Jacza von Köpenick

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Jacza or Jaczo von Köpenick (often also Jaxa von Köpenick , * before 1125; † February 1176 ) was a Slavic prince.

In the middle of the 12th century Jacza was lord of the castle and prince of Copnic , today's Berlin district of Köpenick . Its existence, name and title are evidenced by its coins from the 1150s and 1160s. In the science of history to cause friction include recent research suggests that Jacza with the Polish Jaksa of Miechów was identical-called princes. According to these results, Jacza married into the influential Polish family of magnate Peter Wlast around 1145 and thereby gained property, rights and influence in Krakow , around Miechów , in Silesia and in the Lublin area. After participating in a crusade in 1162, he founded a monastery in Miechów , part of the diocese of Krakow , which he later chose as a burial place .

Between 1150 and 1157 Jacza von Köpenick fought with Albrecht the Bear for supremacy on the Havel and Spree. From this struggle, Margrave Albrecht emerged victorious on the Havel in 1157 and thus laid an important foundation for the existence of the Mark Brandenburg . The Schildhornsage , a legendary tale about the escape and Christianization of Jacza, is closely linked to the founding myth and the historical image of the creation of the Mark Brandenburg and found its artistic expression in the Schildhorn monument on the Berlin Havel .

Jacza von Köpenick (fantasy portrait), Krakow 1757

Live and act

In particular because of Herbert Ludat's depiction of the 1936 legends about Jaxa von Köpenick. German and Slavic princes in the battle for Brandenburg in the middle of the 12th century , the historical identity of Jaxa von Köpenick was long disputed. It was unclear whether the Prince of Koepenick ( Jacza de Copnic ) was actually identical with Jaxa, who made history as Albrecht's opponent. In 2012, the historian Michael Lindner published the first monograph on the prince in German. Taking into account the archaeological , numismatic and historical traditions as well as the results of what he said was very productive Polish research, Lindner came to the conclusion that Prince von Köpenick fought against Albrecht as well as being identical with the Polish Prince Jaksa von Miechów . According to Lindner's research, the following picture emerges:

The prince's name

Jacza bracteate with double cross and inscription IACZA DE COPNIC

Since the early fifties of the 12th century, a man has appeared on some coins who calls himself Jacza, Jaczo von Köpenick (Copnic, Copninc, Coptnic) and who renounces the usual Latin titles dominus , dux or princeps twice with the Slavic designation cnes, knes to be recognized as a prince. Its origin is also secured by the emphatically Slavic habitus of its depiction (beard and hairstyle) on the coins and by the location of Köpenick Castle in the Slavic settlement areas on the Spree and Dahme . The symbols of palm branch and double cross (crux gemina), which Jacza, Jaczo wears on his coins, show that he was a Christian. In German-language research, the prince often appears as Jaxa , less often as Jacza, Jaczo , in Polish as Jaksa . The historical tradition, the documents and works of historiography hold a confusing variety of names ready for Jacza, Jaczo: among others - in alphabetical order - Ajax, Jacxo, Jaksa, Jason, Jaxa, Jaxsco, Laksa, Lasla, Sackzo, Saxzo . Since the coins, so-called bracteates or hollow pennies because of their only one-sided minting, were created under the direct supervision of the Prince of Köpenick, the name form Jacza, Jaczo according to Lindner, is preferable to all others than the variant of his name authorized by the author himself. Jacza, Jaczo was the Prince of Koepenick. Other names that can be found in literature to this day, such as Prince of the Sprewanen , (part) Prince of Poland or Lutizian Gaufürst, are later inventions without reference to the sources.

Köpenick as the center of Slavic rule

Köpenick Castle, located at the strategically important confluence of the two rivers and a Spreefurt, has been the archaeologically proven seat of Slavic lords since the middle of the 9th century at the latest. The names of the first lords of the castle are unknown. Only the coins from around 1160 reveal that the Köpenick Castle and its owner was called Jacza, Jaczo. The place name Köpenick (Copnic) goes back to the Slavic word kopa = hill and the suffix -nik , which means place on a hill. Jacza is a short form of Jaczemir, Jaczewoj and is based on jakъ (jь) = strong, mighty . Copnic flourished under this prince. The population increased, handicrafts and trade developed, market traffic and the beginnings of goods-money relationships became apparent - the prince's seat gained cultural, political and economic importance. The bracteates spread the news of this upswing to the neighbors on the Elbe and the Baltic Sea , to the Saxons , Poland and Pomerania .

The extent of the Principality of Jaczas, named after Köpenick, can only be given as a guess: the lower reaches of the rivers Spree, Dahme and Notte formed the backbone of the domain. In the east it bordered at Fürstenwalde / Spree on the then Greater Poland Lebuser Land . In the south it reached about as far as Teupitz , Storkow and Beeskow and thus included the Slavic settlements in the great Spreebogen. In the southwest, Zossen and Mittenwalde , maybe Baruth , were one of them. With Treptow and Stralau including the Spreefurt, Jacza's power extended to the later Berlin- Cölln Spreepass. In a north-easterly direction he will have drawn along the so-called Alte Straße ( via vetus ) from Köpenick to Wriezen to Freienwalde on the Oder , where some of his coins were found near Gabow .

