Wilhelm Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau

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Count Wilhelm Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau , Czech Vilém Kinský z Vchynic a Tetova (* 1574 in Eger ; † February 25, 1634 ibid) was a Bohemian statesman and diplomat .

Life

Wilhelm von Kinsky came from the Bohemian noble family Kinsky . He was the first from the Wchinitz line, which changed the name Wchinitz to Kinsky. His parents were Johann d. Ä. († 1590), Burgrave of Karlstein and Anna († 1598), daughter of Johann Pouzar von Michnitz. Wilhelm was married to Elisabeth ( Alžběta / Eliška ), a daughter of Jan Rudolf Trčka von Lípa . After his brother-in-law Adam Erdmann Trčka von Lípa married Maximiliane von Harrach in 1627 , Wilhelm was related by marriage to Wallenstein, who was married to Maximiliane's sister Isabella von Harrach.

Wilhelm von Kinsky had been Oberstjägermeister of the Kingdom of Bohemia since 1611. In 1618 he took part in the Bohemian estates uprising and was elected by the representatives of the estates to the thirty-strong directorate responsible for the government of the country. Probably because in 1619 he inherited the inheritance of his uncle Radislav the Elder. Ä. took office, he neglected the office of director, so that this his brother Radislav the Elder. J. was transferred. When the king was elected on August 26, 1619, Wilhelm and his brother Ulrich voted in favor of the Saxon Elector Johann Georg .

Due to the influence of his rich father-in-law Jan Rudolf Trčka, Wilhelm's possessions were not confiscated after the Battle of White Mountain ; he and his brother even succeeded in acquiring confiscated properties from other rebels. He was also raised to the rank of count in 1628 . However, after he was not ready to convert to Catholicism, he, along with many other exiles , had to leave the Kingdom of Bohemia that same year due to an imperial order . He emigrated to Pirna in Saxony , from where, after employing Catholic officials on his estates in Teplitz , Rumburk , Hainspach and Kamnitz , he was able to manage his Bohemian estates (and occasionally visit them with temporary residence permits).

In Dresden, Wilhelm lived with his family at the Electoral Saxon court , where he played an important role as a private politician. Elector Johann Georg hated him as an arrogant foreigner, but tolerated him as a wealthy taxpayer. Kinsky's trump cards were his wealth as well as his relationships with Wallenstein. He entertained three spies at Wallenstein's court, gathered Bohemian emigrants around him and worked closely with the emigre's military leader, Count Heinrich Matthias von Thurn-Valsassina . After the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631, Saxon troops under General Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg occupied Bohemia, whereupon Kinsky, together with Thurn and numerous other emigrants, also returned to Bohemia; however, Saxon troops soon brought him back to Dresden so that he would not act as an agitator and troublemaker in Bohemia. In the same year his eldest son Johann Georg died in childhood.

In 1632 he brokered indirect negotiations between Wallenstein and the opposing Swedish King Gustav Adolf via the Swedish envoy Laurens Nicolai , without the knowledge of the imperial court in Vienna. At the same time he was in contact with the French diplomat Feuquières , who promoted these negotiations. However, Wallenstein avoided changing sides, as he - with the knowledge of the imperial court - sought an alliance with the Protestant electors, but not with the Swedes and the French, as the emigrants had hoped.

With a diplomatic mission, Kinsky went to Pilsen to Wallenstein on January 8, 1634 , whom he accompanied on the subsequent escape to Eger . There he was murdered together with Wallenstein and his confidante Christian von Ilow as well as Adam Erdman Trčka and his adjutant Rittmeister Neumann on the evening of February 25, 1634. His body was first buried in the cemetery in Mies and later reburied in the St. Salvator Church in Prague.

Wilhelm von Kinsky's possessions were confiscated by imperial decree of March 14, 1634, including Teplice Castle . Despite numerous efforts, his sons Adolf, Ernst / Arnošt, Ulrich / Oldřich and Philip-Moritz / Filip-Mořic did not succeed in getting their paternal inheritance; Teplitz had already been awarded to Wallenstein's opponent Johann von Aldringen and, after his soon-to-be death, fell to his sister, who founded the Clary-Aldringen family . It was not until July 16, 1648, however, that an imperial decree determined that her father's crime should not be detrimental to her position, her honor and her good name.

Wilhelm's widow Elisabeth emigrated to the Netherlands, where she married the Bohemian émigré Zdeňek von Hodice ( Zdeňek Hodický z Hodic a Olramovic ; † 1641), who was a colonel in the Swedish service. A year later she died in Hamburg.

Wilhelm von Kinsky owned a paper mill, from which he supplied the Electoral Saxon court . Works by Heinrich Schütz were also written on it. The paper shows a watermark with the Kinsky coat of arms.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Golo Mann : Wallenstein. His life , Frankfurt am Main 2016 (first 1971), p. 906 f.
  2. ↑ Golo Mann, Wallenstein , pp. 904–913
  3. ↑ Wolfgang Steude: A Schütz fragment and comments on Kassel Schütz sources . In: Jürgen Heidrich, Hans-Joachim Marx , Ulrich Konrad (eds.): Musical sources, sources on music history: Festschrift for Martin Staehelin . Göttingen 2002, p. 231
personal data
SURNAME Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kinsky, Wilhelm von; Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau, Wilhelm Graf; Vilém Kinský z Vchynic a Tetova (Czech)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bohemian statesman and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH 1574
PLACE OF BIRTH Eger
DATE OF DEATH February 25, 1634
Place of death Eger