Johann Jacob von Wasmer

Johann Jacob von Wasmer (born February 17, 1671 in Glückstadt ; † February 27, 1747 ibid) was the royal Danish Vice Chancellor who dammed up today's Friedrichsgabekoog in Dithmarschen .

Life

Johann Jakob von Wasmer's parents were Conrad von Wasmer and his second wife Margarethe, née Bruhn. He spent his childhood and youth in Glückstadt. At the age of 17 he was enrolled in the law faculty of the University of Kiel . After successfully completing his law degree and a subsequent two-year educational trip, he returned to Glückstadt, where he was employed as a chancellery and government councilor in 1695. In the same year he married Maria Elisabeth, daughter of the lawyer Marquard Gude , who died in 1697. In 1698 he married Anna Johanna (1683–1751), daughter of Justice Councilor Jacob Hinrich Pauli von Rosenschild; from this marriage there were ten sons and six daughters. In 1711 he was a member of the royal negotiating commission at the last parliament in Rendsburg . In 1732 he was appointed royal vice chancellor.

His biggest project was the embankment of the outer dyke lands near today's municipality of Wöhrden . Along with Hinrich Bertram von Ahlefeldt and another person he had because of the octroi of 14 June 1701 by the Danish King Frederick IV. Received permission embank foreign lands at their own expense. To compensate for this, future residents were granted considerable privileges, such as exemption from certain public taxes and the right to decide administrative and judicial matters themselves ( imposed kegs ). This project was successfully completed in 1714. The newly created Koog was named Wasmerskoog because von Wasmer had raised most of the money.

During the Christmas flood of 1717 and the subsequent storm surge of February 1718, part of the dike was destroyed, which von Wasmer was only able to repair with the financial support of the Danish king. As a thank you, the Koog was renamed Friedrichsgabekoog , which still bears this name today.

Wasmer's coat of arms above the portal of the Wasmer-Palais

Jakob von Wasmer lived in and ran the Koog's largest farm himself, which at the time was classified as a noble estate . He operated there u. a. an oil and pearl mill, a glass blowing factory and even a coin of its own. A plaque attached to the farm building at this point still commemorates the merits of Wasmers. He also ran a smaller farm in the immediate vicinity. At first he was doing well economically, as he was able to build a city villa in Glückstadt as early as 1727, which is known today as the Wasmer-Palais .

Due to bad harvests and high expenses for his villa, von Wasmer got into financial distress and had to seek help from the king again. Nevertheless, bankruptcy could not be stopped in the long term. Von Wasmer first sold the smaller farm, then parts of his main farm as well. Von Wasmer died impoverished in Glückstadt. His heirs could not hold the property in Glückstadt. The palace was auctioned in 1752 and sold to the king. He turned the magnificent building into the seat of the law firm. Almost 10 years later the Koog was sold to a rich farmer from North Friesland.

literature

• Nis R. Nissen : Beginning and end of the Süderdithmarschens. In: Nis Rudolf Nissen (Ed.): Süderdithmarschen 1581-1970 . Boyens, Heide 1970, p.?.
• Dietrich Korth, Dieter Lohmeier : Wasmer, Jacob Johann von. In: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck , ed. on behalf of the Society for Schleswig-Holstein Antiquities and the Association for Lübeck History and Antiquities. Volume 6, Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982, p. 296 ff.

Web links

• Entry in private website