Wolf Dietrich von Beichlingen

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Wolf Dietrich Graf von Beichlingen (born April 13, 1665 in Zschorna ; † September 28, 1725 ibid) was Grand Chancellor and High Court Marshal of Elector Friedrich August I of Saxony and was one of the largest landowners in Saxony, but fell out of favor and was from 1703 to Held in 1709 at Königstein Fortress .

Live and act

He was the eldest son of Gottfried Hermann von Beichlingen , who was raised to the rank of count by Emperor Leopold in 1700, and Perpetua Margaretha nee. from Liège . When he was 15 years old, his mother died. From 1685 he studied at the Brandenburg University in Frankfurt .

His younger brother Gottlob Adolph was a hunting page at the court in Dresden and was in close contact with the younger brother of Elector Johann Georg IV , Friedrich August. He is said to have seduced him to neglect in his studies. In 1686, Gottlob Adolph ensured that Friedrich August had his first love affair with Marie Elisabeth von Brockdorf . When this matter came to light, the Electress removed this lady-in-waiting and Gottlob Adolph von Beichlingen from the court. Ms. von Brockdorf was allowed to return a little later and the older brother of Gottlob Adolph, Wolf Dietrich, got his first job at the Dresden court and became one of the closest confidants of the new Elector Friedrich August I, whom he supported in the Polish throne in 1697 .

Wolf Dietrich fell in love with Luise von Rechenberg , the daughter of the Brandenburg field marshal Hans Adam von Schöning , who had begun administrative reforms under Elector Johann Georg IV of Saxony , but died early. After Christian August von Sachsen-Zeitz resigned , Wolf Dietrich succeeded him as Colonel Chancellor in 1700. In addition, there was an increase in status: in April 1700 he bought the Upper Lusatian class rule Hoyerswerda from the current elector-king for 200,000 thalers and a little later the nearby Gut Bernsdorf for 10,000 thalers.

Saxon-Polish bank teller from 1702, from the Leipzig mint , so-called Beichlingscher Ordenstaler

Wolf Dietrich was considered an opponent of the Great Northern War and had numerous enemies due to his financial policy. At the instigation of Count August Ferdinand von Pflugk and Anton Egon Fürst von Fürstenberg , two favorites of Jakob Heinrich Graf von Flemming , Wolf Dietrich Graf von Beichlingen fell out of favor with the Saxon Elector and was accused with all of his brothers and close friends at the beginning of April 1703 imprisoned for embezzlement and treasonous activities. The investigation against him was headed by the Secret Council Bernhard Zech . One of the allegations was that on a bank note issued by Beichlingen , the so-called Beichlingschen Ordenstaler from 1702, only the cross, but not the Danish Elephant Order, was depicted. It was assumed that this cross was that of the Danish Order of the Danes , of which he was a knight and that the taler was such an insult to the king. With the intercession of Countess Cosel , Luise von Rechenberg was released from imprisonment in 1707. During his stay at Königstein Fortress, Wolf Dietrich and his closest allies organized an attempt to escape in 1707, but this was betrayed by Johann Friedrich Böttger, who was also at the fortress at the time . Nevertheless, Beichlingen and his followers were released on February 1, 1709.

Because of the losses he had suffered, the elector guaranteed him an annual pension of 8,000 thalers and the recovery of his property. Since the Zschorna manor had suffered from the long absence, his friend Georg Ludwig von Haxthausen offered his Putzkau manor as accommodation. Through Beichlingen's energetic endeavor to return to the court in Dresden , he lost many friends who feared they would make enemies there by being close to Beichlingen. He even despised Luise von Rechenberg because he ultimately blamed her for his six-year imprisonment. She withdrew bitter and died after a serious illness. Great bitterness led to the fact that Beichlingen had changed so negatively that Countess Cosel asked the following questions after they first met in February 1710: “Is it possible that the king valued this man? And that Rechenberg, who has so much spirit, loved this man so? "

In 1711 Wolf Dietrich lived again on his Zschorna estate . From 1712 to 1715 he had the Beichlingen Palace built in Dresden. After his death he was buried in the church in Dobra .

family

He was married to Dorothea Magdalena von Miltitz . From this marriage, the sons Hermann Alexander († 1732) and Wolf Dietrich d. J. († 1733) and daughter Dorothea Margaretha Countess von Gersdorff .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans-Joachim Böttcher: Böttger - From gold to porcelain maker . Dresdner Buchverlag, Dresden 2011, ISBN 978-3-941757-31-8 , pp. 105-107,111,132 .


personal data
SURNAME Beichlingen, Wolf Dietrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beichlingen, Wolf Dietrich Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Chancellor and Oberhofmarschall of Elector Friedrich August I of Saxony
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1665
PLACE OF BIRTH Zschorna
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 1725
Place of death Zschorna