Philip I (Pomerania)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philipp I of Pommern-Wolgast after Lucas Cranach the Elder J.
Duke Philip I of Pomerania-Wolgast, detail from the Croÿ carpet
Philip I with his wife Maria von Sachsen, from the picture family tree of the Griffins by Cornelius Krommeny (1598).
Duke Philip I of Pomerania-Wolgast

Philip I (born July 14, 1515 in Stettin , † February 14, 1560 in Wolgast ) was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast. In 1534 all of Pomerania (Pommern-Wolgast and Pomerania-Stettin, which was ruled by Barnim IX ) joined the Reformation .

Life

Born as the only surviving son of Duke Georg , from his first marriage to Amalie von der Pfalz († January 6, 1525), he received further education at the court in Heidelberg from his uncle, Elector Ludwig V von, after his mother's death from 1526 the Palatinate . After the death of his father, he took over the official business in Stettin at the age of 16. With his uncle, Duke Barnim IX. , he divided the Duchy of Pomerania on October 21, 1532 and he received Pommern-Wolgast ( Western Pomerania ). The division was initially limited to nine years and was only confirmed permanently in 1541. He served as councilors a. Jobst von Dewitz , Rüdiger von Massow and the Chancellor Nikolaus Brun. The chronicler Thomas Kantzow was also in his service as a secretary.

The first thing to do was to regulate the relationship with the unloved stepmother, Margareta von Brandenburg . In 1533 he had to transfer to her the personal property ( Wittum ), consisting of the offices of Barth , Tribsees , Grimmen and Klempenow , which had been promised on the basis of the marriage contract of 1530 and which had to be changed by the division of 1532 . But a year later she married Prince Johann IV von Anhalt for the second time .

When he took over the government, he also found confusion in the political and ecclesiastical fields. The Reformation had made headway in his territory and if he wanted to maintain his power, he could no longer ignore it. Therefore, the two dukes decided to officially introduce the Reformation. To this end, they convened a state parliament in Treptow an der Rega on December 13, 1534 and invited the bishop of Cammin Erasmus von Manteuffel , the monastery estates, the nobility, the cities, the Protestant representatives of the cities Christian Ketelhut ( Stralsund ), Paul vom Rode ( Stettin), Johannes Knipstro ( Greifswald ), Hermann Riecke ( Stargard ), Jacob Hogensee ( Stolp ) and Luther's comrade Johannes Bugenhagen , a native of Pomerania. The state parliament failed, however, because of the opposition of the nobility, but Bugenhagen was nevertheless commissioned to draft church regulations for the Duchy of Pomerania. However, this was not officially put into effect. Bugenhagen also carried out visitations based on the Saxon model in 1535. The Reformation in Pomerania was gradually able to assert itself through well-known Protestant representatives such as Paul von Rode and Johannes Knipstro. After the Bishop of Cammin died, the road was completely open to the Reformation. After Johannes Bugenhagen was rejected, Bartholomaeus Suawe occupied the office of bishop.

Duke Philipp married Maria von Sachsen in February 1536 ; the wedding with her was the reason for the production of the Croÿ carpet .

After his marriage to the half-sister of the Saxon Elector, Philipp joined the Schmalkaldic League together with Barnim in April 1536 in Frankfurt am Main . With the defeat of the Protestants in 1547, Philip feared persecution by Charles V. The angry emperor could, however, be appeased by paying a fine. Due to the changed situation, Suawe's work became increasingly difficult so that he abdicated in 1549 and now a Catholic bishop came to his place, who wanted to restore the old conditions and wanted the regional church to be subordinate to the Roman See. However, he did not get around to it and to secure the regional church, Philipp put his eldest son Johann Friedrich on the bishop's seat, had the church regulations written by Bugenhagen revised and tried to settle the theological disputes that raged in his country.

After Philipp had set up his own court in Wolgast, he surrendered to the administration of justice and personally took part in court hearings. He also promoted trade and traffic in his part of the country. In 1540 he was able to settle the quarrel with the nobility that had been smoldering since 1534 and receive general homage from the estates. In the later years of his reign, Jacob von Zitzewitz , Valentin von Eickstedt and Ulrich von Schwerin were his most important councilors, who remained active for his sons even after his death. His Chamber Councilor Michael Küssow , who died at the beginning of 1558 and was succeeded by his brother Christian Küssow in office, enjoyed particular trust .

From 1540 to 1546 Philip had the ducal castle on the Uecker expanded into Ueckermünde Castle . There he is depicted on a relief stone. He had the ducal residence, the Wolgast Castle located on an island in the Peene River , rebuilt in several stages, with a major fire that broke out on December 11, 1557, destroying significant parts of the complex, which Philip was still rebuilding, but he did not see the completion himself.

He died before the age of 45. He was buried in the duke's crypt in the St. Petri Church in Wolgast . His son Ernst Ludwig had the crypt built in 1587, and Duke Philip's coffin was placed there. The older ducal crypt is believed to be in the walled-in access areas, but it has not yet been excavated. Now the reconstructed sarcophagus Philip I stands in the above-ground Greifenkapelle of the church next to that of his wife Maria, his son Ernst Ludwig and his grandson Philipp Julius (from left).

Epitaph Philip I in the St. Petri Church in Wolgast
Sarcophagus of Duke Philip I (4th from right)

epitaph

His epitaph in the St. Petri Church in Wolgast consists of a brass cast by Wolfgang Hilliger from Freiberg . The retable-like inscription panel with the seven Pomeranian coats of arms is adorned with a Renaissance ornament made of plants and figurative grotesques .

genealogy

His marriage to Maria von Sachsen († 7 January 1583), the daughter of John the Constant of Saxony, on February 27, 1536 resulted in seven sons and three daughters:

literature

Web links

Commons : Philipp I. (Pomerania)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
George I, Duke of Pomerania Duke of Pommern-Wolgast
1532–1560
Ernst Ludwig