Ernst Johann von Biron

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Ernst Johann von Biron

Ernst Johann von Biron (born November 23, 1690 in Kalnzeem , Semgallen , Duchy of Courland and Semgallia (now part of Latvia ), † December 29, 1772 in Mitau ) was Duke of Courland and Semgallia and regent of the Russian Empire in 1740 .

Origin and advancement

Ernst Johann von Biron came from the Bühren family , who had lived in Courland since 1564 , and were ennobled by the Polish King Władysław IV Wasa in 1638 , but did not belong to the Courland knighthood . His parents were Carl von Bühren (1653-1735), Polish Cornett , and Catharina Hedwig, née von der Raab (1663-1740). He is said to have studied in Königsberg and in 1723 married Benigna Gottliebe von Trotta called Treyden (1703–1782). The couple had two sons, Peter (1724–1800) and Carl Ernst (1728–1801) and a daughter, Hedwig Elisabeth (1727–1793).

Biron was first secretary, then court master and close confidante of the duchess-widow Anna Ivanovna of Courland , a half-niece of Peter the Great . Soon he made himself indispensable to her. When Anna became Tsarina of Russia in 1730 , he went to Saint Petersburg with her , and she continued to maintain her favor with him - despite protests from the Russian nobility . At the same time she left the government business to him as Lord Chamberlain . In the same year he was from Emperor Charles VI. appointed Count of the Holy Roman Empire and accepted into the Courland knighthood. At the same time he adopted the name and coat of arms of the French dukes of Biron .

Within a short time he became the most powerful man in the Russian Empire. Although he did not belong to the government and did not hold a state office, he managed important state affairs together with Burkhard Christoph von Münnich and Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann . He was in control of the finances and was involved in foreign policy, e.g. B. by asserting Russian influence in Poland in the War of the Polish Succession . Due to his close relationship with the tsarina, his ambition and greed, however, he drew the hatred of the Russian nobility.

Tsarina Anna showered Biron with gifts, medals and courtly dignities. From her came the money for his Courland castles, his splendid household and the purchase of pledged Courland manors . With the purchase of the Lower Silesian domain of Groß Wartenberg , he invested the 180,000 thalers abroad as a precaution, which he had received from the Empress out of joy at the conquest of Danzig in 1734.

In 1737, after the death of the last Duke Ferdinand Kettler from the Kettler dynasty , the Knighthood of Courland elected him the new Duke of Courland, while two Russian regiments under the command of Ludolf August von Bismarck occupied the royal seat of Mitau . Although Biron remained in Petersburg, the election by the Polish King August III. accepted. He was feudal lord of Courland and thus reciprocated for Russia's support in his own election in 1733.

At Biron's own request, Tsarina Anna appointed him shortly before her death on October 17, 1740 as the guardian of her underage successor Ivan VI, who was born on August 23, 1740 . , in whose name he should take the position of imperial regent and thereby gain full power. However, his reign was short-lived.

descent

Ernst Johann Biron was splendid and addicted to pleasure, bossy and cruel. Personal opponents were ruthlessly and relentlessly persecuted. Many people were executed during his reign: 12,000 rebels are said to have been executed and 20,000 were exiled to Siberia. Several noble families went into exile.

With the death of Tsarina Anna, the influential party of Germans and foreigners split . Minister Ostermann kept his distance from Biron and Field Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Münnich became his enemy. With the help of the Preobrazhensk body guard regiment , Münnich arrested him on November 20, 1740 on behalf of Ivan's mother, Princess Anna of Mecklenburg . His family was also arrested. In Schliisselburg he was brought before an extraordinary court, headed by Münnich himself. He was convicted of high treason , lese majesty and embezzlement . He lost all offices and dignity, his property was confiscated and the whole family was exiled to Pelym in Siberia for life . However, he was allowed to take two clergymen, part of his servants, and his library with him. They also provided for a living.

By a coup d'état on December 6, 1741, Elizabeth I became Tsarina of Russia. Little Ivan, his parents, Münnich, Ostermann and other opponents of Biron were arrested. As early as December 20, 1741, Tsarina Biron called back from Siberia and gave him Yaroslavl as his place of residence, while Münnich was sent to Birons prison in Siberia. Nevertheless, in 1758 the Tsarina left the Courland liege prince and Polish King August III. declare that Biron would never be released. The Kurland knighthood then elected the Saxon Prince Karl , a son of August III. , to the new Duke.

Return and end

Coat of arms of the ducal family Biron of Curland (1769)

After Elisabeth's death in 1761, her nephew Peter III. new Russian tsar. Shortly before his death in 1762, he formally lifted Biron's exile, but did not intend to return the Duchy of Courland to him. On his return he was accompanied by his wife and two sons. His previous plenipotentiary in Courland, Freiherr von Knigge, who was then appointed Oberhofmarschall, and Friedrich Wilhelm Raison , whom he met in Riga and who would serve the ducal house for almost 30 years, had his greatest trust .

Peter's widow, Tsarina Catherine II , reinstated Biron as Duke of Courland in 1763, despite political objections from Saxony , and the ruling Duke Carl von Sachsen had to resign under pressure from Russia. However, part of the Courland knighthood refused to pay homage to Biron . Despite his autocratic tendencies, he is said to have ruled Courland mildly and fairly. In 1769 he resigned the office and installed his eldest son Peter as the new Duke of Courland. At the age of 82 he died in Mitau in 1772.

What remained

  • Its most visible traces are the Rundāle ( Ruhenthal ) palace near Bauska ( Bauske ) and the Jelgava ( Mitau ) palace , both of which were built by Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli .
  • The free state rule Groß Wartenberg in Silesia , which was acquired in 1734 and belonged to his mortal enemy Münnich for a year during the years of exile from 1740–1763, then to the Prussian royal house and from 1762–1763 again to Münnich, remained in the possession of the Biron von Curland family until 1945 .
  • There is a portrait of Ernst Johann in the Courland Provincial Museum in Mitau.
  • The term Bironovshchina has become common in Russian for the rule of an alien noble clique .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Great women of world history , Sebastian Lux Verlag , p. 27 ( Anna Iwanowna ), Ed. Antonius Lux
  2. ^ Carl Wilhelm Cruse : Curland among the dukes. GA Reyher, 1837, p. 94 ( limited preview in Google book search).
predecessor Office successor
Ferdinand Kettler Duke of Courland
1737–1758 		Charles of Saxony
Charles of Saxony Duke of Courland
1763–1769 		Peter of Biron
personal data
SURNAME Biron, Ernst Johann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bühren, Ernst Johann von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Courland
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1690
PLACE OF BIRTH Kalnzeem , Courland , today Latvia
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 1772
Place of death Mitau