Beeskow reign

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Beeskow Castle, center of the former Beeskow rule, and later seat of the Beeskow office
Coat of arms of the city of Beeskow. On the left the three scythes of the Lords of Strele , on the right the red, five-pointed staghorn of the Lords of Bieberstein

The Beeskow lordship was originally an aristocratic lordship around the city of Beeskow , which originally belonged to Niederlausitz (or more precisely the margraviate Lausitz ) and was first documented in 1272. The rule was in 1518 together with the west subsequent domination Storkow (around Storkow ) of the plug end in need of money noble family of Bieber Steiner to the Bishop of Lebus pledged. The highly indebted Biebersteiner could no longer redeem the deposit. After their extinction in 1551, the fief nominally fell to the Bohemian crown. In 1555/56 the pledge was passed on to the Brandenburg margrave Johann von Küstrin , who ruled until his death in 1571. In return for high monetary payments to the Bohemian King and German Emperor Ferdinand I , the lien was initially extended. It was not until 1575 that the Brandenburg Elector Johann Georg obtained hereditary fief; the Beeskow rule (and the Storkow rule connected with it) had now actually become part of the Kurmark . Nominally, the Bohemian suzerainty remained in place until 1742. In the course of the 18th century, the Beeskow-Storkowische Kreis was formed from the two lords , which was dissolved in 1815, but restored in 1836 and lasted until 1950. The area of ​​the former Beeskow rule is now part of the Oder-Spree district ( Brandenburg ).

Limits

The western border (= border to the Storkow rulership ) runs from Fürstenwalde / Spree across the Petersdorfer See , Scharmützelsee , Großer Glubigsee , Springsee , Melangsee , Grubigsee and Godnasee to Alt-Schadow, further southeast to Plattkow , and along the Spree ( Werder , Kossenblatt , Briesen, Rocher, Trebatsch and Sawall). From Sawall along the Spree to the north through the Schwielochsee , Glower See and Leißnitzsee to Kummerow. Continue to the Spree , including the districts of Kummerow , Krügersdorf , Schneeberg , Merz , Ragow and Neuhaus .

Originally the rule Friedland and perhaps also the rule Lieberose could have belonged to the rule Beeskow. The rule Friedland belonged to the v. Strehla. Whether the city of Lieberose once belonged to the Lords of Strele or Strehla in its early days , because the Lieberose coat of arms contains a scythe, the coat of arms of the Lords of Strele shows three horizontal silver scythe blades on a red background, but is not documented. Another indication is that Lieberose and Friedland belonged to the provost in Beeskow in the Middle Ages. The “natural” eastern border runs across the Schlaubetal south to Reicherskreuz / Henzendorf and from there west to Schwansee via Trebitz to Möllen and Niewisch .

Associated places

The extent of Beeskow's rule only becomes clear at a later time. The historical local lexicon fixes, so to speak, the boundaries of the Beeskow rule as they existed around the middle / end of the 16th century when the rule passed to the Kurmark.

history

Beeskow was first mentioned in a document comparatively late in 1272 (see Storkow: first mentioning 1209). At that time, the urban settlement on the left bank of the Spree already existed. In 1318, the castle in the northern part of an island in the Spree, opposite the city, was first mentioned, where the Lords of Strehla sat at that time . A Kietz settlement developed on the southern part of the castle island.

The castle on the Spree island already existed in Slavic times; Here it covered a crossing of the Spree on the then important long-distance trade and military route from Leipzig to Frankfurt (Oder) . The castle was probably expanded or rebuilt under German rule at the beginning of the 13th century. A new fortification was built on an approximately square ground plan, which apparently fell into disrepair in the 15th century. From 1519 to 1524 it was given to the Lubusz Bishop Dietrich v. Bülow was converted into a representative Renaissance castle.

The Beeskow rule as part of the margraviate Lausitz

The extent of Beeskow's rule can only be determined at a later time. At that time, however, it was an integral part of the Lausitz region , also known as the Lausitz margraviate, an area that was not called Niederlausitz until much later (from around the 15th century).