After Jacza's death in February 1176, the dukes Bogislaw († 1187) and Casimir († 1180) of Pomerania followed him in his Köpenick domain by virtue of an agreement between the three princes from the last quarter of 1168. Probably from their Köpenick base, the Pomeranians fell Strengthened by Lutizen in 1179 in the Lausitz , defeated a margravial army before Lübben and burned down the archbishopric Magdeburg possessions Zinna and Jüterbog on the way back . The following year they clashed with the Brandenburg margrave and the burgrave, which cost Duke Casimir his life. In the second half of the 1180s, the Slavic era ended on the Dahme and Spree. The area was conquered from the south - down the Spree - by the margraves of Ostmark / Lausitz, Dedo and Konrad from the Wettin family , and thus incorporated into the medieval Roman-German Empire . On February 10, 1210 Köpenick ( Acta sunt hec in Copnic ) appears for the first time in a document from Margrave Conrad II (von Landsberg; † 1210).

After the death of Margrave Konrad three months later, the Koepenick area of ​​rulership with the Ostmark / Lausitz fell to his Meißner relatives. To the Brandenburg Ascanians , the brothers and jointly ruling Margraves Johann I and Otto III. , the area finally came after the peace treaty as a result of the Teltow and Magdeburg wars of 1245.

Battle for the Brandenburg

In 1127 came in Brandenburg the Christianized and Kaiser Lothar temporarily the king appointed Hevellerfürst Pribislaw , who had received the Christian name Henry to power. The death of Pribislav in 1150 raised the question of who should inherit him. Jacza had high hopes for the Brandenburg , because he was a related by marriage of the deceased and like the latter a Christian Slav. Presumably the Köpenicker had married a sister of the Brandenburg man. But Jacza came away empty-handed. Petrissa, the influential wife of Pribislaw / Heinrich, handed over - like years before under Emperor Lothar III. agreed - the Brandenburg to the Ascanian Albrecht the Bear , an East Saxon prince from the Harz foreland .

Illustration to the shield horn legend Jaczo von Köpenick on the [alleged] escape through the Havel . Woodcut by O. Vogel after a drawing by Adolph Menzel , 1868

But Jacza did not give up. He waited for an opportunity to enforce what he believed to be his right. In the spring of 1157 the suitable opportunity arose: Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa prepared a campaign against the Polish dukes Bolesław IV. ( Kraushaar ; † 1173) and Mieszko III. ( the old man ; † 1202) who were on Jacza's side. Albrecht the Bear had problems with his subjects on the Brandenburg. For example, Jacza, with military support from the Piast princes , was able to take the castle in a surprise attack after bribing some of the castle occupants , who were apparently dissatisfied with Albrecht the Bear's rule. The only source for this conquest is the Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg written around 1200 by the Brandenburg canon Heinrich von Antwerp , whose description is given by Albrecht biographer Lutz Partenheimer as follows:

“After Heinrich von Antwerp, a certain Jaxa […] felt disinherited as soon as he learned that Albrecht the Bear had taken over Brandenburg after the death of the Prince of Heveller. But within a short time he was able to bribe the residents of the castle. Their gates then opened one night and Jaxa advanced with a large Polish army. The margrave's men who had betrayed their master were taken prisoner and brought to Poland. "

- Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht the Bear. 2003.

The influential Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg and Albrecht the Bear jointly presented the counterattack . Until June 11, 1157 they besieged the Brandenburg with their knights. In the end, after an agreement sworn with a handshake against the granting of free travel, Jacza's supporters handed over the castle and withdrew to Köpenick. The reconquest of the castle in 1157 is considered to be the founding act of the Mark Brandenburg , which, however, greatly shortens complex issues. Since then, Albrecht the Bear has finally and permanently called himself Margrave in Brandenburg or later Margrave of Brandenburg .

Jacza's son hostage

In August 1157, the imperial expedition began against Jacza's Polish allies , who after their defeat also had to put princely hostages in the same month. Among them were the younger brother of the Polish dukes Bolesław IV and Mieszko III, Kazimir ( the Righteous ; † 1194), who later became Duke and Prince of Poland, and Jacza's little son. The offspring ( bone indolis puerulus ) Jaczas, described as very talented , whose name has not been passed down, came to Prague in the custody of the Bohemian Duke Vladislav and was to be brought from there to Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa in Würzburg at the end of September 1157 . But shortly before that the boy died and was buried with the Premonstratensian women in the Bohemian monastery Doksany , whom Jacza made large donations in thanks. In return, the Premonstratensian sisters fostered both memories in the period that followed.

The events surrounding Jacza's son, which German research did not take notice of until Lindner's Jacza monograph from 2012, offer the first clear indication of the identity of the Köpenicker and Jaczas who worked in Poland. Lindner raises the question of what interest Friedrich Barbarossa and his East Saxon princely supporters should have had in the little son - whose name was not even known - of any Polish Jaczas if he was not identical to their opponent in the battle for Brandenburg . In particular, the intertwined and chronologically coherent life paths of the Köpenicker and the Polish Jaczas provide further evidence of the Prince's identity. The double cross, the symbol of the Miechów canons of St. Dig, also on Jacza's Köpenick coins.

