Cirksena
The Cirksena were an East Frisian aristocratic family that emerged from a Greetsiel family of chiefs , who ruled as imperial counts from 1464 and as imperial princes in East Frisia from 1654 and became extinct in 1744 in the male line.
The Cirksena in East Frisia
The Cirksena had prevailed in the 15th century - after a time that was characterized by the struggle of the chief clans for areas of power, influence and supremacy. Around 1430, Edzard Cirksena defeated his adversary Focko Ukena as the leader of the League of Freedom . The Cirksena grew stronger and succeeded the chief dynasty of the tom Brok .
In 1439, as a result of the disputes of the Hamburgers, the city of Emden was initially handed over to the Cirksena after revocation and from 1453 on; until 1595 the family administered and ruled the town. Edzard's son Ulrich Cirksena was in 1464 by Emperor Friedrich III. raised to the status of imperial count and enfeoffed with East Friesland as the imperial county of East Friesland . However, the Cirksena were never able to establish a strong rule in East Frisia. Power struggles with the self-confident East Frisian estates broke out again and again .
The most important ruler from the house of Cirksena was Edzard the Great (1462–1528), under whose leadership the imperial county of East Friesland reached its greatest extent. During his reign, the Reformation also spread to East Frisia. In 1654 the Cirksena were elevated to the rank of prince by the emperor. Carl Edzard , the last ruler of the Cirksena family, died on the night of May 25th to 26th, 1744 (allegedly of a glass of buttermilk that he is said to have drunk after a hunt) without heirs. Immediately afterwards Frederick the Great took possession of the land.
Castles
The family originally had its seat in Appingen . After the access to the open sea silted up there, Haro Edzardsna moved the family seat to the recently built Siel , where they built Greetsiel Castle as a chief's castle between 1362 and 1388 . In the course of the rise of the Cirksena to the leading chief family , Ulrich Cirksena had the castle expanded into a four-wing complex with a defense tower between 1457 and 1460 . With the help of the Hanseatic League, the Cirksena conquered the city and castle of Emden in 1433 , where a Hanseatic garrison was established. In 1439 this garrison withdrew and the Hanseatic League handed the castle over to the Cirksena. In 1458 Ulrich Cirksena had this castle expanded considerably. Emden Castle was the residence of the East Frisian count and princely family from 1464 to 1595. In 1447 they also built the Averborg in the Aurich castle district. During the Emden Revolution , citizens of the city stormed the local castle on April 19, 1595 and partially razed it. Count Edzard II then forcibly moved his residence to Aurich . In the 15th century the Cirksena inherited Berum Castle , which Edzard II had expanded into a moated castle in the Renaissance style, which from then on served as the family's widow's seat .
The Averborg in the Aurich castle district
The Cirksena in Rietberg
The Cirksena were the rulers of the County of Rietberg from 1581 to 1699 . This initially happened in personal union with East Frisia, after Count Enno III. the Rietbergsche heir daughter Walburg von Rietberg had married. In the Berumer settlement (1600), however, he ceded the county of Rietberg to his daughters.
Enno's brother, Count Johann III. , married his niece Sabina Catharina , Enno's daughter and Rietberg's heir , with papal dispensation in 1601 . Both had converted to Catholicism and thus founded the Catholic branch line of the Cirksena. The last male descendant of the Ostfriesland family in Rietberg, Count Ferdinand Maximilian , died in 1687. His heir, Maria Ernestine Francisca, married Maximilian Ulrich von Kaunitz in 1699 .
coat of arms
The coat of arms of the Cirksena family shows a crowned golden virgin eagle (other names: harpy , angel) on a black background. This motif found its way into the various successor coats of arms. For example in the final coat of arms of East Frisia, which Count Rudolf Christian established in 1625. Here the virgin eagle adorns the most elegant, heraldic right upper coat of arms. The coat of arms is still in use today as the coat of arms of Ostfriesland.
The upper half of the Emden coat of arms also represents the Cirksena virgin eagle. The Cirksena resided in the city of Emden until the Emden Revolution in 1595. The Dutch city of Delfzijl opposite Emden has also included the Cirksena coat of arms in theirs. This is due to the reign of Edward the Great in the Groningerland . The crowned virgin eagle in the coat of arms of the Aurich district , which has been changed in color, can also be traced back to the Cirksena. Today's municipality of Krummhörn , in which the ancestral home of the Cirksena was located, has included the family's coat of arms in the municipal coat of arms.