In the 13th century, the Lausitz region was administered by the Wettin family. In 1303/4 Margrave Dietrich IV. Sold the Margraviate Lausitz to the Margraves of Brandenburg. After the death of Waldemar the Great (1319) and the last Ascanian from Brandenburg, Heinrich II. "The Child" (1320), the Saxon Elector Rudolf I of Saxony-Wittenberg succeeded in taking over large parts of the Mark Brandenburg and the Mark Lausitz seize. Margrave of Brandenburg did not become Rudolf I (as an Ascanian of the Saxon line), but in 1323 the childlike Wittelsbacher Ludwig ("the Brandenburger"). In 1328, however, Ludwig pledged the entire Lausitz region to Rudolf. It was redeemed again in 1339. In 1353 the Lausitz region was pledged again, this time to the Meissen margraves from the Wettin family . In 1363/4, Emperor Karl IV triggered the Lausitz mark, but immediately pledged it again to Bolko II von Schweidnitz . In 1367, the Brandenburg margrave Otto V ("the lazy") sold the Lausitz region to King Wenzel of Bohemia . The Bolko's lien was initially unaffected. Finally, in 1367, Emperor Charles IV made the Lausitz region part of the Bohemian Kingdom. The Beeskow rule remained formally a fiefdom of the Bohemian crown until 1742.

Early to the 13th century

Little is known of the early days of Beeskow's rule. It is assumed that the aforementioned Messrs. V. Strehla already owned the castle (and dominion) at the beginning of the 13th century, this is not documented. In a document dated November 1272, Bernhard and Reinhard v. Strehla the city and the citizens of Beeskow a Spree island and the surrounding country. This donation proves that they were the masters of the castle, the city and the surrounding area. It is therefore possible that they were also the founders of the city, since it was on their land and belonged to Beeskow Castle.

Beeskow under the von Bieberstein family in dispute with the dukes of Pomerania-Stettin from 1394 to 1462

In 1394 Johann von Bieberstein sold the Beeskow estate to Duke Swantibor III for 16,000 shock groschen . from Pomerania-Stettin. A whole series of conditions were attached to this sale, which ultimately led to an almost 90-year dispute between the Biebersteiners and the dukes of Pomerania-Stettin, and as a result, 15 villages and other unnamed properties in the Beeskow rule in 1428 the then Pomeranian Duke Casimir were burned down. The contract stipulated that the purchase price could increase to 19,000 shock groschen when the assets were more precisely determined. Johann III. von Bieberstein freed his men and towns from paying homage and referred them to pay homage again to Duke Swantibor. The rule should be handed over to shop stewards on both sides until the full purchase price has been paid. Johann and Swantibor wanted to travel to Prague together to get the approval of Johann von Görlitz and the Bohemian King Wenceslas . In the event of approval, Swantibor should pay the full amount. Should King Wenzel not approve the fief transfer, the homage of the men and cities for Duke Swantibor should be void, and John III. von Bieberstein remain in possession of the rulership.

On January 23, 1394, Duke Swantibor confirmed the city of Beeskow's rights, and it was around this time that he received the city's homage. He referred to himself in several documents as "Herr zu Beeskow". However, he was obviously unable to meet the one-year payment deadline. The royal confirmation was also missing, at least there is no document about it, for whatever reason is unknown. The result was that Duke Swantibor to Johann III. von Bieberstein had borrowed 16,000 shock groschen, basically without security in the form of a pledge, because Johann III. v. Bieberstein remained in the possession of the Beeskow rule. The heavily indebted Johann was of course not able to repay the borrowed amount, so that the debt amount continued to rise due to interest.

