Hans von Polenz
Hans von Polenz (* around 1380/85; † 1437 ) was bailiff of Lower Lusatia and for a short time also Upper Lusatia .
Hans von Polenz came from the Saxon-Meissnian noble family von Polenz , whose ancestral seat was in Polenz . In 1407 he was in the service of Frederick the Arguable , Margrave of Meißen, and in 1412 he was an official of Dresden. Polenz was marshal at the court of the margrave and also served in the war. In 1415 Hans von Polenz accompanied the burgrave Friedrich VI. from Nuremberg and later Elector Friedrich I of Brandenburg to the council in Constance .
Hans von Polenz was wealthy. Thanks to his fortune, he was able to expand his land holdings more and more by buying property from indebted nobles. In 1419 he bought part of the Wiesa estate near Pulsnitz from the Lords of Kamenz, which he later sold to the town of Kamenz . Around 1425 he was able to acquire the Upper Lusatian town of Königsbrück , which was sold by Georg von Waldau. Also Senftenberg brought Polenz by purchasing the Lords of Penzig and Gorenz in his possession. There a memorial plaque on the castle and the Polenzhaus still bear witness to his rule. Finally, Hans von Polenz also brought Finsterwalde into his possession. On November 19, 1416 he was enfeoffed by the Bohemian King Wenceslaus with possessions in the Lausitz .
In 1421 Polenz had violent arguments with the city of Lübben because of the use of the Spreewald .
In September 1413 he was bailiff of Lower Lusatia , where he was possibly already active in this office in 1406/1408. This Bohemian outlying country was harassed from all sides during his tenure; the neighboring princes strove to conquer it. Hans von Polenz had great difficulties defending the margravate against external enemies. He found himself unable to keep the peace in Lower Lusatia and therefore sought help from the Upper Lusatian Union of Six Cities , especially the citizens of Bautzen. At that time, the then sovereign of Lower Lusatia, the later Emperor Sigismund, lacked money, so in 1422 he pledged Lusatia to the wealthy governor for a loan of 7854 shock Bohemian groschen . During this time, Polenz also temporarily held the custodianship of the Upper Lusatian Landvogtei .
During the Hussite Wars , Hans von Polenz brought about an alliance between the nobility and the cities of both Lusatia and headed the defense of the two countries. On November 11th (according to other information November 16th) 1428 he was able to repel a Hussite army near Kratzau . At Easter 1432 he succeeded in signing a two-year peace treaty with the Hussites. In it they committed themselves to spare the goods of Hans von Polenz and the Lausitz.
Hans von Polenz died in 1437 and was probably buried under the font of the Peter-Paul-Kirche in Senftenberg. His widow Margarethe von Dohna had disputes about the inheritance and a. to fight with the Abbot of Dobrilugk. He left a son Jacob von Polenz.
literature
- Rudolf Lehmann : History of Niederlausitz . Berlin 1963
- Johann Wilhelm Neumann : Attempt of a history of the Lower Lusatian land bailiffs. 2 volumes. Lübben 1831/33.
- Schwabe: Hans von Polenz . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 26, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1888, p. 387 f.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Polenz, Hans von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Governor of Lower Lusatia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1380 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1437 |