Gottfried Joseph von Raesfeld

Gerardus Gottfried Joseph von Raesfeld (born September 23, 1706 in Cologne , † December 21, 1765 in Bonn ) was the Grand Chancellor of Cologne and Conference Minister of Elector Clemens August of Bavaria .

family

He came from the Romberg line of the Raesfeld family and was the son of the Cologne court advisor Dr. jur. Johann Gottfried von Raesfeld (1659–1728) and Agnes Valeria von Nemhardt († 1737), a daughter of Valerius von Nemhardt and Sibilla la France. The godparents were Joh. Gerardus Gise and Magdalena Fürstin.

life and career

He completed his law studies with a doctorate in law. jur. from. His father, Johann Gottfried von Raesfeld, who was already employed in the administration of the Electorate of Cologne, gave him the opportunity to become a civil servant with the central government in Bonn after completing his studies. He advanced to court and government councilor as well as bailiff of the city of Bonn, where he proved himself to be a good lawyer and administrative specialist. As a result, he was promoted to State Secretary. He was in the "Expeditions for Münster and Paderborn" for the Hochstifte Münster and Paderborn, also ruled by Clemens August von Bayern . Soon he was responsible for all "Reich and Foreign Affairs". Later, Elector Clemens August entrusted him with the management and processing of all "highly political affairs". In September 1755, an order from the Elector, issued in Venice, arrived in Bonn by which Gottfried Joseph von Raesfeld was appointed Grand Chancellor and Court Councilor Chancellor. In June 1756 he was also appointed Minister of State and Conference with the task of “arranging all military honors”. He was entitled “Grand-Chancelier de la Cour et du conceil antique et interdant des archives”. Finally, he was appointed President of the Council of State (“president du conceil d'état”). On March 14, 1757, Emperor Franz I , the consort of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria , raised him to the status of imperial baron.

He saw himself endowed with an abundance of power that hardly anyone in this administration had held before him. The new Grand Chancellor became the sole representative of Electoral Cologne politics. In these difficult political times - also with empty coffers - according to the judgment of foreign diplomats, he was forced to do all business without outside help. Gottfried von Raesfeld tried hard to cope with the bulk of the work, which was made easier for him by his great knowledge, which was still widely attested at that time.

The political facts behind his rise to baron were as follows: Under the Wittelsbacher Clemens August, Prince-Bishop of Münster since 1719 and Elector of Cologne from 1722–1761, the policy of the Electorate of Cologne traditionally followed the anti-Habsburg direction. The father of Elector Clemens August, Elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria , was Louis XIV's closest ally in the War of the Spanish Succession . In 1740 the older brother of Clemens August, the Bavarian Elector Karl Albrecht , protested at the death of Emperor Karl VI. immediately against the “Pragmatic Sanction” with Prussia, Saxony and France as allies. He attacked Maria Theresa , Charles VI's only daughter, and claimed the Habsburg hereditary lands. Karl Albrecht was elected and crowned emperor as Charles VII in 1742. In this struggle against the Habsburgs, Clemens August was his brother's most ardent supporter of the party, who was also able to influence this election through his unusually high financial resources.

In pursuing these political goals, Gottfried Josef von Raesfeld made little prominence. But when Emperor Karl VII died in 1745, the policy of the Bavarian house became irrelevant, because his successor was won by the Habsburgs. The House of Wittelsbach, including Clemens August, now recognized the “ Pragmatic Sanction ” and Franz I. Stephan was elected German Emperor on September 13, 1745.

Now the campaign for the French alliance against Frederick the Great began . The Bonn court supported Habsburg politics. In 1756 the Franco-Austrian alliance was concluded. Gottfried Joseph von Raesfeld played a decisive role in this political work, as his employer, Elector Clemens August, devoted himself more to art and hunting. During this time, the Schloss zu Brühl , the Poppelsdorf Palace , the extensions to the electoral residence in Bonn and finally the Bonn City Hall were built . Clemens August, who died in 1761, in his will of February 6, 1761, gave Gottfried Josef von Raesfeld a legacy of 1000 Reichsthalers.

The Wittelsbacher Clemens August was succeeded as Prince-Bishop Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels , who cared even less than his predecessor about politics and government and administrative work in his territory. It was now exclusively in the hands of Gottfried Joseph von Raesfeld. His achievement is recognized as exemplary in virtually all historical sources. He stayed away from court life almost entirely and devoted himself passionately to music in his few leisure hours. In this way he managed to stay out of court intrigues as far as possible and was the only minister to keep Clemens August's favor until his death. Of course, it was very important to him to keep his position under the new regent. Immediately after Clemens August's death, he turned to the Imperial Austrian envoy, Count Pergen, with the request,

"Now, since after so many years your Imperial Majesty has entertained the good disposition of his gracious sovereigns in all imaginative ways with the greatest effort and suffered indescribable annoyance, she will not perish to the mockery of his enemies and envious people thus acquired, but the reality of the protection assured to me will be felt by the fact that it will be initiated in the case of future successors so that the ministry will receive me in a decent manner. "

The Austrian representatives and also the French envoy campaigned for Gottfried von Raesfeld to remain in his office. Elector Maximilian Friedrich, on the other hand, showed little inclination for the old Grand Chancellor, but declared himself ready to at least let him handle matters relating to the Reich and the district. After 1764 the name of the Grand Chancellor von Raesfeld disappeared from the court almanacs. The verdict of the new French ambassador Bausset about the Grand Chancellor was very different from that of the old one: he said he had an "unshakable stupidity and incompetence".

In some political affairs his adversary was his sprawling cousin Peter von Raesfeld, Klevian government chancellor Frederick the Great from the Kleve-Kreuzforth-Winnenthal branch.

Raesfeld died unmarried on December 21, 1765 at the age of 59 and was buried in St. Martin zu Bonn. The burial entry in the church book of St. Martin in Bonn reads:

"Mortui 1765, 21. decembris sepultus fuit in ecclesia St. Martini excellentissimus Dominus Godefridus Josephus liber baro de Raesfeldt serenissimi gloriosae memoriae Clementis Augusti magnus cancellarius et Eminentissimi Principis Electoris Maximiliani Friderici Regiminis cancellarius, Director feudorum et Archivii."

supporting documents

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Walter von Raesfeld: The sex of the barons and lords of Raesfeld . Recklinghausen 1962, pp. 285ff. mwN
2. ^ ^{A b} Annals of the historical association for the Lower Rhine, in particular of the old Archdiocese of Cologne, 144 and 145; Section: “Minister and Chancellor, Conference and Cabinet in Kur-Köln in the 17th and 18th centuries” Issue 1946/7 pp. 189–195.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Anton Fahne: The memorable and useful Rhenish antiquarian, Middle Rhine III Dept. 5 Volume III
4. ↑ Certificate of the survey of Jos. From Raesfeld to the Reichsfreiherrnstand, documents Kur-Köln; Companion Copy in the author's archive
5. ↑ From the family records of the Koblenz archivist Hermann van Ham; 25.03.-1954