Johann Rudolf von Münnich

Johann Rudolf Münnich , von Münnich since 1688 , (born November 7, 1678 in Neuenhuntorf , † 1730 in Ovelgönne ) was dikemaster and chancellery of the Danish- ruled county of Oldenburg .

Life

origin

Munnich was born into a peasant family of the Bailiwick "desert land" that there extensive in the 16th century land acquired and the Bailiwick Office had put into their hands. He was the eldest son of the dichgrave Anton Günther von Münnich (1650–1721) and his first wife Sophie Catharina born. von Oetken (1659-1710). The father was ennobled by the Danish King Christian V in 1688 , which was confirmed by Emperor Leopold I in 1702 by admission to the imperial nobility . Burkhard Christoph von Münnich (1683–1767), who later became Field Marshal General and a politician in the Russian service, was his brother.

Career

Münnich was initially taught by private tutors and from 1693 attended the high school in Bremen . From 1697 he was enrolled at the University of Leiden . He finished his studies in 1699 and made a trip through Holland and France with his brother Burchard Christoph in February 1700 . In August 1700 he went to Paris and in May 1701 to Strasbourg in order - like his brother - to find employment in the French military or civil service. A quarrel that ended in a duel forced him to flee France and return to Germany. Münnich then probably stayed for some time with his father Anton Günther in the East Frisian town of Esens , from whom he apparently acquired his thorough knowledge of dyke construction .

In 1704 he succeeded his uncle Johann Diedrich (1638–1718), who in 1699 had succeeded his brother Anton Günther as dikgrave of the county of Oldenburg, but was not up to the office. Like his father, Münnich was considered a competent specialist who knew the dyke construction from the ground up, due to his irritable character and his sharp criticism of the untenable conditions, but he had many opponents in the administration of the county. During this time no money was made available for the construction of the dykes and Münnich had to watch as the vital dykes were neglected and fell into disrepair. In numerous submissions, he pointed out the existing damage and the endangered river and coastal dykes, without his warnings being heard by the Danish government and the Oberlanddrosten Joachim von Pritzbuer . On December 25, 1717, the Christmas flood of 1717 , one of the heaviest storm surges the country had ever experienced, tore the weak dykes and devastated Butjadingen and Stadland as well as the Varel , Jade and Neuchâtel march bailiffs . The flood claimed more than 4,100 lives in the county of Oldenburg alone. Münnich called for immediate and comprehensive emergency measures, but the necessary funds were also missing and valuable time was lost. It was not until August 1718 that a royal commission strengthened his position and supported his dike construction work, which, however, took place too late and could not withstand renewed autumn storms in 1718. The Commission and Münnich subsequently shifted responsibility for the renewed damage to one another. The dispute prevented further work until the incompetent Oberlanddrost Pritzbuer was replaced by Christian Thomesen Sehested in October 1718 , who vigorously advocated the construction of the dyke and raised funds for it. In close cooperation, Münnich and Sehested succeeded in closing the Butjadingens Deichring in 1719, which, however , broke again during the New Year's flood in 1721 and had to be rebuilt at high cost. In the summer of 1721 there was a serious conflict over the course of the Schweiburg dike between Sehested and Münnich, who then resigned his office as dikemaster and transferred to the Oldenburg government council as a chancellery. However, in the years that followed, the Oberlanddrost often consulted Münnich on dyke construction issues.

family

Münnich married Anna Christina geb. von Suhm (1685–1721), the daughter of the Danish nobleman Heinrich von Suhm (1636–1700) and Margaretha Dorothea born. from Felden. After her death on April 20, 1728 in Jever , he married Johanna Christina von Münchhausen (1702–1737), the daughter of Jever Drosten Johann von Münchhausen († 1714) and Marie Elisabeth born. de Noeven. The couple had two sons and four daughters.

literature

• Hans Friedl: Münnich, Johann Rudolf von. In: Hans Friedl u. a. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg . Edited on behalf of the Oldenburg landscape. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5 , pp. 499-500 ( online ).