Georg Wilhelm Wahnschaffe

Georg Wilhelm Wahnschaffe (born April 12, 1710 in Frellstedt , Elm ; † September 12, 1791 in the Üplingen manor, Halberstadt ) was a Prussian senior bailiff , Braunschweig-Lüneburg drost , entrepreneur, land improver and multiple domain and manor owner . He became the progenitor of numerous landowners Wahnschaffe.

life and work

Georg Wilhelm Wahnschaffe was born as the son of Obermüller zu Frellstedt Hans Wahnschape (* in Räbke, January 14, 1657, buried in Frellstedt April 22, 1720) from his second marriage to Ilse Elisabeth Sander in Weferlingen on January 31, 1708. Georg Wilhelm's wife II. Marriage was Johanna Friderica Maria Wahnschaffe (* in Königslutter on December 14, 1715, † September 1, 1781 in Warberg). In 1729 he was a miller in Frellstedt, 1734–1740 “Fürstl. Herrenmüller ”in Königslutter am Elm, and there since 1737 also“ Citizens and Brewers ”, and thus also the owner of a brewery. He then made a very extraordinary career and finally made it to the Prussian Oberamtmann, Braunschweigischer Drost and multiple domain and manor owner. The latter, in that he began to take possession of a number of Prussian domains and manors, mostly by leasing:

• 1740 the domain (with castle) Schickelsheim near Königslutter,
• 1750 the prussia. Domain Weferlingen , where he also moved into the associated office building,
• 1758 the domain Warberg (incl. The office), where he took his new office and residence in the castle Warberg (with distillery),
• 1758 the Hornburg domain with its traditionally strong hop production,
• 1763 the domain of Hesse - a very important one in the Duchy of Braunschweig (with Hesse Castle , the former residence of the dukes), and in the same year
• 1763 the Achim domain,
• 1766 the domains Warsleben and Altona,
• 1770 the domain of Burg Westerburg with the old castle of the Regenstein counts and also
• 1774 the manor Üplingen of the von Borstell,
• 1778 the domains Siegersleben and Hakenstedt, and likewise
• 1778 the manor Morsleben von Veltheim, where a coal mine was operated in addition to agriculture,
• 1784 the domain Großalsleben in the Magdeburg Börde.

He also leased the Fürstenberg domain on the Weser until 1771.

The manor of Üplingen, Neuhaldensleben district, which he rebuilt and partly rebuilt, including the manor house with a spacious park, an unusual church (a rare baroque octagon building with his coffin in the crypt vault) and colonist houses, etc., was the family seat . His descendants expanded the estate into a mighty double complex and acquired additional goods, including the Teutonic Order Coming Lucklum in Lucklum am Elm.

coat of arms

With some of the goods, but also his function as bailiff etc., there was also a jurisdiction, which is why Georg Wilhelm Wahnschaffe chose an arm protruding from clouds (?) As the family coat of arms, which holds the scales of Justitia. And given the economic basis of all the large farms, he used three ears of grain as a crest.

Wahnschaffe was considered an excellent economist who was also consulted on various questions about the improvement of the country. In particular, he was an excellent hydraulic engineering expert. a. the Great Break in the northern Harz foreland (a swamp area from Hornburg to Oschersleben) drained - by means of a 50 km long main drainage ditch that reached from the Ilse to the Bode-Knie, later partly. formed the zone boundary and was called "Wahnschaffe-Graben" for 150 years. The area drained in this way is, according to the statements of the geographer Anton Friedrich Büsching in his "New Earth Description" (3rd vol.), soon "was transformed into the most beautiful meadows, meadows and pastures and can be called the hay magazine of the principality". The Prussian king Friedrich II, "the great", expressed himself accordingly. Wahnschaffe had "peacefully conquered a province" for him! In recognition of his achievements, Wahnschaffe is said to have been offered the title of nobility - a request that he refused.

He is likely to have made his knowledge of hydraulic engineering and drainage usable for himself insofar as he was able to acquire or lease goods with shares in marshland - relying on his knowledge of drainage.

Coming from a miller's family on the Elm, he became the progenitor of numerous officials and landowners Wahnschaffe, primarily in the Braunschweig-Halberstadt area (Börde).

A portrait of him shows him in side view with a curly wig and French braid with a bow, in a blue tailcoat with a gold shoulder tassel, gold buttons and ruffled silk lace in the neckline.

Literature and Sources

• Joachim Lehrmann : The early history of the book trade and publishing industry in the old university town of Helmstedt as well as the history of the once important paper mills at Räbke am Elm and Salzdahlum / Helmstedter and Räbker book and paper history . Taught 1994, ISBN 978-3-9803642-0-1 .
• Hans Wätjen: History of the Wahnschaffe Family . Typewritten publication in family circles. 1972.
• Anton Friedrich Büsching : New description of the earth . 3rd volume, Hamburg 1790.
• Kurt Winkelsesser: German gender book (DGB) 160. Genealogical handbook of bourgeois families. Sources and compilations with lineages of German bourgeois genders . Volume 3, Limburg 1972.

Web links

• Stiftungsgut Üplingen GbR - especially the history of the property [1]
• "Helmstedter and Räbker book and paper history" (see literature) - also on the Müller family Wahnschaffe [2]
• Article from the "Volksstimme", also on the history of the Üplingen estate [3]