On June 1, 1396 King Wenceslas confirmed to John III. von Bieberstein all dominions, countries and people that his parents had given him or that had been bought later. In a document dated May 1, 1397, the city council of Beeskow designated Johann Bieberstein as their gracious lord, d. This means that the hereditary homage of the men of the lordship and the city to Duke Swantibor had become null and void. Later documents show, however, that Duke Swantibor had not released the city of Beeskow from the hereditary homage, because in 1425 after the death of Johann III. they refused to pay hereditary homage to the successor Johann IV on the same grounds. In 1404 Duke Swantibor allowed the city of Beeskow to ransom the city court pledged by the Biebersteiners. In this document the wording "... whom we adir our heirs czu den Landen [ie Beeskow rule] shows ..." shows that he still expected to be able to take over the Beeskow rule. That did not happen, he died on June 21, 1413. His heirs did not give up the claims to the rule of Beeskow. Johann III. During his lifetime, von Bieberstein drew up an inheritance agreement on how his property was to be divided among his three sons. The youngest son Johann IV received the dominions Beeskow and Storkow. In this division of the estate it was contractually agreed that the three sons should jointly take over and repay the father's debts in equal parts, even if the Pomeranian dukes were only supposed to stick to Johann IV because of Beeskow and Storkow. They also pledged to provide military protection should it be attacked. In addition, they wanted to jointly and equally share any damage that he should suffer. On February 3, 1424 Johann III died. von Bieberstein and on October 11, 1424, his three sons received the total loan from King Sigismund. When Johann IV von Bieberstein formally took possession of the rule in 1425 and demanded an homage to the city of Beeskow, the citizens and council refused to pay homage on the grounds that the Pomeranian dukes had not yet released them from their homage. It remains to be seen whether this was just a pretext to obtain concessions from the new master from the uncertain legal situation, or whether the council and citizens of Beeskow feared retaliation from the Pomeranian dukes. It would also presuppose that they would have paid hereditary homage to the sons of Swantibor Otto II and Casimir V after the death of their father, which is not documented. Be that as it may, Johann IV von Bieberstein forced the hereditary homage from the council and citizens on August 8, 1425 through a military attack on the city. That year the dukes of Pomerania-Stettin were involved in a war with the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich I; the war was mainly led by his son Johann . The Pomeranian dukes could therefore not intervene in Beeskow. After changing successes in the Pomeranian-Brandenburg War, the peace was concluded in Eberswalde in 1427 . Only then did the Pomeranian dukes reply.

In September 1428 the Duke of Pomerania-Stettin Casimir V invaded the Beeskow rule and on September 28, 1428 had the places Neuendorf, Birkholz, Groß Rietz, Klein Rietz, Buckow, Pfaffendorf, Hartmannsdorf, Görzig and a number of other estates burn down . On October 3, 1428 the places Bornow, Kohlsdorf, Tauche, Ahrensdorf, Glienicke, Lindenberg and Herzberg were burned. It is noticeable that all places were in the Beeskow rule, the dispute as probably only about the Beeskow rule. In 1429 Margrave Johann von Brandenburg tried to mediate between the two parties. The result of the mediation is unfortunately not recorded in a document. Johann IV von Bieberstein died around 1441, because on February 21, 1441 his sons Friedrich II and Wenzel II von Bieberstein divided the paternal inheritance among themselves; Friedrich received the dominions Beeskow and Storkow, Wenzel the dominions Sorau and Triebel . Friedrich II died on August 27, 1448, the Beeskow and Storkow lordships now fell to his brother Wenzel, who thus reunited his father's property.

But the new Duke of Pomerania-Stettin Joachim the Younger still did not want to come to terms with the loss of Beeskow's rule. In September 1448 he besieged Beeskow, probably unsuccessfully. After that, Wenzel bequeathed the Beeskow and Storkow lords to Prince Georg von Anhalt-Zerbst in the event that he died without an heir., But upon revocation. In 1451 he actually revoked this succession and gave it to the Brandenburg Margrave Friedrich II. He instructed the castles, cities and teams of the two rulers that they should only go to the Brandenburg Elector after his or her male heir's death. In return, Margrave Friedrich II declared all claims of the now deceased Duke Joachim von Pommern-Stettin and his heirs to Beeskow to be null and void against Wenzel von Bieberstein. He also promised to compensate for any damage that the Duke of Pomerania-Stettin or his heirs might cause to the subjects of the Beeskow rule. The cities of Beeskow and Storkow paid eventual homage to Friedrich von Brandenburg. This contract was confirmed in 1452 by the Bohemian King Ladislaus and in 1459 and 1462 by the Bohemian King George of Podebrady .

