Baron Jean de Beck (1588 – 30 August 1648) was a military man and governor of the

Duchy of Luxembourg The Duchy of Luxemburg ( nl, Luxemburg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg; lb, Lëtzebuerg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg. The House of Luxembourg, now Duke of Limburg, becam ...

and of the County of

Chiny Chiny (; wa, Tchini) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality, which covers , had 5,175 inhabitants, giving a population density of 46 inhabitants per km2. The m ...

. He was born "Jean Beck", the son of Paul Beck and his wife Catherine Ronck (or Ronckart), in house no. 5 (demolished in 1958) of the rue de Trèves in the Grund of Luxembourg City. In 1619, he joined the Austrian-Habsburg army. In 1632 or 1633, he was promoted to major-general by

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

and, in 1634, was appointed commander of the

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

garrison. On 25 February 1634, he was ennobled by

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were dev ...

for his service in the Imperial army. In the summer of 1635, after leaving Wallenstein, he returned to Luxembourg. On 18 April 1637, Ferdinand III made him a baron. In the same year, he became commander of the Luxembourg fortress. The year after, he was made provisional governor of the Duchy of Luxembourg and the county of Chiny. This became official on 18 January 1642. In 1643, he became ''maître de camp général'' of the army. In 1639, Beck commanded the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and Imperial

vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

at the

relief of Thionville The Relief of Thionville took place on 7 June 1639, during the Thirty Years' War. Prelude Coordinated French and Dutch attacks on the Spanish Netherlands in May 1638 forced Spain to abandon a planned offensive in Artois. Despite fighting on tw ...

. In the same year, he bought

Beaufort Castle Beaufort Castle can refer to several places: * Beaufort Castle, Florennes, Belgium * Beaufort Castle, France, in the historical region of Auvergne * Beaufort Castle in Huy, Belgium * Beaufort Castle, Greece, a Frankish castle in Laconia * Beaufor ...

and built a new castle next to it. De Beck never forgot his humble origins. Despite acquiring a substantial fortune, he remained generous. In the

Battle of Lens The Battle of Lens (20 August 1648) was a French victory under Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé against the Spanish army under Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). It was the last major battle of the war and ...

, he was wounded on 20 August 1648 and transported to

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

, where he refused all medical care. A few days later he died of his wounds. The ''Bastion Beck'' of the Luxembourg fortress is named after him. It was built in 1644, where the Place de la Constitution is today. Likewise, rue Beck in the city is named after him.

External links

* Luxembourgian soldiers 1588 births 1648 deaths People from Luxembourg City Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Military personnel of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) {{Luxembourg-bio-stub