After the Cirksena had taken over the rule in the county of Rietberg, their emblem found its place in the coat of arms of Rietberg between the coat of arms of the old ruling family and that of the Harlingerland . Later it was supplemented by the coat of arms of the Kaunitz family.
Due to the connection between East Frisia and Rietberg, the Cirksena eagle can still be found in the reverse color scheme (black on gold) in the lower right (heraldic: lower left) in the coat of arms of the Principality of Liechtenstein : Gundaker von Liechtenstein had the second daughter of Count Enno III. and Walburg von Rietberg, Agnes Cirksena, married and derived a claim to Rietberg.
The Krumstert , a popular name for a coin that was in circulation in East Friesland in the 15th century, was stamped with a soaring lion, which the Cirksena replaced with a virgin eagle.
Family coat of arms of the Cirksena
Cirksena coat of arms
Coat of arms of East Frisia
Wappenstein from Aurich Castle
Coat of arms of the Counts of Rietberg from the house of Cirksena
Coat of arms of Kaunitz-Rietberg
Coat of arms of Liechtenstein with the Cirksena coat of arms in inverted colors
Coat of arms of Delfzijl
Coat of arms of the Aurich district
Krummhörn coat of arms
Origin of name
The name Cirksena is of Frisian origin and is still widely used as a family name in East Frisia. It probably goes back to the old first name Tirk ("Cirk"). Enno Attena took over the respected name on the occasion of his marriage to the heiress Gela von Manslagt.
Ruler of East Frisia
| Illustration | Name and dates of life | Reign | title | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ulrich I (* around 1408; † September 25 or 26, 1466) |
1464-1466 | Count | In 1464 Ulrich and his descendants were raised to the rank of imperial count . He then moved his main residence from Greetsiel to Emden , while Aurich became his summer residence. |
|
Theda (1432 - November 16, 1494) |
1466-1491 | Regent of the county of East Friesland | As Ulrich I's widow, Theda led the government when her sons were immature. Her eldest son Enno I supported her until he died on February 19, 1491 near Friedeburg . |
|
Edzard I (the Great) (1462-14 February 1528) |
1491-1528 | Count | Edzard the Great was Ulrich I's second son. He brought about the greatest expansion of East Frisia and promoted the Reformation . The " East Frisian Land Law " was created under his government . |
|
Enno II (1505-24 September 1540) |
1528-1540 | Count | Edzard I's second son continued the work of the Reformation that had begun under his father , while his younger brother Johann I remained Catholic but took part in government affairs. |
|
Anna (14 November 1501 - 24 September 1575) |
1540-1561 | Regent of the county of East Friesland | Widow Ennos II led the custodial government after she had compared herself with her brother-in-law, the Catholic Count Johann I. |
|
Johann II (born September 29, 1538 - † September 29, 1591) |
1561-1591 | Count | Ennos II's youngest son ruled alongside his brother Edzard II from 1561 to 1591. | |
|
Edzard II (June 24, 1532 - March 1, 1599) |
1561-1599 | Count | Ennos II's eldest son ruled alongside his mother from 1558, alongside his brother Johann II from 1561 to 1591 , and alone from 1591 to 1599. Because of the disputes with his brother Johann II and the city of Emden , Edzard II moved his residence from Emden to Aurich . |
|
Enno III. (September 30, 1563 - August 19, 1625) |
1599-1625 | Count | During his reign, two important contracts were concluded between the Count's House and the East Frisian estates: the Emden Concordat of 1599 and the Osterhusischen Accord of 1611. |
|
Rudolf Christian (born June 25, 1602; † April 16, 1628) |
1625-1628 | Count | Ennos III. second son died in an accident at the age of 26. During the reign of Rudolf Christian, the visitation of East Frisia took place as a retreat and quarters for foreign troops who were involved in the Thirty Years' War . |
|
Ulrich II (July 6, 1605 - November 1, 1648) |
1628-1648 | Count | Ennos III. third son. During his reign the Thirty Years' War fell, in which East Frisia suffered great hardship from being visited by the troops of Count von Mansfeld . The only exception was Emden , as the recently completed Emder Wall protected the city from being captured by foreign troops. The fen culture also began during this time, when Emder citizens founded Timmelerfehn in 1633 (today's Westgroßefehn ). |
|
Juliane (April 14, 1606 - January 15, 1659) |
1648-1651 | Regent of the county of East Friesland | Juliane, Ulrich II's widow, led the custodial government because her children were minors. |
|
