Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld

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Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld (born October 28, 1525 in Lusdorf ; † before 1591) was captain of the lordship and the city of Reichenberg in northern Bohemia and made a significant contribution to transforming the modest town, which was then under the rule of the Lords of Redern , became a handsome city. Because of his services to the development of the city, he was raised to the hereditary Bohemian nobility in 1565 with the predicate "von Rosenfeld" . He himself remained without permanent descendants, but his family - his brothers and their descendants - played an important role in the history of Reichenberg.

origin

Coat of arms of the Silesian von Redern / Rödern
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According to tradition, Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld came from “poor parents” who kept him going to school. A slightly different picture emerges from the autobiography he wrote. There he records that he was appointed captain of the city of Reichenberg in 1558 “by my gracious father”.

This “gracious father”, who appointed Joachim Ulrich as captain of the Reichenberg rule, could undoubtedly not be a poor citizen of the city, but only the owner of the corresponding rights of rule. The owner of these rights, however, according to the sales deed of the Friedland rule from April 1, 1558, was Mr. Friedrich von Redern zu Ruppersdorf, imperial councilor and vice cathedral in Upper and Lower Silesia. It follows that the biological father of Joachim Ulrich - and probably his two too Brothers - because despite their “poor parents”, they were among the richest breweries in the city as early as 1550 and held important offices there - Friedrich von Redern was.

This is corroborated by the fact that Joachim Ulrich kept his autobiography, in which he went into more detail about his services to the city of Reichenberg and also about his origins, a secret during his lifetime. But so that both his services to the development of the city of Reichenberg and his noble - albeit illegitimate - origins would be recorded, but only known long after his death, he had his biography included in the tower capsule, which was included on the occasion of the renewal of the deanery church in Reichenberg other documents on September 20, 1582 was placed on the tower. This shows that it was important to him to record this historical fact, but at the same time he was aware that his origins had to remain hidden from the public.

Friedrich von Redern came from a noble Silesian family who lived in Ruppersdorf (today Wyszonowice) near Breslau .

Melchior Freiherr von Redern, half-brother of Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld

Friedrich the Elder von Redern died in 1564 as imperial councilor and first Silesian chamber president, he was lord of Friedland , Reichenberg and Seidenberg as well as lord of Tost in Upper Silesia (today Toszek in Powiat Gliwicki in Poland ), Peiskretscham and Ruppersdorf. From his marriage to Salomea von Schönaich he had four sons, including Melchior Reichsfreiherr von Redern (* 1555, † 1600), Georg and Christoph († September 3, 1591). The name and origin of Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld's mother - probably came from a humble background - are unknown because he does not mention them in his biography.

Life

youth

The autobiography he wrote contains the following details on the life of Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld:

After graduating from school he entered the service of "old Gottscher" (von Schaffgotsch?) Zu Friedeberg, then went to Bohemia to learn the Czech language and in 1545 to Poland , where he was in the service of a Polish nobleman named Wleschko, who was at odds with the town of Belsko. In 1548 he was sent by order of Sigismund I, King of Poland (1506–1548) from the house of the Jagiellonians with a horse escort to Russia , around some wagons with gunpowder to Podolia (historical area in the southwestern Ukraine and in northeastern Moldova ), where there were numerous battles against the Tatars of the Ottoman Empire , with the Silesian Bernhard von Prittwitz († 1561), known as 'Terror Tartarorum' ('the terror of the Tatars'), distinguished himself.

Margrave Albrecht von Brandenburg-Kulmbach, contemporary illustration

In 1549 he entered the service of Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (* 1522, † 1557), ruled (1541–1554) and was a member of his court for several years , first in Silesia , then on the Plassenburg (above the City of Kulmbach ). During this time there was a prince uprising in 1552 to defend “German liberty”, ie the freedom of the nobility and the exercise of Protestantism against Emperor Charles V. His employer, Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades, played a key role in this, as he was indignant about the low compensation. which the emperor had granted him, although he - despite his evangelical faith - had faithfully supported the imperial side together with Moritz von Sachsen , especially in the battle of Mühlberg . In the subsequent Second Margrave War , Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades fought against the Catholic monasteries . Joachim Ulrich was probably also affected by these warlike events, as he served on the Plassenburg ob Kulmbach , the residence and state fortress of the Principality of Brandenburg-Kulmbach , where the remaining margravial soldiers found refuge after the destruction of Kulmbach on November 26, 1553.

Siege of the Plassenburg, contemporary woodcut by Hans Glaser

After the defeat of his employer Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades at the Battle of Schwarzach in Kitzingen Plassenburg was besieged who had to capitulate on June 22, 1554 sacked and soon after by the Bundesständischen troops under the command of the Duke Henry II. Of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel destroyed has been. Margrave Albrecht Alcibiades came under imperial ban and fled to his sister in Pforzheim . His principality was ruled by imperial sequesters .

