Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach

Margrave Wilhelm von Brandenburg-Ansbach, last Archbishop of Riga

Depiction of Wilhelm in the margrave window of St. Sebald in Nuremberg, work by Hans Süß 1515

Wilhelm von Brandenburg-Ansbach (born June 30, 1498 in Ansbach , † February 4, 1563 in Riga ) was the last Archbishop of Riga from 1539 to 1561 .

Life

Wilhelm was a son of Margrave Friedrich the Elder of Ansbach and Bayreuth (1460–1536) and his wife Sophia (1464–1512), daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland . Together with his brother Albrecht , who later became Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, he was trained by Udalrich Seger von Mönchberg. From 1516 he studied at the University of Ingolstadt .

Plans to appoint Wilhelm as Bishop of Pomesania or Duke of Mazovia failed. First he drew benefices from the chapters in Cologne and Mainz. In 1529 the prospect of becoming Catholic Archbishop of Riga finally opened up. As a Protestant, Wilhelm hoped to be able to serve the gospel. The Archbishop of Riga, Thomas Schöning , appointed him to be his coadjutor in 1529 . In 1532 Wilhelm was elected Bishop of Ösel by a part of the ösel nobility , but could not prevail over his competitor Reinhold von Buxhoeveden.

Wilhelm was elected Archbishop of Riga after Schöning's death in 1539. The city council of Riga refused to pay homage to the Hohenzollern and refused to surrender the chapter goods. In 1541, Riga joined the Schmalkaldic League , which strengthened the city's position. After long negotiations, the Neuermühlen Treaty was finally concluded in 1546 with the recognition of Wilhelm by the Riga Council. A year later Wilhelm was able to move into Riga with a ceremony. In 1546 he appointed Christoph zu Mecklenburg, a foreign prince, to be his coadjutor, which led to the protest of the Teutonic Order . As Wilhelm asked for help from his relatives, the Duke of Prussia and the King of Poland, armed clashes broke out. Grand Master Heinrich von Galen had the Archbishop and his coadjutor imprisoned in Kokenhusen Castle in 1556 . After the King of Poland had his army moved to Livonia , Galen's successor Johann Wilhelm von Fürstenberg released both of them from prison. In the Treaty of Poswol in 1557, Wilhelm and Christoph were recognized again in their offices.

Shortly afterwards, Tsar Ivan IV attacked Livonia, which had been weakened both internally and externally, and thus opened the Livonian War . He captured the Dorpat Abbey , whereupon Poland, Sweden and Denmark intervened in the war. In 1561 Riga became a Free Imperial City. Wilhelm abdicated and was given the princely rank and two castles. He died in 1563 in the Riga Bishop's Court and was buried in the Riga Cathedral.

literature

• Joseph Girgensohn:  Wilhelm of Brandenburg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 43, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1898, pp. 177-180.
• Thomas Lange: Between the Reformation and the fall of old Livonia. The Riga Archbishop Wilhelm von Brandenburg in the network of relationships between the Livonian Confederation and its neighboring countries . Kovač, Hamburg 2014, two volumes, ISBN 978-3-8300-7630-8 .

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm von Brandenburg-Ansbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Schöning	Archbishop of Riga 1539–1561	no immediate successor