Friedrich von Rödern

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Coat of arms of the Silesian family von Rödern

Friedrich Freiherr von Rödern , also Friedrich von Redern (* before 1524 ; † March 3, 1564 in Breslau , Principality of Breslau ), was a Silesian nobleman and as the first President of the Silesian Chamber an Austrian minister.

Life

origin

Friedrich von Rödern came from the Silesian noble family von Redern auf Ruppersdorf (Wyszionowice, district of Wansen / Wiązów ). His father was Christoph von Redern zu Ruppersdorf, Bohrau , Schönfeld (Siedlimowice near Żarów ), Warkotsch (district of Strehlen ) and Jenkwitz ( municipality of Kostenblut ), his mother was Anna Wachtel.

Gröditzberg Castle 2011

Marriage and castle captain

In 1533 he was named Herr zu Markt Bohrau . In 1539 he married Salomé von Schönaich († December 17, 1556), daughter of the warlord Georg von Schönaich. The couple had eight children. 1542 is mentioned by Rödern as the castle captain of the Gröditzberg . In 1541 he inherited Ruppersdorf together with his brothers, and in 1546 he bought Mückendorf (Muchowiec, district of Strehlen ) and Baude (which went under). He has not been at Gröditzberg Castle since 1545 at the latest.

Royal Commissioner and Council

In 1551 Friedrich von Rödern was appointed by King Ferdinand I as commissioner to take over the principality of Opole , which had to be released from the pledge of the margraves of Brandenburg-Ansbach, on behalf of the king . Von Rödern was supposed to check the finances flowing into the king and restore lost income. In 1552 he continued this activity, now also for the Principality of Ratibor . At the end of 1552 and again in April 1553, he was sent by King Ferdinand as a diplomat to Queen Isabella of Hungary to negotiate an exchange of the principalities of Opole and Ratibor with Hungary and the Transylvanian lands. According to other sources, Isabella had already renounced Hungary by this time and was in Poland. As a reward for his activities, von Rödern received the Upper Silesian towns of Tost (1553) and Peiskretscham (1554), along with the royal income in pledging, for a moderate sum. In addition, von Rödern was appointed royal councilor at the Viennese court.

View of the city of Wroclaw at the end of the 15th century. From the Schedel world chronicle .

Vitztum in Silesia

On January 3, 1554, King Ferdinand I appointed him as a Vitztum ( vicedominus ) in Silesia. The Vitztum was subordinate to the Bohemian Chamber , which it was also obliged to issue accounts. His task was to regulate the financial system in Silesia and to raise again the royal income, which had fallen through years of neglect. To this end, von Rödern was supposed to review the traditional privileges and agreements with the Bohemian kings in all places in Silesia, but especially in wealthy Wroclaw , and if necessary repair them and renew them. Friedrich von Rödern received an annual salary of 700 thalers and an apartment and official residence in the royal castle in Breslau. In fulfilling his task, he went to the work without any consideration. In many places, rights exercised in good faith were suddenly challenged and documentary evidence required. Often services for the king that had long since fallen out of use were demanded again. That made him very hateful in Silesia and especially in the Wroclaw City Council.

Friedland Castle in Bohemia.

The gentlemen Friedland and Seidenberg

For his services, von Rödern received the Upper Lusatian rule Seidenberg and the Bohemian rule Friedland with the city of Reichenberg as a male inheritance from King Ferdinand I in 1558 for a sum of 40,000 thalers . King Ferdinand needed the money to release the rulers of Opole and Ratibor from the pledge. Friedrich von Rödern proved to his new subjects as a mild, benevolent sovereign who was fond of the Reformation . However, his grandson Christoph von Redern lost the rule to Albrecht von Wallenstein again in 1620 after the Battle of the White Mountain . Then the Protestants were expelled and Catholicism was reintroduced.

President of the Silesian Chamber

On November 21, 1558, the financial administration of Silesia was completely spun off from the Bohemian Chamber and instead of the Vitztum a separate Silesian Chamber was created with Friedrich von Rödern as the chamber president. The Silesian Chamber also included the Chamber Councilors Chancellor Hans Schaffgotsch von Kynast , Knight Heinrich von Hohberg and Dr. Fabian Kindler.

The reputation of the new chamber authority was even worse than that of the Vitztum. This was shown, for example, in the fact that the councilors only managed to buy or rent an apartment in Wroclaw with the greatest difficulty. From the pulpit they were in a sermon " for court devils who talked about court soups what E. [ure] M. [ajestät] like to hear ". There were even physical attacks on the councils and their servants.

Coat of arms of the barons of Rödern

Baron class

Nevertheless, with the establishment of the Chamber of Silesia, it became financially independent from Bohemia and was only subordinate to the Court Chamber in Vienna.

Friedrich von Rödern was transferred to the baron class on April 17, 1562 . On September 26, 1562 he received a diploma as Lord of Friedland and Seidenberg .

Significance for Silesian history

Friedrich von Rödern died in Breslau in 1564. His best-known son was the later General Field Marshal Melchior von Redern (1555–1600) , who was only nine years old at the time .

Despite the bitter conflicts, the activity of Friedrich von Röder was beneficial for the fragmented Silesia and he is undoubtedly the most important minister of King Ferdinand I in this country.

literature

References and comments

  1. ^ Alfons Huber: The negotiations of Ferdinand I with Isabella von Siebenbürgen 1551-1555. In: Archives for Austrian history . 78, 1892, pp. 1-39
  2. ↑ Dr. Fabian Kindler (1515–1572) was the son of the Breslau doctor Fabian Kindler. He had studied at city expense. His change to the side of the king made him a "traitor" in Breslau and brought him a lot of hostility. The Kindler family was wealthy on Bischkowitz (Biskupice, district of Jordanów Śląski ) and Schottwitz (Sołtysowice, locality of Psie Pole , Breslau).
  3. ^ Felix Rachfahl: The organization of the overall state administration of Silesia before the Thirty Years' War. Duncker & Humblot, 1894, p. 323 ff.
  4. ^ Anton Schimon: The nobility of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. Philipp Geržabek, Böhmisch-Leipa , 1859, p. 133
  5. ↑ Quarterly magazine for coat of arms, seal and family studies . Volume 3, 1875, p. 220
personal data
SURNAME Rödern, Friedrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Redern, Friedrich von; Wheels, Friedrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Silesian nobleman, Austrian minister in Silesia
DATE OF BIRTH before 1524
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1564
Place of death Breslau , Principality of Breslau