Fateful Years of a Prince - How Jacza von Köpenick became Jaksa von Miechów

Elbinger / Olbinger tympanum with Boleslaw Kraushaar , his son Leszek, Jacza and his wife Agatha. Jacza is wearing a model of St. Michael's Church in Wroclaw , which his father-in-law Peter Wlast had donated and which Jacza had continued to build.

The year 1157 represented a deep turning point for Jacza: He lost the Brandenburg and with it the chance of increasing power to the Havel and Spree. He lost his only son until then and was in danger of not being heirs. And he lost the support of the Polish dukes, who were once again busy with their family problems, for activities west of the Oder. It remained Köpenick. There he ruled relatively undisturbed at the confluence of the Dahme and Spree rivers until his death in 1176. The repeated coin statement: I am Jacza von Köpenick ( Jacza de Copnic ) suggests that he was at home in his Köpenick rule, that his starting point was there, that he had his paternal inheritance, his home there. At the end of 1168, Jacza transferred his dominions on the Spree to the aforementioned Pomeranian dukes at a meeting where the Uecker flows into the Oderhaff . According to Lindner, this transfer was only possible if he could freely dispose of Köpenick as his (inherited) property, not bound by obligations to the Polish Piasts or the East Saxons.

The Polish Jacza researcher Janusz Bieniak justified the fact that this Köpenicker, with his relatively modest stately equipment in the Slavic region on the Spree, had such good relationships in neighboring Poland with Jacza's marriage in 1999. Around the year 1145 the wealthy Silesian high nobility, wed magnate , church and monastery founder Peter Vlast in Wroclaw his daughter Agatha with Jacza that on this occasion as a prince of the Sorbs country ( dux Sorabie appointed). Seen from Poland, the Sorbian country was located west of the Oder on the Spree. Through this marriage Jacza von Köpenick became part of the influential family of his father-in-law, the Wlastiden (Vloscides), and received estates and some sovereign rights in Poland. Since Count Peter died soon afterwards († 1151 or 1153), Jacza became particularly close to his brother-in-law Swietoslaw. In the 1160s and 1170s, both were heavily involved in the inner-piastic disputes. After the devastating events of 1157, Jacza turned more and more to Poland, where he had greater opportunities for development. Building on his family relationships there, Jacza von Köpenick slowly became Jaksa von Miechów. At first he still stuck to Köpenick, as revealed by the coins, according to the numismatist Bernd Kluge , which from 1157 always have the addition de Copnic .

Collegiate Church in Miechów 2007

Crusade, founding a monastery and death

In 1162 Jacza / Jaksa moved to the Holy Land and in the following year brought clergymen from Jerusalem with them to establish the Canons' Monastery of the Guardians of the Holy Tomb in Jerusalem in Miechów (in today's Powiat Miechowski ) . The monastery belonged to the diocese of Kraków and was subordinate to the Knights of the Cross with the double red cross . At the end of the 1160s, the prince let his bracteate coinage expire in Köpenick - around the time he installed the Dukes of Pomerania as his successors on the Spree. In the Piast Empire he took part in important aristocratic meetings and in 1167/68 together with his brother-in-law Swietoslaw in a conspiracy against the senior duke Bolesław IV . Around Krakow , around Miechów, in Silesia and in the Lublin area, he acquired further possessions and rights, which increased his power and made him the leading nobleman after the princes. He had arrived in Poland and he wanted to stay there. When he died in 1176, Jacza chose the Miechówer Canonical Monastery , which he founded in 1163, as a burial place , clearly demonstrating his departure from Köpenick.

Importance of Jaczas and Köpenick for the beginnings of Berlin and Cölln

The location on the Spreefurten made the already stately established Köpenick and the up-and-coming foundations from the last third of the 12th century, Cölln and Berlin , competitors. River crossings were of great strategic importance in terms of military, transport, trade and economic policy. It was not without reason that there were fortifications at the passable places in Köpenick and Treptow / Stralau and it was not without reason that long-distance traders, merchants and rulers were involved in what would later become Berlin and Cölln before 1200, about whom, despite the latest archaeological finds, nothing is known.

According to Michael Lindner, the events in Berlin and Cölln must have been observed very carefully due to the spatial proximity of Köpenick. Whoever had laid out Berlin and Cölln on the Spreepass had to come to terms with the changing Köpenick gentlemen - until 1176 with Jacza, until the mid-1180s with the Pomeranians, then with the East Mark-Lausitzian Wettin, who moved to Dahme- Spree region were at the height of their power and from Köpenick they vigorously pushed ahead with the development of the state in eastern Teltow and southeastern Barnim . A few years later, this mutual dependency showed itself in reverse. The rise of Berlin from the mid-1230s onwards led to the decline of Köpenick. To achieve this, the Brandenburg margraves Johann I and Otto III. Köpenick conquered, asserted in a feud of several years (1239-1245) against the Archbishop of Magdeburg and the Margrave of Ostmark / Meißen and in 1245 was awarded a peace treaty.

