Georg Kleefeld

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Georg Kleefeld , also: Klefeld, Cleefeld , (* January 23, 1522 in Elbing ; † March 2, 1576 in Danzig ) was a Danzig mayor and an important representative of the Hanseatic League .

Life

The son of the councilor of the same name became an orphan at an early age . He came to relatives in Danzig and was able to begin studying at the University of Wittenberg in 1543 . Supported by a scholarship from the Gdansk Council, he attended the University of Paris in 1546 , where he obtained a licentiate in law and then became in-house counsel for the city of Gdansk. On whose behalf he went to negotiations in England and received his doctorate on the return trip in Orléans for Doctor of rights.

In 1558 he became mayor of Danzig and remained so until the end of his life. In this function he took part in the Hanseatic Days, campaigned for the overall cohesion of the Hanseatic League and contributed significantly to regaining the Hanseatic privileges in England, especially since he had also campaigned for the preservation of the London Stalhof . He cleverly protected the interests of the city when the Polish king came into conflict with Russia and the Nordic countries. Especially when Sigismund II attacked the Prussian freedom of the land in 1565, after the death of Achatius von Zehmen , he took on a leading role in defending those privileges.

However, this did not affect the personal relationship with the king, although he was accused of the crime of majesty at the Warsaw Diet in 1563–1564. The king even appointed him burgrave of Danzig in 1568. Due to the intrigues of his opponents, especially in the camp of the Polish nobles, he was expelled from the Reichstag to the Lublin Union in 1569 , was charged with libel, rebellion and high treason, and on August 23, 1569 with his comrades in office Konstantin Ferber, Johann Proite and Albrecht Giese arrested. A commission appointed by the king suggested in December of the same year that the king's grace could be bought.

Inevitably, they entered into a pact that increased the stake money and provided the king with 100,000 florins over a period of 10 years  . In return, all of the city's complaints were to be resolved, but no agreement was reached on this point. The prisoners were released on December 2, 1570. After the death of Sigismund II, turmoil arose around the Polish throne. First Henry III. from France a short interlude as the Polish king and he was followed by Stephan Báthory . Since the Lutheran residents of Danzig did not want to accept the Confederation Act, political tensions arose again, which led to the battle on Lake Lübschauer See near Dirschau on April 17, 1577. Kleefeld did not experience this anymore because he died a year earlier.

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personal data
SURNAME Kleefeld, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Klefeld, Georg; Clefeld, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mayor of Gdansk
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1522
PLACE OF BIRTH Elblag
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 1576
Place of death Danzig