Frederick Casimir of Cieszyn also known as of Fryštát ( pl, Fryderyk Kazimierz Cieszyński or Frysztacki; german: links=no, Friedrich Kasimir von Teschen-Freystadt; b. December 1541/January 1542 - d. 4 May 1571), was a Polish prince member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branc ...

in the

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

branch and ruler over Fryštát,

Skoczów Skoczów (pronounced , german: Skotschau, cs, Skočov) is a town and the seat of Gmina Skoczów in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland with 14,385 inhabitants (2019). The town lies in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia ...

(both since 1560), and

Bielsko Bielsko (german: Bielitz, cs, Bílsko) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that to ...

(since 1565). He was the second child but only son of Wenceslaus III Adam, Duke of Cieszyn, by his first wife Maria, daughter of John III of Pernstein.

Life

Little is known about Frederick Casimir's first years. In 1560 he received from his father the towns of Fryštát and

. Five years later, in 1565, Duke Wenceslaus III Adam also give to him

. During almost all of his life, Frederick Casimir was the sole heir of the Duchy of Teschen (Cieszyn). However, this changed in 1567 when, after his mother's death, his father remarried with Sidonie Katharina of Saxe-Lauenburg and three years later, in 1570, she gave birth to her first son, Christian August. The premature death of his new half-brother within eleven months placed Frederick Casimir again as the only heir of Cieszyn. Although he did not have a high income, Frederick Casimir ran a sumptuous lifestyle, as in a short period he led his lands on bankruptcy. The total amount of his debts, after a revision of a special Imperial Committee was the astronomical sum of 244,000 talers. After his death, his father was forced to sell his lands in order to pay his debts. In 1592, Frederick Casimir half-brother and next Duke of Cieszyn, Adam Wenceslaus (born in 1574, long before Frederick Casimir's death) managed to recover only

. Fryštát and Bielsko remained as a part of the magnate Member State.

Marriage and issue

On 28 December 1563, Frederick Casimir married Katharina (b. 7 February 1542 – d. 3 September 1569), daughter of Duke

Frederick III of Legnica Frederick III, Duke of Legnica ( pl, Fryderyk III Legnicki) (22 February 1520 – 15 December 1570) was a Duke of Legnica during 1547–1551 and 1556–1559 (both times was deposed by Habsburgs Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand I). He was the e ...

. They had one daughter: #Katharina (b. 6 August 1565 - d. December? 1571).

Ancestry

References

*''This article was translated from the original in the Polish Wikipedia.'' * *
Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Casimir of Cieszyn 1540s births 1571 deaths Piast dynasty Polish Lutherans