Enno Ludwig (October 29, 1632 - April 4, 1660) |
1651-1660 | Count, from 1654 prince | The eldest son of Ulrich II took office in 1651 as Count of East Frisia. He was in 1654 by Emperor Ferdinand III. through the mediation of the Helmstedt professor and native East Frisian Hermann Conring raised to the personal imperial prince status. |
|
Georg Christian (February 6, 1634 - June 6, 1665) |
1660-1665 | Prince | Since Enno Ludwig had no male descendants, Ulrich's second son followed in the government. He was raised to the hereditary prince status in 1662 . |
|
Christine Charlotte (October 21, 1645 - May 16, 1699) |
1665-1690 | Regent | After the death of her husband, Prince Georg Christian von Ostfriesland, Christine Charlotte von Württemberg ruled East Frisia for 25 years from 1665 onwards. |
|
Christian Eberhard (October 1, 1665 - June 30, 1708) |
1690-1708 | Prince | Christian Eberhard became prince on the day of his birth in 1665, but remained under the tutelage of his mother until 1690. He was called "the peaceable" because of his good relationship with the East Frisian estates. |
|
Georg Albrecht (born June 13, 1690 - † June 11, 1734) |
1708-1734 | Prince | As the second son of Prince Christian Eberhard, he ruled in difficult times. The country was particularly hard hit by the Christmas flood of 1717. The conflict between the Princely House and the Estates also erupted again during the reign of Georg Albrecht. |
|
Carl Edzard (June 18, 1716 - May 25, 1744) |
1734-1744 | Prince | Carl Edzard was the last Prince of East Friesland from the House of Cirksena. After the ongoing conflicts of the previous years between the Princely House and the Estates, it hardly had any respect. The city of Emden and other unruly estates refused to pay homage to him. After his death, East Frisia fell to King Friedrich II of Prussia . |
See also
- List of German noble families A – M
- List of the counts and princes of East Frisia
- List of the Counts of Rietberg
- Cirksena tribe list
literature
- Ernst Esselborn: The Cirksena family. The chiefs, counts and princes of East Friesland. sn, Berlin 1945.
- Hans Heinrich Hobbing: The establishment of the first-born succession in the East Frisian count house of the Cirksena. Friemann, Aurich 1915 ( treatises and lectures on the history of Ostfriesland 19, ISSN 0724-9772 ).
- Günther Möhlmann: Cirksena. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , pp. 255 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Heinrich Reimers : East Frisia until the extinction of his princely house. Friesen-Verlag, Bremen 1925 (reprint. Sendet, Vaduz 1991).
- Heinrich Schmidt : Political history of East Frisia. Gerhard Rautenberg, Leer 1975 ( Ostfriesland in the protection of the dike 5), pp. 76–328.
Remarks
- ^ Martin Tielke: East Frisian landscape
- ^ P. Tergast: The coins of the counts of East Friesland. In: Emder yearbook . Volume 21. 1925, pp. 1–13, here: p. 13 (PDF).
- ↑ ULRICH I. <Count of East Frisia> . In: Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia (PDF; 107 kB)
- ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Friesland : Theda (PDF; 48 kB)
- ^ Franz Xaver von Wegele: Edzard I. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 650.
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Enno II. (PDF; 70 kB)
- ↑ Ernst Friedländer: Anna, Countess and Regent of East Frisia . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, p. 468 f.
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Johann II. (PDF; 55 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Edzard II. (PDF; 145 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Enno III. (PDF; 66 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Friesland : Rudolf Christian (PDF; 47 kB)
- ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia : Ulrich II. (PDF; 48 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Juliane (PDF; 52 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Enno Ludwig (PDF; 68 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Georg Christian (PDF; 70 kB)
- ^ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Christine Charlotte (PDF)
- ↑ Biographical lexicon for East Frisia : Christian Eberhard (PDF; 67.2 kB)
- ^ Günther Möhlmann: Cirksena. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , pp. 255 f. ( Digitized version ). (Family article, mentioned there p. 256)
- ↑ Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia : Carl Edzard (PDF; 81 kB)
Web links
- Genealogy of Cirksenas (English)
- Walter Deeters: Cirksena on the website of the Residences Commission of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen . Accessed October 27, 2013.