It is uncertain what role Joachim Ulrich played in detail, but what is certain is that he survived and, according to his own account, subsequently entered the service of a Frankish count Kasimir von Holach (?). There he received the news that Emperor Charles V of Augsburg had announced that he would recruit soldiers for an Italian train. He therefore went to Augsburg to be drafted, but arrived there too late, which is why he traveled with other interested parties to Vienna on the Danube to be recruited there. Since this was in vain, he turned to the Polish city of Krakow , where he served as an officer in the cavalry, and then returned to his homeland - the Friedland rule.

Captain von Reichenberg

Frýdlant Castle
View of Reichenberg from the town hall

The lordship of Friedland (today Frýdlant v Čechách ) with the towns of Reichenberg (today Liberec) and Seidenberg (today Zawidów ) was owned by the von Bieberstein family for a long time . With the extinction of the family line at Friedland, this rule had fallen back in 1551 as a settled fiefdom to the sovereign, Emperor Ferdinand I as King of Bohemia . On November 1, 1554, he appointed his councilor Friedrich von Redern to be the royal captain of this rule, which at that time was in pledge possession of the still underage Margrave Georg Friedrich I of Brandenburg zu Anspach and Bayreuth (* 1539, † 1603). Since Friedrich von Redern lived in Breslau, he was represented from 1555 in his capacity as royal captain in Friedland by Hans Oppeln von Linderode and as captain in Reichenberg by Joachim Ulrich. Friedrich von Rräder, however, may have taken a liking to this property, since on April 1, 1558 he ruled Friedland (today Frýdlant v Čechách) in the Liberec district (formerly Reichenberg) consisting of the castle and the town of Friedland, the town of Reichenberg, the desolate Hammerstein Castle (today Hamrštejn Castle near Machnín in the Liberec region in the north of the Czech Republic ) and the town of Seidenberg (in the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia (today in the Powiat Zgorzelecki in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland )), acquired from the Bohemian Court Chamber for 40,000 thalers. Just a few days later, on April 24, 1558, he appointed Joachim Ulrich ruler and city governor of Reichenberg.

Joachim Ulrich had the town and board mill rebuilt in Reichenberg in 1559 and donated his malt house to the town, which generated considerable income. In 1564, at the instigation of Christoph the Elder von Redern (his father), Joachim Ullrich was raised to the bohemian nobility with the predicate "von Rosenfeld". Through his personal commitment, he was able to obtain the privilege of holding two annual markets for Reichenberg in 1577 as well as his own city ​​coat of arms and seal. This not only led to an economic upturn in the city, but also to formal recognition as a fully-fledged city and thus to an increase in the previous status of both the city and its citizens. In 1578 the school and the rectory were rebuilt at his instigation. At the same time, the Protestant pastor Andreas Heisch was given the tithe in 1578. A year later, on the initiative of Ulrich von Rosenfeld, the parish church was rebuilt, for which the foundation stone was laid on September 24, 1579. Another initiative concerned the poor condition of the roads in Reichenberg. Ulrich von Rosenfeld therefore arranged for the market and alleys to be paved. During his time as captain von Reichenberg, the Reichenberg Castle was built between 1585 and 1587 by the brothers Christoph and Melchior von Redern (* 1555, † 1600). Joachim Ullrich von Rosenfeld lived in the manorial office under the new castle and received an estate in Rosenthal with a size of one hat and 9 rods without court services. During his long period of service as captain of the Reichenberg rule, he served his father, Friedrich von Redern the Elder, as well as his half-brothers, Christoph von Rräder (+ September 3, 1591) and Melchior von Rräder, Freiherr zu Friedland, Reichenberg and Seidenberg, who was married to Katharina Countess Schlick and whom he accompanied to the Reichstag in Augsburg. After 46 years as captain of the Reichenberg rulership, during which he made the small town of Reichenberg a handsome town and thus rightly recognized by Dr. JG Herrmann was described as the “true father of the city of Reichenberg”, Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld died before 1591.

Marriage and offspring

Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld was married to Ne Seliger from Hennersdorf (* December 6, 1545, †?) Since 1561. According to the autobiography, she was a sister of Anton Seliger, a well-known scholar who, as the detailed mention in his biography shows, made a strong impression on Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld. His brother-in-law Anton Seliger accompanied the brothers Christoph and Melchior from Reden to Paris , where, as Protestants , they had to witness the murder of the Protestants on St. Bartholomew's Night, which prompted them to leave France immediately. He later accompanied Melchior by bike to Italy , visited Rome , Naples and other cities with him . Then he accompanied Melchior von Redern on his campaigns, first against the Turks, then in Hungary and then to the Netherlands, was also there when Melchior von Redern waged war with the King of Poland against the Muscovites and fought the battle of Pleskov. On his return, Anton Seliger fell into an ambush at Pettschur Monastery in Russia and was captured there after brave resistance, but could not be freed even by his master, who deployed his entire troops - 8,400 men.

children

Joachim Ulrich von Rosenfeld left only one son from his marriage:

  • Georg Ullrich von Rosenfeld, (* October 25, 1565, †?)