Beeskow and Storkow under the Saxon electors

But the succession hoped for by Brandenburg did not materialize, because Wenzel II von Bieberstein got a male heir, Johann V. After the death of Wenzel II von Bieberstein in 1472, his son Johann V took over the dominions of Beeskow, Storkow and Sorau. But this Biebersteiner was also in dire financial straits, so that in 1477 he pledged the lordships of Beeskow, Storkow and Sorau to the dukes and electoral princes Ernst and Albrecht of Saxony for 62,000 Rhenish guilders. Only a little later the Saxon electors communicated the content of the contract to the Brandenburg Margrave Johann and asked him to avoid and prevent all hostile attacks on Johann V. von Bieberstein. The Brandenburg margrave declared that the contract was invalid, as Johann V. von Bieberstein was only allowed to go under Brandenburg protection. The treaty was confirmed in 1478 by the Bohemian King Matthias Corvinus . As a precaution, the royal field captain Jan Selny von Schonow occupied Beeskow and Storkow. In March 1479 Sorau, Beeskow and Storkow paid homage to the two Saxon electors. In 1490 the older line of the Biebersteiner died out and the Saxon electors took over the three dominions. But also the Biebersteiner of the younger line Ulrich V., Friedrich III. and Matthias made claims on the inheritance of their cousin Johann. And King Vladislav II did not agree to the Saxon electors taking over the Bieberstein possessions. In 1497 Ulrich V received the dominions of Beeskow and Storkow from King Vladislav II. However, the Saxon princes refused to vacate the two lords. In 1501 a court ruled for the return of the Bieberstein possessions to Ulrich V. More endless negotiations followed, which ultimately led in 1511 to Ulrich V. von Bieberstein getting the two lords back in 1512. Electoral Saxony waived the claim 1518 when the rulers finally fell to the diocese of Lebus. The rule of Sorau was also lost to the Saxon princes in 1512.

The transition to Brandenburg

The endless trials and also quarrels with relatives prompted Ulrich V. von Bieberstein, with the consent of the King of Bohemia, to give Beeskow and Storkow 45,000 Rhenish guilders to the Bishop of Lebus Dietrich v. To pledge Bülow . The diocese and its bishopric Fürstenwalde were immediately north of the two dominions. The bishops of Lebus, whose diocese and their own property ( Hochstift Lebus ) were predominantly in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, were very closely connected to the Brandenburg electors. The pledge to the Bishop of Lubusz was a first step towards joining the Beeskow (also Storkow) rule to the Mark Brandenburg.

In 1551 the male line of the Bieberstein family died out, and their Bohemian fiefs now reverted to the Bohemian King Ferdinand I. He did not want to extend the lien rule of the bishops of Lebus to the dominions of Beeskow and Storkow. Negotiations about this and the determination of compensation payments for improvements made during the pledge regime dragged on. An allegedly planned repurchase of the pledge on the part of the Imperial Councilor Friedrich Freiherr von Redern also failed. In 1556 John VIII, Bishop of Lebus, died. The Brandenburg Elector Joachim II arranged for the Lubusz Cathedral Chapter to elect his ten-year-old grandson Joachim Friedrich as the new Bishop of Lebus. The guardianship of the still underage bishop took over the electoral prince Johann Georg , whose first major act as guardian was to sell the lords of Beeskow and Storkow to his uncle, elector Johann von Küstrin for 45,000 Rhenish guilders. In a receipt for 20,000 guilders, he undertook to hand over the pledge of 1518 and to obtain the consent of the feudal lord, the King of Bohemia. On February 15, 1556, the two lords were formally handed over. But King Ferdinand initially refused to give his consent. The extension of the pledge by initially ten years on the part of King Ferdinand I of Bohemia could only be achieved through a further payment of 85,587 thalers in 1557. Another payment of 20,000 thalers in 1558 extended the pledge to "eternal times". Ferdinand, however, wisely reserved the taxes and the beer money. This privilege could only be obtained against payment of a further 20,000 thalers. In addition, Ferdinand received an additional loan of 20,000 thalers, which could only be reclaimed in the event that the two lords were released. In 1559 it is reported that the two lordships were corrected. However, there are no certificates. Elector Johann von Küstrin died in 1571 and shortly thereafter Elector Joachim II. The two parts of the Electorate of Brandenburg were reunited under Joachim's son Johann Georg, because Johann von Küstrin had died without a male heir. In 1575 Johann Georg finally achieved that Emperor Maximilian II , in his function as Bohemian King, gave him the two dominions as hereditary fiefs. However, in the event of extinction, they should revert to the Bohemian crown in the male line and without the pledge sums being reimbursed. The formal handover of the two lords took place on February 22, 1576. The Bohemian suzerainty, however, remained nominally until 1742.

