Johann Friedrich von Domhardt

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Johann Friedrich Domhardt

Johann Friedrich Domhardt , from 1771 von Domhardt , (born September 18, 1712 in Allrode , † November 20, 1781 in Königsberg ) was one of the most important administrative officials of Frederick Prussia.

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Domhardt was the son of a domain tenant who immigrated to northeastern Prussia from Anhalt in 1724 . His parents were Just Heinrich Domhardt († 1736) and his wife Katharina Gertrud Trüstedt , who came from a council family from Gardelegen.

He attended the Martineum (Halberstadt) and the Royal Litthau Provincial School and acquired a good education. When he was 19 years old, his father died. He took over his father's lease of the Ragnit domain . Through his diligent work and through his efforts to achieve improvements in agriculture, he drew the attention of Friedrich Wilhelm I and earned his particular satisfaction. The Crown Prince, who later became King Friedrich II , got to know Domhardt personally in 1735. He made a note of it for later use in administration. Quick comprehension of difficult tasks, quick recognition and appropriate use of the given circumstances, constant honesty, thirst for action and hard work, great humility and philanthropy, these qualities made him an ideal of a Prussian civil servant.

Soon after his accession to the throne, Friedrich II appointed him war and domain councilor in 1746 and appointed him to the Gumbinn Chamber. He was entrusted with the sole supervision of the Royal Stutamt Trakehnen .

As early as 1756, shortly before the outbreak of the Seven Years' War , he was appointed second director of the chamber, although the higher positions were otherwise only reserved for nobles. The king entrusted him with the care of the troops that were being drawn up against the expected Russian invasion. He demonstrated prudent skill in mobilizing , setting up the country militia and securing the Trakehner stud in good time.

In the summer of 1757 the Russians invaded East Prussia under Count Fermor and Field Marshal Count Apraxin . The aged field marshal Johann von Lehwaldt commanded the Prussian troops. On the express orders of the king, he attacked the Russians, who were several times superior in terms of men and artillery, near Groß-Jägersdorf, west of Insterburg . The battle ended with heavy losses on both sides with the defeat of the Prussian army ; the Russians did not use their victory, however, but withdrew for reasons that were not clear.

Tsarina Elizabeth I had declared East Prussia as Russian property by patent dated December 31, 1757. In January 1758 a Russian army under Count Fermor occupied the unprotected country without a fight. While most of the other senior administrative officials had left the province before the Russians moved in, Domhardt remained at his post. King Friedrich had appointed him President of the Gumbinner War and Domain Chamber in October 1757. Like the rest of the country, Domhardt had to swear an oath of allegiance to Empress Elisabeth, but with his shrewd demeanor and circumspection he saved the province from all too heavy burdens. August 1762 as the best preserved of all provinces. In July 1762, the king had also given him the presidium of the closed Königsberg Chamber.

Domhardt worked feverishly to satisfy the king's demands for the delivery of food, the recruiting of recruits, and the acquisition of the Russian magazines. In addition, there were efforts to bring the damaged land back to a productive state. The expansion of the Angerapp River (1764–1774) and the settlement of 15,000 colonists by 1774 are particularly worth mentioning .

For these extraordinary achievements, the Great King granted him hereditary nobility in 1771 . It was characteristic of this ennoblement that Friedrich put a horse and a sheaf in the Domhardt coat of arms.

Domhardt's most arduous and momentous activity was building West Prussia from 1772 onwards. Although the king took care of everything personally , bypassing the general directorate , a lot of work remained with Domhardt. Since Friedrich did not come to East Prussia after the Seven Years' War, Domhardt had to take care of everything there.

Most recently paralyzed in both arms, Domhardt died on November 20, 1781 in Koenigsberg after being in sick bed for weeks. His ashes rest in Bestendorf in the district of Mohrungen . Domhardt's position has not been refilled.

family

He was married to Johanne Amalia Keydel (1716–1779). She was the daughter of Johann Casper Keydel, a forest inspector from Brunswick, who then came to East Prussia as a domain tenant. The couple had ten children including:

  • Justus Friedrich (1741–1796), Rittmeister a. D.
  • Ludwig Friedrich (1744–1821), President of the Chamber
  • Amalia Eleonore (* around 1745; † before 1791)
  • Ernestine Gertrud Friederike (* around 1750–1807)
  • Albertine Elisabeth Henriette (1752–1795) ∞ Sylvius von Frankenberg and Proschlitz (1732–1795)
  • Dorothea Friederica (* around 1755–1775)
  • Otto Heinrich Friedrich (1756–1835), from 1774 in the service of Hesse-Kassel, major and state stable master, liege lord of the Bestendorf and Wilmsdorf estates, heir on Schromhnen

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mühlpfordt, p. 29.
  2. ^ Rolf Straubel : Biographical manual of the Prussian administrative and judicial officials 1740–1806 / 15 . In: Historical Commission to Berlin (Ed.): Individual publications . 85. KG Saur Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-23229-9 , pp. 221 f . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
personal data
SURNAME Domhardt, Johann Friedrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Domhardt, Johann Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian administrative officer
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1712
PLACE OF BIRTH Allrode
DATE OF DEATH November 20, 1781
Place of death Koenigsberg