Johann Ernst von Wallenrodt

Johann Ernst von Wallenrodt

Johann Ernst von Wallenrodt (born January 3, 1615 in Tapiau , Duchy of Prussia , † March 21, 1697 in Altstadt (Königsberg) ) was an administrative officer in the Duchy of Prussia.

Life

Wallenrodt's parents were Martin von Wallenrodt , Chancellor in Prussia, and his wife Marie nee. Baroness von Kittlitz (1585-1620). They enrolled him with his brothers on November 15, 1621 at the Albertus University . He mainly studied law, but also old and newer languages. After completing his studies, his father made it possible for him to take longer trips through Europe and even North Africa. Following his literary and scientific interests, he has established contact with numerous scholars. After his return he was appointed to the court of the Brandenburg Elector Georg Wilhelm in 1638. 1640 he was Amtshauptmann in Tapiau, 1651 Oberrat in Königsberg and 1660 land steward of the Teutonic Order .

He was particularly committed to the sovereign interests of the Brandenburg electors. Especially under Georg Wilhelm's successor Friedrich Wilhelm, the Great Elector, he was also used for diplomatic tasks. In addition to Vienna in 1640 he came to Nuremberg and in 1641 was sent to the Reichstag in Regensburg. As a member of the lordly court, he was appointed legation counselor in 1643 and court judge in 1644. In his Prussian homeland, he became the governor of Barten in 1646. In 1651 he was sent to Kleve, where the elector was also sovereign, and in 1652 he was on a diplomatic mission in Lübeck. After that, his ascent continued in Prussia. In 1655 he became district administrator and governor of Tapiau in his closer home, on 14th October 1655 director of excise income, in the same year director of the war commissioner. In 1657 he took over the management of the investment and potion tax. In 1659 he accompanied Prince Bogislaw von Radziwill to peace negotiations in Danzig and Oliva, where the liberation of Prussia from Polish suzerainty should and was internationally recognized. After his return he was appointed court master of Prussia in 1660. He had thus achieved the highest-ranking office among the four Prussian regimental councils (senior councilors), which he held until his death.

His father had founded the famous Wallenrodt Library, which JE not only took over, but also expanded. The ever-growing collection of books was initially kept on one of the wallenrodtschen estates, pogirme in the main office in Tapiau. Because of the war-related dangers in the 1650s, he tried to secure the library in Königsberg. Because of the poor equipment of the university library, which in no way met the requirements of a university, he and his brothers thought of an accommodation in their rooms. They even offered to hire a librarian. Since the university was unwilling to do so, JE, with the consent of the other regimental councils, had the mayor of Kneiphof look for a safe place to stay. A vault in the cathedral, which the city of Kneiphof had only recently acquired, was proposed. On October 5, 1650, JE and his brothers signed a lease agreement with the city and the church fathers for an annual rent of 20 marks, with the rent being replaced by a capital of 400 marks Prussian. An electoral confirmation took place in 1680. JE had sought the proximity of the university for his family library in order to promote the work opportunities of its professors and students in the long term. Since 1673 there has been regular user traffic, especially for members of the university. Even after 1650, JE employed librarians, who were mostly university professors on a part-time basis. In order to ensure the long-term existence of the library, JE planned the establishment of a foundation, the management of which should initially be reserved to members of his family who are interested in 'literary'. Since he had no male descendants, his nephew and son-in-law Adam Christoph von Wallenrodt (1644–1711; APB 2, p. 771) was to become the next curator after his death.

Wallenrodt brought books with him from his travels to European countries and North America to expand the Wallenrodt library . In 1650 he spent it in two rooms in the south tower of the Königsberg Cathedral , which the Kneiphöf city council had acquired. Towards the end of his life, JE was one of the wealthiest noble gentlemen in Prussia, as his will of 6th XII. 1695 emerges. After that he had an estate of 425 Hufen; this corresponds to 7140 hectares if one converts 1 hoof to about 16.8 hectares, as in the Teutonic Order. This property was mainly in the main offices of Tapiau, Neuhausen and Prussian Mark. In addition to cash assets, there was still property in Königsberg. He gave the backward salary at around 33,000 guilders. Including the household and property inventory such as furniture, silver, pewter and copper vessels and other things, he came to a total of over 488,000 guilders, which he left to his heirs. Sums appear comparatively small when he promised about three granddaughters each 10,000 Reichstaler for the wedding. The library was also financed from his income; up to 1695 that was a total of 20,000 guilders. He and his family did not leave behind a baroque castle, as it would have corresponded to the political and educational-historical importance of JE and as it was built by the Dohnas and Dönhoffs, who were similarly wealthy at that time.

marriage

In 1654 Wallenrodt married the widowed Maria von Lehwaldt (born October 15, 1616 in Langenau; † January 26, 1676 in Königsberg), the daughter of Georg von Lehwaldt, heir to Groß and Klein Ottlau and Catharina von Polenz (1599–1673) the house of Langenau. The marriage produced a daughter. Maria was previously married to the Swedish general Johann Arend von Goldstein († 1653).

See also

• Wallenrode (noble family)
• Duchy of Prussia

literature

• Peter Bahl : The court of the great elector. Studies on the higher officials in Brandenburg-Prussia (publications from the archives of Prussian cultural property, supplement 8). Böhlau-Verlag, Cologne 2001, p. 611
• Secret State Archive of Prussian Cultural Heritage , XX. HA Hist. State Archives Königsberg, Aristocratic Archives, No. 1350, Vol. 4.
• Jacob Friedrich Werner: News from the counts and nobles of Wallenrodtschen family . Koenigsberg 1763.
• Fritz Juntke: History of the v. Wallenrodtschen library . Leipzig 1927, pp. 6-28.
• Joachim Krause: The electoral administration in the Duchy of Prussia at the end of the 17th century . Phil. Diss. Bonn 1973, pp. 50-52, 212 f.
• Detlev Schwennicke: European family tables , NF 21, Frankfurt a. M. 2002, pl. 164.
• Bernhart Jähnig : Wallenrodt, Johann Ernst von, Landhofmeister, * Tapiau 1615. I. 23. † Königsberg 1697. III. 21., Evangelical-Lutheran , in :: Three supplements to the "Old Prussian Biography" (2016)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon. City and surroundings . License issue. Flechsig, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1