Johann von Pont

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Johann von Pont (in some sources also called von Punt ; * 14th century in Aachen ; † around 1386 there) was aldermen and mayor of the imperial city of Aachen .

Live and act

The first written mention of Johann von Pont dates from 1364, when he took over the post of master craftsman. He gained the trust of the citizens and was elected mayor in 1368 . He was then accepted into the college of lay judges and elected mayor of the Free Imperial City of Aachen from 1372, 1374–1376, 1377, 1379 and 1383 to 1387 . In addition, from 1375, von Pont was elected to the jury of the Landfriedensbündnis Maas-Rhein as one of the jury of the city of Aachen and one year later he was appointed as the city rentmaster , which made him the author of part of the city accounts.

This peace alliance between Kurköln and the Duchy of Brabant as well as the cities of Aachen and Cologne , founded in 1351 , campaigned among other things for the lifting of unjust customs duties and the protection of traveling merchants and pilgrims. In order to achieve their goals, own troops could then be set up to fight robber barons with violence. This situation occurred for von Pont for the first time in 1383, when he, together with his mayor colleague Gerhard Lewe, the elder and the urban troops of Aachen and Cologne as well as the troops of the Archbishop of Cologne Friedrich III. of Saarwerden and Duke William II. of Jülich and funds the Dyck Castle besieged. They accused Gerhard von Dyck of being a robber baron, and after successfully taking his castle, the troops forced him to destroy the stronghold at that time. Two years later, Johann von Pont had to move out again , this time with his nephew Konrad von Pont and the aldermen Arnold Volmer , Johann and Heinrich Bertolf and Reinhard von Moirke , to besiege Reifferscheid Castle . They accused Johann V. von Reifferscheid of numerous raids in the near and far surroundings and of breaking the peace. The siege itself was initially unsuccessful and the Alliance troops withdrew after three months of unsuccessful things. Nevertheless, the Landfriedensbund was able to commit Johann V. von Reifferscheid to an eight-year peace treaty.

Johann von Pont was married to Catharina Colyn, a sister of Mayor Rikolf Colyn , and had at least seven children with her, of which his son Konrad von Pont, the boy († around 1406), was also accepted into the college of lay judges. The Johann von Pont family owned the upper Uersfelder Hof , later the Küppershof in Richterich , and the Schurzelter mill in Laurensberg . The latter had been owned by the family since the middle of the 13th century and Johann von Pont transferred it to his nephew and later mayor Konrad von Pont the Elder around 1383.

For his services to the city of Aachen, Johann von Pont was honored five hundred years later with a statue on the back of the Aachen city hall , which was made by Karl Krauss around 1895 and placed on the corner of the stairwell as part of the renovation of the city hall. In 2011 this statue was completely renovated together with the figure of the also deserving mayor Gerhard Chorus , made by the same sculptor .

Literature and Sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thorsten Karbach: The wind sweeps the knight chorus from the base , in: Aachener Zeitung from July 22, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Pont, Johann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Punt, Johann von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German aldermen and mayor of the Free Imperial City of Aachen
DATE OF BIRTH 14th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH Aachen
DATE OF DEATH around 1386
Place of death Aachen