John, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels
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John of Münsterberg-Oels (also known as ''John of Poděbrady''; german: Johann von Münsterberg-Bernstadt; cz, Hanuš z Minstrberka; 4 November 1509,
Oleśnica Oleśnica (pronounced ; german: Oels; szl, Ôleśnica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of ...
– 28 February 1565, Oleśnica) was
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
of the Münsterberg from 1542 to 1565, Duke of Oels from 1548 to 1565 and Duke of Bernstadt from 1548 to 1565. He also held the title of Count of Glatz.


Life

Johann Berger family was a member of the Münsterberg branch of the noble
Poděbrady family The Bohemian Poděbrady family ( cz, Páni z Poděbrad) was a noble family in Bohemia, arising from the Lords of Kunštát. After Boček I of Poděbrady, Boček of Kunštát (d. 1373) had acquired the Lordship of Poděbrady by marriage, he calle ...
. His parents were
Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels (also: ''Charles I of Podebrady'', cz, Karel z Minstrberka, german: Karl I. von Münsterberg; 2 or 4 May 1476, in Kladsko – 31 May 1536, in Frankenstein) was a member of the House of Poděbrady. He was ...
and
Anna of Sagan Anna of Sagan (Polish: ''Anna żagańska'', Czech: ''Anna Zaháňská'', also ''Hlohovsko-Zaháňská'' or ''Zaháňsko-Hlohovská'') (born c. 1480, died 27 or 28 October 1541) was the last surviving member of the Głogów-Żagań branch of the Si ...
, daughter of Duke John II "the Mad" of Żagań. On 20 February 1536 John married Christina Catherine of Schidlowitz ( pl, Krystyna Katarzyna Szydłowiecka; 1519–1556). Later that year his father died. Initially, John ruled Münsterberg-Oels jointly with his brothers
Joachim Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...
, Henry II and
George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...
. In a joint deed dated 25 June 1535, they awarded the city of Srebrna Góra, which belonged to Münsterberg, the status of free mining town. Unlike their father, Joachim and his brothers followed the
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
doctrine. In 1537, they expelled the Catholic priests from Münsterberg and appointed an evangelical vicar. In 1542, Joachim and his brothers pledged the heavily indebted Duchy of Münsterberg to their uncle Duke Frederick II of Legnica. That same year, the other possessions were divided: Henry II received the
Duchy of Bernstadt The Duchy of Bernstadt (german: Herzogtum Bernstadt, pl, Księstwo bierutowskie, cz, Bernštatské knížectví) was a Silesian duchy centred on the city of Bernstadt (present-day Bierutów) in Lower Silesia (now in Poland) and formed by separ ...
, Joachim, the oldest of the brothers became Bishop of
Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
, while John continued the government in the Duchy of Oels. There he led the rebuilding of the castle into a Renaissance castle and the construction of a four storey Front Castle that would be used as
Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...
. After the Duchy Münsterberg was returned to the Poděbrady family in 1559, it was again ruled by John. After the death of his first wife he married on 8 September 1561 with
Margarete Margarete is a German feminine given name. It is derived from Ancient Greek ''margarites'' (μαργαρίτης), meaning "the pearl". Via the Latin ''margarita'', it arrived in the German sprachraum. Related names in English include Daisy, Gr ...
, a daughter of Duke Henry II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel who survived John by fifteen years. After John's death in 1565, he was succeeded by his only son, Charles Christoph as Duke of Münsterberg. The Duchy of Oels was inherited by John's nephew Charles II, the Duchy of Bernstadt by his brother Henry III, who sold it in 1574. In 1557, after the death of his first wife, John had a sandstone
tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...
built for Christina and himself in the church in Oels. It was built by the sculptor Johannes Oslew from Würzburg and is decorated with floral patterns and coats of arms. At the foot of the life-size figures of the Duke and Duchess are two lions. John's son, Charles Christopher died in 1569 after a brief reign as Duke of Münsterberg at the age of 24 years. He was the last male descendant of the House of Poděbrady. After his death, the Duchy Münsterberg reverted to the
Crown of Bohemia The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bo ...
.


References

* Hugo Weczerka: ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien'', Stuttgart, 1977, , p. 322, 372 and 506 as well as genealogical tables on p. 602-603. * ''Dehio-Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien''. München·Berlin 2005, , p. 687 ff


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Duke Of Munsterberg-Oels Dukes of Münsterberg 1509 births 1565 deaths Podiebrad family People from Oleśnica