Culture of remembrance and founding myth of the Mark Brandenburg

The person of Jacza is closely connected, especially with the events of 1157, to the founding myth and the historical image of the emergence of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . Jacza plays the leading role in the Schildhorn legend , which found its artistic expression in the Schildhorn monument on the Berlin Havel. The musically gifted "romantic on the throne", Friedrich Wilhelm IV. , Made the decision to " revive the often dead uninteresting areas" of the march "with the erection of [...] meaningful monuments ." Three turning points in the country's history, including the Jaxa memorial, were intended to breathe history into the remote "sandbells" and offer travelers incentives. In addition to the more famous monument, there is the almost forgotten Jaczo Tower in Berlin , which is also based on the Jaxa legend.

Legend of Jacza's miraculous salvation by the Christian god

→ Main article: Schildhornsage

Location of the Jaczo Gorge with the Jaczo Tower across from Schildhorn

After the conquest of Brandenburg, Albrecht the bear and two of his riders are said to have pursued Jacza on his escape to the Havel.

The story of Jaxa's escape from Albrecht can almost certainly be ruled out as a historical fact, at least there is no historical evidence. Nevertheless, the folk legend , which gradually developed in the Jaxa version in the first half of the 19th century , is of historical importance as the basis for the monument on the Schildhorn . In summary, according to the rendering by Theodor Fontane , Jacza de Copnic swam across the Havel while fleeing from Albrecht the Bear and two other riders, which in this area widens into one of the Havel lakes. Exhausted from the flight, Jaxa's horse threatened to sink into the water. In the last resort Jaxa held his shield high over his head and pleaded with the hated Christian God for salvation. Then it seemed to him as if a hand took hold of the raised shield and held it with sure force over the water, new strength also flowed through the sinking horse - the bank at Schildhorn was reached. There he swore allegiance to the Christian God and hung his shield on an oak tree out of gratitude . Theodor Fontane literally: But he left his shield, which the finger of God touches, to the place where the miracle took place. The shield of the heathen had become for him a shield of faith.

Monument on the Schildhorn

→ Main article: Shield horn monument

Building history and symbolism

Jaxa monument on the Schildhorn in 1904

King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia , who was inclined to anything romantic, liked this legend so much that in 1844 he made several pencil sketches for a memorial in memory of Jaczo's wonderful conversion. While the commissioned architect Friedrich August Stüler suggested a griffin for the top of the monument, the king wanted either a simple cross or nothing at all - a cross with equal arms was made . In the summer of 1845, the memorial column made of sandstone was completed by the building officer Christian Gottlieb Cantian on an elevation on the Schildhorn . Schildhorn is the small headland on the Havel in Berlin-Grunewald ( Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district ), where, according to legend, Jaxa reached the saving bank and hung up his shield and horn - however, contrary to many representations , the name Schildhorn does not refer to this legend back.

The crowning equal-armed cross symbolizes Jaxa's turn to the God of Christians and his miraculous help, the monument itself is supposed to stylize an oak, a shield is attached in the upper third. In 1893, the following inscription in Markish-Low German dialect was attached to the massive monument base, which is no longer available today:

Jaxa memorial on the Schildhorn in 2014

Grot Wendenfürst, dorch Dine Mut
It is obgebut here that monument,
but hite geft kin Fersten more,
De drever swams with shield and spear.

Wenden is a collective term for various West Slavic tribes; Translation:

Great Wendenfürst, thanks to your courage
, this monument was erected here,
but today there is no longer a prince
who swims over it with shield and spear.

The memorial was destroyed in 1945 and reconstructed in 1954 with the help of photographs and four pieces of rubble by apprentices from the Senate's own stonemasonry workshop in Dahlem .

Contemporary monument criticism

The design of the monument, especially the cross with equal arms, was heavily criticized. Theodor Fontane, who visited the monument in 1860, wrote, for example, in the hikes through the Mark Brandenburg :

“It would have been sufficient to erect a shield on a tall Greek column and crown this shield with a cross of moderate size. That would have shown ... "the victory of the cross over paganism" ... in all clarity. Archaeological zeal… celebrated its victory at the expense of good taste. The trunk of an old gnarled oak was reproduced in sandstone, creating a figure that was difficult to understand anyway; but the shield hung in the middle of the trunk, which sticks to a post like a disk, creates, viewed from a distance, a completely unclear and enigmatic figure. "

- Theodor Fontane: The Schildhorn near Spandau.

Currently (as of 2013) the monument is in poor condition, the base is crumbling and moss is growing over the trunk.

Jaczoturm in Berlin-Wilhelmstadt

According to the art historian Harry Nehls, the forgotten Jaczo Tower in Wilhelmstadt , part of the Berlin district of Spandau, is even more questionable from a monument preservation point of view . The listed tower is in the Jaczoschlucht at Gatower Straße No. 199 on the border with Gatow .

Construction and decay of the tower

According to Nehls, the small round tower was commissioned by a Spandau citizen in 1914 and financed privately. In the information given in 1914, Nehls refers to a communication from local researcher Kurt Pomplun . The Berlin monument database , which lists the tower as an architectural monument , dates the building to 1890/1910. The identity of the client could never be revealed. The approximately four meter high tower with a diameter of almost three meters originally had a wreath of battlements , two of which were still preserved in 2004. It consists mainly of heavy, unhewn limestone blocks as well as some granite stones and reddish industrial bricks in the format 28.5 × 13.5 × 8.5 centimeters, which are connected by lime mortar . The font ductal of two tile stamps (51 / A 1) refers to the time 1914, according to Nehls. The original iron gate for the 1.10 meter wide opening disappeared for a long time and was replaced by the city at the latest in 2004 with an unsuitable wooden plank door, which in terms of monument preservation, however, meant a step forward compared to the tower that was still open in 1999, as the interior of the tower was further ahead Vandalism was protected. In 1999 Nehls vehemently complained about vandalism and that the tower and the main relief were sprayed over and over with graffiti .

