Jobst Ludwig von Petersdorff

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Petersdorff coat of arms on the prayer box on the nun gallery in the Dobbertiner monastery church

Jobst Ludwig von Petersdorff (* 1708 ; † January 11, 1788 Güstrow ) was a Polish colonel in Warsaw with King August of Poland .

Life

origin

Jobst Ludwig was the second son of Hans Detlev von Petersdorff, who in 1707 sold Witzin to Duke Friedrich Wilhelm . After that he was a pawnbroker on Schönberg and from 1714 tenant of Gneven for his brother Levin Ludwig . Jobst Ludwig's mother was Catharina Maria, born von Bülow auf Woserin , Mustin and Klein Pritz.

Nothing is known from Jobst Ludwig's youth. His younger sister, Catharina Sophie, was entered in the registered book of the Dobbertin Monastery on February 6, 1711, and when she was 36 she joined the noble women's monastery as a conventual . Her coat of arms is on the southern prayer box on the nun gallery in the monastery church.

military

Jobst Ludwig von Petersdorff was in 1728 in the service of Duke Ferdinand von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel . Dismissed there as a major in 1754, he lived in Güstrow. He was personally known to Duke Friedrich the Pious of Mecklenburg, his vassal and wealthy in Mecklenburg. But as early as 1758 he was the Polish cavalry colonel in Warsaw and from 1760 he was in court service to the Polish king August the Saxon .

The diplomatic relations that the Mecklenburg government maintained with foreign courts during the Seven Years' War were aimed at obtaining military aid to drive the Prussian troops out of the country. The Duke expected a lot from the military aid of Russia . But for this you needed Mecklenburg ambassadors, like Colonel Jobst Ludwig von Petersdorff.

In December 1760 he was given a strictly confidential request that Count von Brühl should arrange for General von Tottleben or another Russian general to operate immediately so that Mecklenburg be freed from Prussian troops. The Russians should not give up the siege of Kolberg and continue attacking the Prussians in order to protect Mecklenburg. In order to win over the Russian court for his daring project, the Duke sent Colonel von Petersdorff, with the permission of his sovereign, as attaché of the Polish envoy to Saint Petersburg . Colonel von Petersdorff was supposed to obtain permission there to ensure on the spot at the Russian headquarters that the Russian generals really carried out the Tsarina's orders . The Duke had provided Colonel von Petersdorff with enough funds to be able to pay the usual bribes . He promised the Russian military leader who would liberate Mecklenburg from the Prussians a ton of gold .

Petersdorff traveled to Petersburg. Empress Elisabeth received him in December 1760 . Your Imperial Majesty has had the grace to address me three times and each time to graciously inquire about my name, he reports happily. Negotiations were slow. In a conversation with the Grand Chancellor Woronzoff, the envoy in a Polish uniform described the great advantages for the common cause. Colonel von Petersdorff suggested: 8,000 Russians should unite with the Swedish army and the 6,000 men of the Mecklenburg troops. The Grand Chancellor agreed to the plan, but Schwerin had all sorts of concerns. At the end of September 1761 the negotiations were interrupted because Voronzoff was dangerously ill.

On January 5th, 1762, Tsarina Elisabeth died unexpectedly. The new tsar, her nephew Peter III. liked only the Prussians and had the Polish cavalry officer expelled from the country immediately. Petersdorff had no official ambassadorial function from the Mecklenburg prince, who was known to be anti-Prussian. But for a short time, Colonel von Petersdorff contributed to the history of Mecklenburg.

Jobst Ludwig von Petersdorff died unmarried on January 11, 1788 in Güstrow.

literature

  • Wilhelm Raabe : Mecklenburg Fatherland Studies. Volume 3, Duke Friedrich. The seven years war. Wismar 1896, pp. 436-445.
  • Wilhelm von Schultz: Mecklenburg and the 7 Years War. In: MJB 54 (1889) pp. 1-84.
  • Wolf Lüdeke von Weltzien: Families from Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania. Volume 1, Nagold 1989, pp. 223-235.

Printed sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolf Lüdeke von Weltzien: The von Pedertorff. 1624 to 1778 in Mecklenburg. 1989, p. 229.
  2. ↑ Friedrich von Meyeen: An account book of the monastery Dobbertin. In: MJB 59 (1894), p. 215.
  3. ^ Friedrich Preßler: The coats of arms on the nun gallery. In: Dobbertin Monastery. History - building - living. Schwerin 2012, ISBN 978-3-935770-35-4 , pp. 214–228.
  4. ↑ Wolf Lüdeke von Weltzien: The von Petersdorff. 1624 to 1778 in Mecklenburg. 1989, p. 228
  5. ^ Wilhelm von Schultz: Mecklenburg and the 7 year war. 1889, p. 27.
  6. ^ Wilhelm Raabe: Duke Friedrich. The seven years war. 1896, p. 443.
  7. ^ Wilhelm von Schultz: Mecklenburg and the 7 year war. 1889, p. 29.
  8. ^ Wilhelm von Schultz: Mecklenburg and the 7 year war. 1889, pp. 29-31.
personal data
SURNAME Petersdorff, Jobst Ludwig von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish colonel
DATE OF BIRTH 1708
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1788