Thomas von Fritsch

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Thomas von Fritsch; Painting by Anton Graff , 1772.

Thomas Fritsch , from 1730 von Fritsch , from 1742 Freiherr von Fritsch (baptized September 26, 1700 in Leipzig , † December 1, 1775 in Dresden ) was a Saxon statesman of the 18th century. He is considered to be the organizational head of the so-called rétablissement, which initiated the rebuilding of Saxony after the Seven Years War.

Life

Origin and professional career

Fritsch was the son of the well-known Leipzig publisher Thomas Fritsch . After studying law in Leipzig, he traveled through Germany, the Netherlands, France and England. Already at the age of 21 he attracted attention with a Latin dissertation on a question of public law: "De jure Imperii in magnum Ducatum Etruriae", the second edition of which was published in 1730 and the third edition in 1741. In 1724 he got a job in the Secret Cabinet in Dresden, in 1725 he accompanied the Marquis de Fleury, who was sent to Vienna, as legation secretary and in 1727 was appointed court and justice councilor to the state government. In 1732 he was promoted to secret trainee lawyer and director of the royal coin cabinet. Due to dissatisfaction with the policy of Prime Minister Count Brühl , however, Fritsch resigned from his office in Electoral Saxony in 1741. Emperor Karl VII appointed him to Frankfurt as Reichshofrat in 1742; In 1745, Emperor Franz I gave him the post of Reichspfennigmeister for the Upper and Lower Saxon imperial circles .

Memorial stone for Thomas von Fritsch at Hubertusburg Castle

Mediator in the Seven Years War

Fritsch was also badly affected by the ruthless occupation of the Electorate of Saxony by the Prussian troops in the Seven Years' War . Large contributions were imposed on his goods; his Dresden town house went up in flames during the Prussian bombing of Dresden in July 1760. During this time Fritsch again sought contact with King August III. and Prime Minister Count Brühl , who had withdrawn to Warsaw during the war. In letters to the Prime Minister, Fritsch described the country's plight and urged rapid measures to avert the complete economic collapse of Electoral Saxony. In April 1762, the king appointed Fritsch as president of a restoration commission from Warsaw, which was supposed to develop comprehensive reports and recommendations for the reconstruction of Electoral Saxony.

The restoration commission was active from April 30, 1762 to August 5, 1763. It produced a total of 34 reports, to which Fritsch's various memoranda were added. Fritsch proved his worth as Commission President to such an extent that the King and Prime Minister also appointed him negotiator for the peace negotiations to be conducted with Prussia. As Saxon authorized representative, Fritsch signed the Peace of Hubertusburg on February 15, 1763 .

Pioneer of the Saxon Rétablissement

Three quarters of a year later, on November 19, 1763, the restoration commission submitted its final report. The commission's recommendations were not limited to making it possible to repair war damage. Rather, the commission had drawn up a kind of general plan that was to be of fundamental importance for the entire foreign, domestic and economic policy of Saxony up to the middle of the 19th century. In the same year Fritsch was appointed Conference Minister in the Secret Consilium (the highest government authority after the Cabinet) by Elector Friedrich Christian with responsibility for the Department of Chamber, Commerce, Coin and Border Matters (comparable to today's Ministry of Economics).

Together with his confidants, Friedrich Ludwig Wurmb (1723–1800) and Christian Gotthelf von Gutschmid , Fritsch pioneered a comprehensive reconstruction project that was accompanied by state and administrative reforms and went down in history as the Saxon Rétablissement. The rétablissement led to a rapid revitalization of the country and its economy.

In particular, the Electoral Saxon rulers followed the foreign policy maxims that Fritsch had laid down in his political will in 1765: In order not to endanger the reconstruction and economic recovery of Electoral Saxony, the Elector should at least for the time being forego any connection with Poland. Otherwise there is a risk of renewed foreign policy conflicts with the neighboring Saxon-Polish powers Austria and Prussia. In October 1765, administrator Prince Xaver declared that the underage elector would renounce the Polish royal crown, and based on the same considerations, Friedrich August the Just refused the renewed Polish crown in 1791.

Personal

From 1729 the family lived mainly on the Seerhausen manor near Riesa; later Fritsch acquired the Zschochau manor and the Mautitz manor. With a diploma from Emperor Charles VI. from March 30, 1730 he was raised to the nobility and in 1742 to the baron status. He died on December 1, 1775 in Dresden. Seerhausen Palace and Park remained in the possession of the Fritsch family until 1945. However, the castle was blown up in 1949. A support association has been involved in the renovation of the palace gardens since 2004.

  • Johanna Sophie von Fritsch; Painting by Anton Graff, 1770. Wife

  • JE Zeissig: Thomas v. Fritsch (bottom left), wife Sophia (center), daughter-in-law Charlotte (right), son Carl Abraham (center left), daughter Margaretha - widow of Ferdinand Ludwig von Saul (2nd from right), 1773.

  • Jakob Friedrich von Fritsch (born March 22, 1731 in Dresden, † January 13, 1814 in Weimar). Oldest son

  • Karl Wilhelm Freiherr von Fritsch (born July 16, 1769 in Weimar; † October 16, 1850 there). grandson

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Fritsch, Thomas von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fritsch, Thomas Freiherr von; Fritsch, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Saxon statesman
DATE OF BIRTH baptized September 26, 1700
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH December 1, 1775
Place of death Dresden