In 2004 only a few graffiti remains were left. In addition, the area was no longer surrounded by chain link fence as it was in 1999 and was inaccessible. The Open Monument Day 2011 brought the forgotten Jaczo Tower back into the public consciousness. The historical Gatow development association restored the 13 original battlements in June 2011 at its own expense. A hiking trail leads past the tower again and down into the Jaczo Gorge. In addition, the association is planning to repair the former waterfall , which poured 200 meters into the gorge in stages from the road. Despite the measures taken by the development association, the tower, its masonry and its reliefs still represent a particularly sad example of urban monument preservation . Nehls saw one of the reasons for the disdain for the building in the fact that the "Jaczo Tower" was occasionally considered "non-historical" in the past. , "Culturally insignificant" and "antiquarian worthless building" was disqualified. The art historian also wrote:

“If the conservationists do not want there to be only one shield horn monument soon and later chroniclers mock that Gatower balls were apparently more popular than the Gatower Jaczo Tower (not even measured), then they should quickly seek an effective conservation measure make strong."

- Harry Nehls : Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 5348 ( luise-berlin.de ).

  • Jaczo Tower Front 2014

  • Jaczo Tower relief page 2014

  • Relief over portal 2014

  • Relief 2014

  • Waterfall in the Jaczo Gorge

Relief: Jaczo fleeing from Albrecht the Bear

The Jaczoschlucht ends at the point on the Havel which is opposite the Schildhorn headland; Here Albrecht the Bear is said to have driven Jaczo into the Havel with two other riders. This scene is recorded in a relief of unknown origin from 1914, which in 2004 had already fallen apart; the pictures reproduced here (see below and at the top) document the condition in 2004. According to Nehls, the relief was still in excellent condition in 1954, as shown by photos from that year in the Berlin State Picture Center. Hardly recognizable in 2004, according to Nehl's account, Jaxa looks around at his pursuers and does not wear the closed helmet with plume , but a cap-like helmet cover with two antithetical bulges . In his left hand he holds a small round shield , the right one clasps an upright lance. The German riders are equipped with a closed helmet with a plume as well as a shield and a lance.

Jaczo on the run from Albrecht the Bear. Overall relief above the inscription, status 2004.

Below this scene is the three-line inscription in the two-part sandstone slab:

Has per fauces, Jaczo, princeps slavorum,
from Alberto Ursu pulsus, ad habelam evasit.
Anno Domini MCLVII.

The Slav prince Jaczo was
pursued by Albrecht the Bear through this gorge and driven into the Havel.
This happened in the year of Lord 1157.

A second small relief above the door of the tower shows a bear, which was barely noticeable in 2004 and, according to Nehls, is in a rectangular coat of arms. In 1999 Nehls was able to make out a second figure that was already severely eroded and standing upright, which he assumed was also a bear.

Jacza & Wanda - legend of the sunken castle

Hite swemmt kin Ferst more drever
(Havel an der Jaczo Gorge)

In Wilhelmstadt, Jaczostraße is also named after the prince. So far (as of 2013) there are no streets, squares or monuments reminiscent of Jacza von Köpenick at his actual place of work in Köpenick. It was not until the 800th anniversary of Köpenick in 2009 that the culture of remembrance about Jacza started in Köpenick with lectures and exhibitions . In September 2012 the medieval spectacle "Jacza de Copnic - Lively Middle Ages in Köpenick" took place. As part of the event, a bookstore presented a radio play that was Köpenick's only historical memory of the prince, the saga of the sunken castle and the princess of the Teufelssee, under the title Jacza & Wanda. The decline of the Sprewanen or the story of Prince Jacza de Copnic and his wife Wanda. represents in dialogue form. This legend links the creation of the Devil's Lake with the fate of Jacza's wife (instead of Agatha called Wanda) and with Jacza's fight against Albrecht the Bear:

“After seven unsuccessful attempts by the Wends to defeat the Panzerreiter Albrecht the Bear, Jaczo returned to Koepenick, asked the Kriwen - the priests and sages - of his people for advice: 'What should I do that the gods and our people win will?' The Kriwen said: 'You must found a castle in the Müggelberg Mountains and, in order to make it impregnable, have your wife Wanda walled up in the vaults!' Wanda complied with the priestly judgment. When stones began to be piled up around them, severe thunderstorms and an earthquake are said to have destroyed the castle. 'When the sun shone again the next day, there were only six Müggelberge left . At the place of the seventh there was a dark and still lake, the Devil's Lake. But Wanda lingers in the depths of the lake to this day and only climbs up once a year to look at Jaczo, her husband, who has roamed the world madly since that day. "

- Legend of the sunken castle. Reproduced by Hainer Weißpflug. 1996.