Beeskow and Storkow

The Beeskow rule had a common history with the Storkow rule for a long time ; the two dominions were therefore also referred to as the Beeskow and Storkow dominions . However, there was never a formal union of the two rulers, for example by giving up one name or another. They remained separate administrative units and mostly stayed together. Ultimately, this resulted in the Beeskow-Storkowische Kreis, which existed in this form until 1816. After a short episode, during which the area of ​​the former rule Storkow was united with the district Teltow to form the district Teltow-Storkow , the area of ​​the former rule Beeskow was connected to the district Lübben , the district Teltow-Storkow was dissolved again in 1835 and the status quo ante restored. The Beeskow-Storkow district existed in this form until 1950, when it was renamed the Fürstenwalde district and had to give up considerable parts of the district area. For this, the new district received the city of Fürstenwalde. With the district reform of 1952, the Fürstenwalde district was given a completely different shape. At the same time, the Beeskow district was re-established according to its name, which in its core also comprised the old Beeskow-Storkow district. However, most of the boundaries changed. The district of Beeskow, from 1990 to 1993 district of Beeskow, went on with the district reform of 1993 in the state of Brandenburg in the district of Oder-Spree .

Office Beeskow

From the stately owned or Hausbesitzungen of Bieber Steiner in the reign Beeskow probably was already among the Bieber Steinern the Office Beeskow , which was later enlarged by the bishops of Lebus and especially under John of Küstrin. Acquisitions were also made in the 18th century. The office Beeskow comprised a non-contiguous area within the former Beeskow rule. Some places were only partially owned by the office. The Beeskow office was dissolved in 1872/4.

Governors

literature

  • Wilhelm Ziethe, EO Chr. Faulstich: Chronicle of the city of Beeskow up to the rule of the Hohenzollern: designed according to the acts of the Beeskow communal archive. Beeskow, stamp 1884.
  • Joachim Schölzel: Historical local dictionary for Brandenburg. Part IX Beeskow-Storkow. Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1989, ISBN 3-7400-0104-6 , 334 pp.
  • Michael Scholz: Beeskow in the manorial and ecclesiastical structures of the late Middle Ages. In: Ekkehard Krüger, Dirk Schumann: St. Marien zu Beeskow: Archeology, building history, equipment. Pp. 11–40, Lukas-Verlag, Berlin 2012 preview on Google Books
  • Joachim Zdrenka: The dispute over Beeskow and Storkow as property of the Pomeranian dukes 1394-1479 . In: Yearbook for Brandenburg State History , 46, Berlin 1995, pp. 46–69

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wilhelm Wiesike: Münchehofe near Wendisch-Buchholz: a foray into Meissen and Mark church history. Mittler, Berlin 1870, p. 92, Google Books
  2. ↑ Joachim Zdrenka: The dispute over Beeskow and Storkow as property of the Pomeranian dukes 1394-1479 . In: Yearbook for Brandenburg State History , 46, Berlin 1995, p. 54.
  3. ^ Regesta on documents from 1451 to 1462 Secret State Archives Berlin
  4. ↑ https://sachsen.digital/werkansicht/dlf/156106/1/
  5. ↑ http://www.dresden-warszawa.eu/pl/miasta/zary-pl/
  6. ↑ https://books.google.de/books?id=l3xIAAAAMAAJ&q=sorau+1512&dq=sorau+1512&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiw8IC-4NrhAhVmzqYKHWG-B4Y4ChDoAQhQMAY
  7. ^ Heinrich Karl Wilhelm Berghaus: Land book of the Mark Brandenburg and the Markgrafthum Nieder-Lausitz in the middle of the 19th century; or geographical-historical-statistical description of the Province of Brandenburg, at the instigation of the State Minister and Upper President Flottwell. Second volume. Printed and published by Adolph Müller, Brandenburg 1855, 650 pp.