Heinrich von Stöcken

Heinrich (Hinrich, Henrik) von Stöcken (born May 8, 1631 in Rendsburg , † July 11, 1681 in Kolding ) was a Danish rent master .

Live and act

Heinrich von Stöcken was a son of the Rendsburg customs administrator and councilor Hinrich von Stöcken († August 1, 1643) and his wife Abel, née Gude (September 7, 1607, † September 8, 1664), whose father was the Rendsburg mayor Claus Gude . In contrast to his brother Gerhard von Stökken , he did not attend a university, but for a short time a school in Rendsburg and then trained as a letter writer and accounting officer with Land Chancellor Hinrich von Hatten . From 1651 he worked as a scribe for Cai von Ahlefeldt and after his appointment as General War Commissioner as a handwriter. After the end of the Danish-Swedish war , he worked for von Ahlefeldt, who probably recommended him for the later position in Copenhagen , as an inspector on his property in Schleswig.

In April 1663, von Stöcken in Copenhagen followed Christoffer Gabel as treasurer and envelope manager of the duchies' rent chamber. In this position he received the net income of the royal offices of the duchies and the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst on the Kiel envelope every year until 1680 . From 1664 he obviously took over all of Gabel's duties. In 1668 he received the title of assessor of the German chancellery , in 1670, due to a new instruction from the treasury, he was appointed assessor of the committee. This corresponded to his actual position.

In 1674 a commissariat for the finance of the land forces was established, to which von Stöcken belonged. In the new collegial body he had a key position alongside Vice Treasurer Holger Vind, which only existed until 1679. Subsequently, as General War Commissioner, he was responsible for the entire financial system of the army and was a member of the Admiralty College, which decided on the finances of the fleet. In 1676 he was appointed chamber councilor in the civil finance administration and in 1677 he was appointed rent master. In 1679 he took over the management of a new college of rent chambers, which he himself had proposed and which represented the highest authority in the civilian financial administration. He remained in his previous positions and controlled the entire financial system of Denmark.

A rent master had only a comparatively low rank within the government. Therefore von Stöcken was appointed privy councilor in 1680, but was not given a seat in the secret council, which determined foreign policy. His influence on the king reached so far that the plans of the Grand Chancellor Friedrich von Ahlefeldt could torpedo. On February 11, 1679, he and his family received the privileges of civil servants and were raised to the nobility. On June 25, 1681, he therefore received the so-called "Wappenbrief", in which his noble coat of arms was described.

personality

A French envoy described von Stöcken as coarse and uneducated. He never left Denmark, only learned to calculate and pursued the only goal of taking money from the subjects for the king. He probably passed this judgment because he was on the side of the Grand Chancellor and was an educated, well-traveled man. It is certainly true that von Stöcken only got into positions of power because of his professional zeal and that he had great assertiveness. He consistently took action against all tax privileges in order to balance the state budget. He increased the state's income by following the example of Sweden, pledging and confiscating goods from the Crown that had been given away. In addition, he carefully checked all accounts drawn up since 1670. In the last months of his life he negotiated a land survey, according to which new tax records should be established.

Von Stöcken's low popularity is understandable because of his measures. It represented an absolutist system in which all citizens had to submit to the state and its central administration. The structure of the Rentkammer existed in this form almost unchanged until 1841.

family

Stöcken married on November 14, 1660 in Övelgönne , and it was probably Ovelgönne , Anna Catharina von Felden, whose father Ernst von Felden worked as a lawyer in Colmar . The couple had two daughters and five sons, one of whom died at a young age:

• The son Cai Burchard (1661-1710) worked from 1681 to 1685 as an assessor for the Danish Treasury College. From 1694 to 1699 he was Landdrost in Oldenburg and repeatedly Danish ambassador.
• The daughter Abigael Marie (around 1662–1714) married Peter (von) Brandt , who succeeded her father as chief pensioner in office.
• The son Christopher Ernst von Stöcken (1664-1711) was a Danish officer at sea.
• The son of Hans Heinrich von Stöcken (1666–1709) was a Danish ambassador and budget counselor.
• The daughter Anna Margrethe (1668-1732) married the budget councilor Conrad (Bierman) von Ehrenschild .
• The son Gerhard Christian von Stöcken (1671–1728) served as a Danish army officer, was promoted to major general in 1712 and lieutenant general in 1725.

Stöcken was buried under the choir of the Trinity Church in Copenhagen. His epitaph in the church is hidden by a confessional.

literature

• Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stocks, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , pages 250-252.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 250.
2. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , pages 250-251.
3. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 251.
4. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 251.
5. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 251.
6. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , pages 251-252.
7. ↑ Dieter Lohmeier, Karl F. Otto: Stöcken, Heinrich von . in: Schleswig-Holstein biographical lexicon . Volume 5. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1979. ISBN 3-529-02645-X , page 250.