The choice of his son's godparents shows that Joachim Ulrich was aware of his noble origins, as Fabian von Redern, Wolf von Etzel, Heinrich von Schweinitz, the wife of Hieronymus von Maxen and the wife of Wolf von Etzel appear among them. Georg Ullrich received good training in Zittau from 1573, from 1574 to Friedland, from 1578 with the Jesuits and 1580 in Prague, where his father later found him a post in the Bohemian Court Chancellery in Prague. As a result, Georg Ulrich von Rosenfeld traveled with the royal court to the state parliament in Pressburg , then to Vienna and in September 1582 to the Reichstag of Augsburg . However, he seems to have died early and unmarried.

Continuation of the family in Reichenberg

Although Joachim Ulrich ultimately had no permanent descendants, his family - his siblings and their descendants - played an important role in Reichenberg for generations later. Mention should be made:

  • David Ulrich, Joachim's eldest brother, was already a citizen of Reichenberg with the right to brew beer in 1550 and was therefore a patrician of the city and on July 17, 1562 he bought the house “Zum guldenen Greifen”, the oldest inn in Reichenberg, which later became “Zur golden crown "and was on the main square of the city, the" Altstädter Platz ". He sat on the city ​​council several times until 1590 and was still alive in 1606.
  • Aaron Ulrich, Joachim's younger brother, also owned a brewery around 1550, was a member of the city council and is named as the city ​​judge of Reichenberg in 1579 and 1582 . In 1610 he gave 10 shock for the construction of the parish church and died around 1533, since on October 5th of this year his brewery on Altstädter Platz was sold by the community of heirs to his son David Ulrich. He left three sons and three daughters:
    • Salomon Ulrich, remained childless
    • David Ulrich, inherited the brewery "Zum guldenen Greifen", was burgrave of Friedland Castle from 1623 to 1625 , then from 1631 to 1637 he was burgrave of the Reichenberg lordship and on April 23, 1638 became mayor of Reichenberg. Under the influence of his nephew Gideon Ehrlich , who was a city judge at the time and who converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, David Ulrich also converted to Catholicism. Together they succeeded in persuading the city council to take the same step, which then converted to Catholicism on April 25, 1638 , although the population was largely Protestant and opposed the reintroduction of the Catholic religion. This turning point did not last long, however, because the Thirty Years' War raged , as a result of which a corps of the Swedish army moved into the city on May 1, 1639 , Reichenberg on May 9, while the Swedish General Feldzeugmeister Lennart Torstensson sacked the city on May 24 occupied neighboring Friedland fortress. The Protestant population of Reichenberg saw this as an opportunity to regain supremacy in Reichenberg. The Catholic city council was deposed and a new Protestant one was elected, the Catholic city ​​clerk was replaced by a Protestant and at the same time the former Protestant chaplain was recalled, while the Catholic priest escaped to safety. Gideon Ehrlich - the ringleader of the recatholization - was able to escape the impending execution by fleeing, while David Ulrich was able to stay in Reichenberg, but was obliged to billet extensively by the Swedish occupiers. After the recapture of Friedland Fortress by the imperial troops on March 17, 1640, the dance was repeated in the opposite direction, this time the Protestants were replaced by Catholics. In 1645 David Ulrich rejoined the city ​​council and remained a member until his death in 1654. His son:
      • Elias Ulrich was a brewer in his grandfather's house in 1605, was a city ​​councilor , was elected mayor of Reichenberg in 1609 and remained in this position until 1613. From 1617 to 1623 he was again mayor of Reichenberg and in 1643 was still alive.
    • Daniel Ulrich, like his father and his brothers, was a brewery and patrician of Reichenberg
    • Hanna Ulrich, ⚭ Elias Ehrlich († v. 1633), guild master of cloth makers, church father and city ​​judge of Reichenberg
    • Ne Ulrich, ⚭ Jakob Ehrlich, brewer and guild master of the cloth makers in Reichenberg
    • Ne Ulrich, ⚭ Christoph Heisch († 1627/28), son of the Protestant pastor of Reichenberg Andreas Heisch

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ JG Herrmann History of the City of Reichenberg , Volume 1, Verlag von Franz Jannasch, Reichenberg 1863, p. 205
  2. ↑ Quotation from the autobiography of Ulrich von Rosenfeld reproduced in JG Herrmann Geschichte der Stadt Reichenberg p. 206
  3. ↑ JG Herrmann op. Cit. P. 196
  4. ↑ According to Sommersberg: "Schlesische Chronik" p. 425 quoted in Dr. JG Herrmann op. Cit. P. 204, note 229
  5. ↑ For more details on the family of Redern see article " Redern " in Wikipedia
  6. ↑ Details see Wikipedia, article Podolien
  7. ↑ Details: See Wikipedia article Siege of Kulmbach and the Plassenburg .
  8. ↑ P. Anton Hoffmann: History of the old houses on the north side of the old town market square in Reichenberg , Reichenberg 1888, Verlag U. Schöpfer, Vienna, p. 43
  9. ↑ Dr. JG Herrmann op. Cit. P. 205
personal data
SURNAME Rosenfeld, Joachim Ulrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION long-time captain of the Reichenberg rule
DATE OF BIRTH October 28, 1525
PLACE OF BIRTH Lusdorf
DATE OF DEATH before 1591