Gerhard Dönhoff
Gerhard Dönhoff (born January 15, 1590 in Marienburg , † December 23, 1648 in Marienburg) was an imperial count , Polish castellan of Danzig and voivode of Wenden and Pomeranian .
family
Count Gerhard von Dönhoff came from the Dönhoff family and was a son of Gerhard von Dönhoff († after 1602) and Margarethe von Zweifeln († 1622). He was married to Countess Katarzyna Zofia Opalińska (1596–1635) since 1629 . In his second marriage he married Sibylle Margarethe Duchess of Brieg (1620–1657)
Gerhard Dönhoff was the progenitor of Count Denhoff in Poland († 1791). Although both sons and daughters emerged from his two marriages, only Count Władysław Denhoff (1639-1683) continued the tribe with Count Stanisław Ernest Denhoff († 1728). With the latter, however, this line already died out in the male line.
Life
In 1621 Dönhoff was in command of the German infantry auxiliaries in Royal Prussia . In the Polish-Swedish War he took an active part in the years 1624-1625 and gained fame as the commander of Thorn .
Appointed royal advisor in maritime affairs in 1629, he became supervisor of the Polish navy in 1635, whose reconstruction and development he made significant progress. The proposals made by Dönhoff and Jerzy Ossoliński for the collection of sea tariffs were also implemented.
In 1642 Dönhoff was castellan of Danzig, in 1643 voivode of Pomerania and Royal Prussia, where he was also treasurer, and finally in 1645 the queen's court marshal .
He was Starost von Berent , Skarszew , Lignowsk, Adsel , Fellin , Lucyn , Lignowsk as well as Starost and economist from Marienburg.
He was several times for King Władysław IV. Wasa as envoy in diplomatic matters in Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen and Paris.
On 11 January 1633 he is by Emperor Ferdinand II. In the imperial counts have been lifted. Count Dönhoff remained an ardent Calvinist throughout his life and was buried in Elbing .
literature
- Kilian Heck, Christian Thielemann (ed.): Friedrichstein. The castle of the Counts of Dönhoff in East Prussia. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-422-06593-8 ; Pp. 13f., 19-23, 26, 204 and 293.
- Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables , new series. Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt / Main 2002, Volume XX, ISBN 978-3-465-03166-6 , tables 111; 117B
- Gustav Sommerfeld: On the history of the Pomeranian voivod Count Gerhard von Dönhoff († December 23, 1648) . In: Journal of the West Prussian History Association 43 (1901), pp. 219–265
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Dönhoff, Gerhard |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Denhoff, Gerhard; Dönhoff, Gerhard von; Dönhoff, Gerhard Graf von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Polish castellan of Danzig and voivode of Wenden and Pomeranian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 15, 1590 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Marienburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 23, 1648 |
| Place of death | Marienburg |