As with the Schildhorn legend, however, the content and the people in this legend also changed over time. In another version, for example, the princess in the lake is the daughter of the Bohemian King Ottokar , who disappeared with the castle in the Teufelssee as a punishment for having haughtily rejected all marriage candidates.

Sources (historical material)

The most important legacies and sources on the history of Jacza are his contemporary bracteates and documents from other princes.

Bracteate (coins)

Bracteates of Jacza de Copnic

Jacza's coins are of great value as the only self-evidence that exists of him. When interpreting them, according to Lindner, one must bear in mind that they represent a political self-portrayal of a prince in public space who was in competition with other dignitaries. They served to represent their own power and were meant to impress - especially their opponents. Jacza's bracteates are depicted and commented on in the interactive catalog of the Berlin Coin Cabinet .

Certificates

The documents of other princes in which Jacza appears, the Polish dukes and the bishop of Kammin (Pomerania), are also relatively reliable sources because they had a legal claim to validity that required them to be precise. The works of historiography, which tell important things about Jacza and his environment, cause greater difficulties: one is the treatise by the Brandenburg canon Heinrich von Antwerp , who wrote a few decades after the events of 1157 - shortly before 1200. The tract is the most detailed and chronological source on the battles for Brandenburg Castle. Most of the Latin script has been preserved. On the other hand, the chronicle of Count Peter Wlast, which was created in Poland. It dates from the beginning of the 16th century, but with the only fragmentary text by Carmen Mauri , it uses a source script from the second half of the 12th century. Your author may have been an educated Benedictine monk. Due to their intricate tradition, both writings are difficult to reconstruct in their original text, which makes their interpretation even more difficult.

  • Heinrich of Antwerp : Can. Brandenburg., Tractatus de urbe Brandenburg ( Memento from February 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). New ed. and explained by Georg Sello. In: 22nd annual report of the Altmark Association for Patriotic History and Industry in Salzwedel. Issue 1. Magdeburg 1888, pp. 3–35. (Internet publication by Tilo Köhn with transcriptions and translations).
  • The chronicle of Count Peter Wlast (with the remains of Carmen Mauri) is published as: Cronica Petri comitis Poloniae. Accedunt carminis Mauri fragmenta . (= MPH Series nova 3). Ed. Marian Plezia, 1951.

literature

Research literature (chronological, with commentary)

