Johann Matthias von Galen

Johann Matthias Graf von Galen (born September 12, 1800 in Münster , † December 24, 1880 in Dinklage ) was the fourth treasurer in the Prince Diocese of Münster and the Diocese of Münster . His son Ferdinand was his successor in office and the last treasurer of the Galen family.

Life

Johann Matthias and his brother Ferdinand in a painting by Johann Christoph Rincklake

Origin and family

The ancient  Westphalian   noble family  von Galen , which is one of the most important in the  Duchy of Münster  , has numerous important and well-known personalities. In the 16th century it partially sympathized with the  Reformation , but later became Catholic again  . The family was elevated to baron status in 1665 and to imperial count status in 1702 . In 1803 the elevation to the Prussian count followed. Johann Matthias Graf von Galen grew up as the son of Clemens August Josef von Galen (1748–1820, Oberhofmarschall) and his wife Angela Anna Carolina von Ascheberg zu Venne (1773–1806), daughter of  Johann Matthias Kaspar von Ascheberg zu Venne  (1737–1818 , Prussian district administrator) and Franziska Maria Carolina Josefa Ferdinanda von Etzbach zu Langen (1744–1821) together with his siblings Ludovika (1779–1840, ∞ Maximilian Friedrich Heinrich Maria von Korff), Theresa (1806, ∞ Caspar Maximilian Droste zu Vischering-Padberg ) and Ferdinand . On January 11, 1825, Johann Matthias married Maria Anna Freiin  von Ketteler (* 1802; † 1884), daughter of Freiherr Maximilian von Ketteler (1779–1832, Prussian district administrator) and his wife Clementine nee. von der Wenge (1778–1844). Maria was a sister of the Mainz bishop Wilhelm Emmanuel von Ketteler . The marriage produced thirteen children. Probably the most famous descendant is Clemens August Graf von Galen . For the other offspring see von Galen , section "Family table of Johann Matthias an"

Career and work

Johann Matthias completed his studies at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster and, at the age of twenty, inherited the inheritance of his father, who died in May 1820. In his function as a chamberlain, he was responsible for the administration of the property. This was partly created by his great-grandfather (3rd generation) Johann Heinrich , but with the special support of his brother Prince-Bishop Christoph Bernhard . During his reign, Christoph Bernhard created considerable real estate assets. So in 1667 he bought the property from the impoverished lords of Dinklage. Four years later, all of Galen's possessions were combined in the Vechta office as entails . Six years later, in 1677, a small state-like structure emerged in the area of ​​today's town of Dinklage and the neighboring village of Brockdorf, the so-called Herrlichkeit Dinklage. The von Galen family, in their glory, had administrative sovereignty. She was also empowered to judge. She held this position for many years after the end of the Munster rule in 1803 . It was only ended when a contract was signed on March 17, 1826, which meant the end of glory for Dinklage. It bore the signatures of Johann Matthias and the Oldenburg government councilor Carl Friedrich Suden. The changes in the political and social conditions forced Johann Matthias to sell to the Grand Duke of Oldenburg . The following years were characterized by brisk buying and construction activities. In 1841 Johann Matthias began building the new St. Augustine chapel in the Dinklage castle complex. It was built in the Gothic Revival style and on 28 August 1844 by the Münster's bishop Vischering Kaspar Maximilian Droste consecrated . The inscription above the side door of the chapel: “I and my house want to serve the Lord. Jos XXIV, 15. Mathias von Galen and Anna von Ketteler his housewife built this church and celebrated the inauguration on the day of the patron saint of St. Augustine August 28th, 1844. “ commemorates this event. In 1846 he bought the Harderburg estate (near Osnabrück) from the Lodtmann family. In 1852 he donated the office building to the Clement Sisters in St. Anna-Stift in Dinklage, which served as a hospital and later became the basis of the St. Anna Foundation. In 1858 Matthias and his wife had the Assen house completely renovated and a neo-Gothic chapel built by the master builder Friedrich Wilhelm Buchholz. Bishop von Ketteler took over the blessing of the chapel.

From 1833 to 1868 and again from 1871 to 1875 he was a member of the Provincial Parliament of the Province of Westphalia . In 1847 he was also a member of the First United State Parliament .

literature

• Clemens Heitmann: “The families of the Drosten and hereditary treasurers of Galen” in the 1974 yearbook for the Oldenburger Münsterland . Vechta 1973, pp. 206-217 .
• Friedrich Keinemann: From Krumstab to the Republic - Westphalian nobility under Prussian rule 1802 - 1945, 1997, ISBN 3-8196-0541-X , p. 495.

Web links

• Johann Matthias von Galen private pedigree at Geneanet.org
• Von Galen entry in the Coesfel online local family book
• Von Galen person database at Germania Sacra