Joachim of Münsterberg (, or ''Joachim of Münsterberg-Oels''), also: Joachim of Poděbrady (German: ''Joachim von Podiebrad''; Czech: ''Jáchym z Poděbrad'', ) (18 January 1503 – 27 December 1562), a member of the Podiebrad family, was Silesian duke of Münsterberg and Oels from 1536 to 1542. He also held the title of a Count of Kladsko (Kłodzko), though he never actually ruled the county. From 1545 to 1560 he was Prince-Bishop of Brandenburg.

Life

Joachim was a member of the Münsterberg branch of the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

noble Podiebrad dynasty, descendants of King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

(1420–1471), who had acquired

Kłodzko Land Kłodzko Land (; ; ) is a historical region in southwestern Poland. The subject of Czech–Polish rivalry in the High Middle Ages, it became a Bohemian domain since the 12th century, although with periods of rule of the Polish Piast dynasty in th ...

in 1454 as well as the Silesian duchy of Münsterberg two years later. His son Duke Henry I (1448–1498), Joachim's grandfather, also received the Duchy of Oels from King Vladislaus Jagiellon in 1495. Joachim's parents were Duke Charles I of Münsterberg-Oels (1476–1536) and his consort Anna of Sagan (d. 1541), a daughter of the

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

duke Jan II the Mad of

Żagań Żagań (French language, French and , ) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019), capital of Żagań County in the Lubusz Voivodeship, located in the historic region of Lower Silesia. Founded in the 12th ce ...

. His father initially ruled jointly with his elder brothers George and Albert, who nevertheless died without male heirs in 1502 and 1511. He had great influence at the

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court of King Vladislaus and his son

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, and he played a vital role in the election of the

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archduke Ferdinand I as

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

in 1526. Though still adhering to the

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faith, his father had Joachim and his younger brother educated from 1515 to 1517 by the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

reformer Johann Hess, who at the time held a canonicate in Nysa. After the death of their father in 1536, the brothers Joachim,

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

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and George II initially ruled Münsterberg jointly. In a joint deed dated 25 June 1535, they awarded the city of Srebrna Góra (Silberberg) in the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

mountains, which belonged to the Münsterberg duchy, the status of free mining town. Unlike their father, Joachim and his brothers officially implemented the Lutheran faith. In 1537, they expelled the Catholic priests from Münsterberg (Ziębice) and appointed a Lutheran vicar. In the same year, the

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elector Joachim II of Brandenburg promised Joachim in

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the bishopric of either

Lebus Lebus () is a historic town in the Märkisch-Oderland District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Amt Lebus, Lebus. The town, located on the west bank of the Oder river at the border with ...

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, when one of these would be available. In return, Joachim and his brothers waived their claims on the Silesian northwestern lands of

Krosno Krosno (in full ''The Royal Free City of Krosno'', ) is a historical town and Krosno County, county in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in southeastern Poland. The estimated population of the town is 47,140 inhabitants as of 2014. The functional ...

which had been incorporated into the ''

Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March () or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945 except some villages o ...

'' territory of

. In 1542, Joachim and his brothers pledged the heavily indebted Duchy of Münsterberg to their uncle Duke Frederick II of Legnica. John continued to rule the Duchy of Oels and Henry II ruled until 1548 part of the Duchy of Bernstadt. Against the opposition of the chapter of the

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, which revolted against the enforcement of the

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, Elector Joachim II, who had converted to the Lutheran faith in 1539, appointed – in accordance with his promise made in 1537 – Joachim of Münsterberg, who now openly turned to Lutheranism, as bishop of the Brandenburg diocese on 6 November 1545. With this appointment, Joachim also received the title of an

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, and, in this respect, was equal in rank to the Brandenburg elector. In 1560, however, he abdicated the secular rule of the bishopric, in favour of the elector's son, prince John George. After Elector Joachim's death in 1571, the secular rule of the bishopric was incorporated into the electorate. Joachim died in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

(Breslau), aged 59. The Duchy of Münsterberg reverted as a ceased fief to the Bohemian Crown upon the death of Joachim's nephew Duke Charles Christopher in 1569. The Oels branch of the Podiebrad family ruled their duchy until 1647.

References

* Hugo Weczerka: ''Manual of historic sites: Silesia'', Stuttgart: 1977, , pp. 322 and 506 as well as genealogical tables on pp. 602–603.

External links

Die Bistümer der Kirchenprovinz Magdeburg
*

Footnotes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim of Munsterberg-Oels 1503 births 1562 deaths Dukes of Münsterberg Podiebrad family People from Oleśnica Lutheran prince-bishops of Brandenburg 16th-century German bishops