexander Carl von der Oelsnitz: History of the royal Prussian first infantry regiment. 1855, p. 127, digitized
  4. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff: Soldatisches Führertum. Volume 1, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1937], DNB 367632764 , p. 26f., No. 37.
  5. ↑ Descendants
  6. ↑ Gottliebe von Bredow
personal data
SURNAME Houwald, Christoph von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Royal Swedish, Electoral Saxon and Kurbrandenburg General, Lord of the Straupitz, Maldeiten, Triecken and Posorten rulers
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1601
PLACE OF BIRTH Grimma
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1661
Place of death Straupitz