  • Herbert Ludat : Legends about Jaxa von Köpenick. German and Slavic princes in the battle for Brandenburg in the middle of the 12th century. In: Germany and the East. Volume 2, Berlin 1936. Reprinted unchanged in Herbert Ludat: Slavs and Germans in the Middle Ages. Selected essays on questions of their political, social and cultural relationships. (= Central German research. Volume 86). Böhlau, Cologne / Vienna 1982, pp. 27–84. Polish translation: Legendy o Jaksie z Kopnika. Niemieccy i słowiańscy książęta w walce o Brennę w połowie XII stulecia. (The legends about Jaxa von Köpenick. German and Slavic princes in the battle for Brandenburg in the middle of the 12th century). In: Słowianie - Niemcy - Europe. Wybór prac / Ludat, Herbert, 2000, pp. 42–92 (Until 2012, it largely represented the state of German research. However, according to Lindner, it is out of date for several reasons: 1. Because of the selective use of sources, which involved a conspicuously polemical discussion, especially with the Polish experts, as well as the lack of consideration of the relativity of historical scientific statements 2. Because of the perspective of the then 26-year-old author at the beginning of his scientific career in the second half of the 1930s, in one language and one style of discussion I found expression that were very time-bound. 3. Because of the pattern of interpretation, which was based on national premises and the power-state thinking of the 19th and 20th centuries.)
  • Janusz Bieniak: Polska elita polityczna XII wieku 3 A. (The Polish political elite in the 12th century): Arbitrzy książąt - Krąg Rodzinny Piotra Włostowica (Arbitrator of the princes - Peter Wlast's family). In: Społeczeństwo Polski średniowiecznej. 4 (1990) pp. 13-107; as well as: Janusz Bieniak: Polska elita polityczna XII wieku 3 C. (The Polish political elite in the 12th century): Arbitrzy książąt - Pełnia władzy (Arbitrator of princes - height of power). In: Społeczeństwo polski średniowiecznej 8. 1999, pp. 9–66. (Basic contributions by the old master of Polish Jacza research, who, according to Lindner, offers, among other things, a well-founded and convincing criticism of Ludat's legends.)
  • Jerzy Rajman: Dominus - comes - princeps. Studium o Jaksach w XII wieku (Herr - Graf - Fürst. Study on the Jaksas in the 12th century). In: Studia Historyczne. 33, 1990, pp. 347-369; and: Jerzy Rajman: Pielgrzym i Fundator. Fundacje kościelne i pochodzenie księcia Jaksy (Pilgrims and donors. Church foundations and origins of Prince Jaksa). In: Nasza Przeszłość. 82, 1994, pp. 5-33. This article was published in 2013 in German translation under the title: Pilger und Stifter. About the sacred foundations and the origins of Prince Jaxa. In: Eduard Mühle (Hrsg.): Monarchical and noble sacral foundations in medieval Poland . (= Foundation stories. Volume 9). Akademie Verlag , Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-05-005926-6 .
  • Lutz Partenheimer : Albrecht the Bear, Jaxa von Köpenick and the battle for Brandenburg in the middle of the 12th century. In: Research on Brandenburg and Prussian history. (FBPG), New Series 4, 1994, pp. 151-193 ( full text ). (Reasons why the Brandenburg was only conquered by Jacza in 1157.)
  • Marek Derwich: Saxony and Poland in the 12th century. In: Jochen Luckhardt , Franz Niehoff (Hrsg.): Heinrich the lion and his time. Rule and representation of the Guelphs 1125–1235. Volume 2: Essays. Catalog of the exhibition in Braunschweig 1995. Hirmer, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7774-6900-9 , pp. 136-143. (Basic information on understanding the Saxon-Polish contacts around 1150.)
  • Jósef Dobosz: Monarcha i możni wobec Kościoła w Polsce do pocątku XIII wieku (The monarchs and the powerful towards the Church in Poland until the beginning of the 13th century). Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu , Poznań 2002, ISBN 83-7177-110-X . (Basic information on Miechowers and the other Jacza's foundation activities in Poland.)
  • Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht the Bear. Founder of the Mark Brandenburg and the Principality of Anhalt. 2nd Edition. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 2003, ISBN 3-412-16302-3 . (Representation of the events from the Ascanian-Brandenburg point of view.)
  • Lutz Partenheimer: The emergence of the Mark Brandenburg. With a Latin-German source attachment. Böhlau Verlag, Cologne / Weimar 2007, ISBN 978-3-412-17106-3 .
  • Bernd Kluge : Jacza de Copnic and his bracteates - facts, theses and theories on the oldest topic in Brandenburg numismatics. In: Numismatischer Arbeitskreis Brandenburg / Preußen (ed.): Contributions to brandenburg / Prussian numismatics (BBPN). No. 17, Berlin 2009, pp. 14-42; as well as: Bernd Kluge: The beginnings of coinage in Brandenburg until around 1170. Pribislav Heinrich, Albrecht the Bear, Jacza and Otto I. In: BBPN. No. 19, Berlin 2011, pp. 7–34. (Shows the value of the coins for gaining historical knowledge and correcting well-founded research opinions.)
  • Gunnar Nath: Köpenick 1209 - Archeology and History. In: From Copnic to Köpenick - A walk through 800 years of history. Series of publications by the Heimatverein Köpenick e. V., No. 1, 2009, pp. 35-48. (Summary of the archaeological finds and findings from the last 20 years.)
  • Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. A Slav prince of the 12th century between the Empire and Poland. Stories from a time when Berlin didn't exist yet. Viademica-Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-939290-17-9 . (First monographic representation in German, taking into account the archaeological, numismatic and historical traditions as well as the results of the very productive Polish research.)
  • Michael Lindner: Copnic-Köpenick and the beginnings of Colonia-Cologne and Berlin. In: Old Center - New Center? Positions to the historical center of Berlin. Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-8305-3053-4 , pp. 93-102.
  • Michael Lindner, Gunner Nath: Köpenick 800 years ago. From Jacza to the Wettins. Archeology - history. Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-89479-885-7 .

Further literature (alphabetically)

Popular implementation of the Jacza theme as an audio CD

  • Jochen Exler-König: Jacza & Wanda. The decline of the Sprewanen or the story of Prince Jacza de Copnic and his wife Wanda. Audio CD . Viademica-Verlag, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-939290-18-6 .

Web links

Commons : Jacza von Köpenick  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, p. 70.
  2. ^ Herbert Ludat: Legends about Jaxa von Köpenick. 1936, pp. 27-84.
  3. ^ Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht the bear. 2003, pp. 132,134; also p. 309, note 1161: The question of the identity of Jaxa, who wrested the Brandenburg from Albrecht the Bear, must be examined further.
  4. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, pp. 17-22, 67-95.
  5. ^ Gunnar Nath: Köpenick 1209 - Archeology and History. 2009, pp. 35-48.
  6. ^ Gerhard Schlimpert: Brandenburgisches Namenbuch, Part 3, The place names of the Teltow. Hermann Böhlaus Nachf., Weimar 1972, p. 111.
  7. ↑ Aleksandra Cieślikowa: Słownik etymologiczno-motywacyjny staropolskich nazw osobowych 1: odapelatywne nazwy osobowe. Opracowała Aleksandra Cieślikowa przy współudziale Janiny Szymowej i Kazimierza Rymuta (Dictionary of the origin and motivation of old Polish personal names 1: personal names formed from appellatives ). Kraków 2000, ISBN 83-87623-23-7 , p. 92.
  8. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, p. 18.
  9. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, pp. 117–146.
  10. ↑ Johannes Schultze : The Mark Brandenburg . 5 volumes, Berlin 1961–1969, reprinted in one volume 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-13480-9 , pp. 144–147.
  11. ^ Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht the bear. 2003, pp. 36f, 50, 111f.
  12. ^ Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht the bear. 2003, p. 132f.
  13. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, p. 23.
  14. ^ Lutz Partenheimer: Albrecht the bear. 2003, pp. 132ff, 138.
  15. ↑ a b Jerzy Rajman: Pilgrims and donors. 2013, pp. 5–33.
  16. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, pp. 51, 65 note 29.
  17. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, pp. 70f, 91, 105.
  18. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, pp. 51f, 74.
  19. ↑ Janusz Bieniak: Polska elita polityczna XII wieku 3 C: Arbitrzy książąt - Pełnia władzy. (Arbitrator of the princes - height of power), 1999. In: Społeczeństwo polski średniowiecznej 8, 1999, pp. 9–66.
  20. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, p. 77f.
  21. ↑ Bernd Kluge : Jacza de Copnic and his bracteates - facts, theses and theories on the oldest topic of Brandenburg numismatics. 2009, pp. 14-42; Bernd Kluge: The beginnings of coinage in Brandenburg up to around 1170. Pribislav Heinrich, Albrecht the Bear, Jacza and Otto I. 2011, pp. 7–34.
  22. ↑ Marek Derwich: The Premonstratensian in medieval Poland. Its role in church and society. In: Studies on the Premonstratensian Order. Publications of the Max Planck Institute for History . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht , Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-525-35183-6 , pp. 311-347 (English).
  23. ↑ Michael Hofmann, Frank Römer (Ed.): From the barbed house to the house of the economy. Excavations in Alt-Cölln, Breite Str. 21–29 (= contributions to the preservation of monuments in Berlin, issue 14), Berlin 1999.
  24. ^ "Germany: Berlin older than previously thought" at Wikinews
  25. ↑ Torsten Dressler: Excavations on Schlossplatz. In: Archeology in Berlin and Brandenburg 1997. Stuttgart 1998, pp. 82–85.
  26. ↑ Michael Lindner: Copnic-Köpenick and the beginnings of Colonia-Cologne and Berlin. 2012, pp. 93-102.
  27. ^ Entry by Ludwig Persius in his diary on November 5, 1844; reproduced from: Gregor Geismeier: Stüler's "meaningful monuments" in the market . 1999, p. 8.
  28. ↑ The name "Sandbells" goes back to Frederick the Great : "Forester, why are the sandbells not sown?" (Reise through Rhinluch , 1779)
  29. ↑ a b Gregor Geismeier: Stüler's “meaningful monuments” in the market. In: The Mark Brandenburg, Marika Großer Verlag, Berlin 1999, Issue 35 (The architect of King Friedrich August Stüler). Pp. 8-14.
  30. ^ Theodor Fontane: The Schildhorn near Spandau . 1860/1862, p. 34.
  31. ↑ Presentation and quotations from: Harry Nehls: What will become of the Jaczo tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 46 f . ( luise-berlin.de ).
  32. ↑ Hans Eugen Pappenheim: 90 years column on the Schildhorn . Spandauer Zeitung No. 162 of July 13, 1935. 1st supplement
  33. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 47 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  34. ^ Theodor Fontane: The Schildhorn near Spandau . 1860/1862, p. 35.
  35. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 50 ff . ( luise-berlin.de ).
  36. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 48 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  37. ↑ Kurt Pomplun : Berlin's old legends . Series: Berliner Kaleidoskop , Volume 5. 5th edition. (originally published by Bruno Hessling in 1964) Haude & Spencer, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-7759-0277-5 , p. 78.
  38. ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
  39. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 48 ff . ( luise-berlin.de ).
  40. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 51 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  41. ↑ Ralf Salecker: Jaczo Canyon in Spandau Wilhelm city. Unterwegs-in-Spandau.de, June 10, 2014. Christoph Stollowsky: Swimming like a Slav prince. In: Der Tagesspiegel , June 10, 2012.
  42. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 52 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  43. ↑ Gatower spheres are special turnips , roughly comparable to the Teltower turnips . Gatower balls.
  44. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 49 ( luise-berlin.de ).
  45. ↑ Harry Nehls: What will happen to the Jaczo Tower? In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 5, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 49 f . ( luise-berlin.de ).
  46. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. 2012, p. 161.
  47. ↑ The 800th anniversary of Köpenick was based on the first documentary mention of Köpenick ( Copenic ). This did not take place until 1210 in a document from Margrave Konrad II of Lusatia , but it was celebrated in 2009. And of course Köpenick existed long before 1210.
  48. ↑ viademica.verlag berlin. Press release from September 7, 2012: Jacza von Köpenick. On the trail of the first Berliner.
  49. ↑ Hainer Weißpflug: Pfuhle - testimonies to the city's history . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 2, 1996, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 29 ( luise-berlin.de - section: Wanda climbs only once a year ... ).
  50. ^ Kristine Jaath: Baden in and around Berlin. The most beautiful bathing spots in Berlin and Brandenburg. Section: A castle in the Teufelssee. 2nd updated edition. Trescher Verlag , Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-89794-149-6 , p. 72.
  51. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. Pp. 10 f, 20 f, 147–152.
  52. ^ Tray Jacza by Köpenick.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Interactive catalog of the Münzkabinett.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.smb.museum  
  53. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. Pp. 11, 20 f, 72-77, 147-152.
  54. ↑ Michael Lindner: Jacza von Köpenick. P. 92, note 13.
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on June 5, 2004 in this version .
personal data
SURNAME Jacza von Köpenick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jaczo von Koepenick; Jaxa von Koepenick; Jaksa from Miechów
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Slavic prince
DATE OF BIRTH before 1130
DATE OF DEATH February 1176