Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg (also ''Charles Christopher of Poděbrady'', or ; 22 May 1545,
Oleśnica – 17 March 1569, Oleśnica) was duke of
Münsterberg from 1565 until his death. He also held the title of Count of
Glatz.
Life
Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg was a member of the Münsterberg branch of the
House of Poděbrady
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. His parents were Duke
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
of Münsterberg-Oels and his first wife Christina Catherine of Schidlowitz (; 1519–1556).
In 1558 Charles Christopher undertook a
Grand Tour through Europe and then stayed at the court of Emperor
Ferdinand I. After the death of his father, who had married his second wife Margaret (d. 1580), a daughter of Duke
Henry II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel since 1561, Charles Christopher inherited in February 1565 the duchy of Münsterberg. The
Duchy of Oels was inherited his cousin
Charles II, the
Duchy of Bernstadt was inherited by his brother
Henry III. Like his father and his brothers Charles Christopher supported the
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
in his territory. In 1567, Catholic services were suspended in the Peter and Paul cathedral in Münsterberg.
Charles Christopher was not married, and died after a short reign only four years later at the age of 24 years. With his death the rule of the House of Poděbrady in Münsterberg ended. The duchy fell to the
Bohemian Crown as a vacant
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
. The other lines of the Poděbrady family were allowed to use the title of "Duke of Münsterberg" until the Poděbrady family died out in 1647.
Ten years after Charles Christopher's death his cousin Barbara of Bieberstein donated a marble
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
to the Castle Church at
Oels. It was probably created by Hans Fleiser (also called Gruyter) and shows Duke Charles Christopher clad in armour.
[ Georg Dehio: ''Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien'', München / Berlin, 2005, , p. 687.]
References
*
Hugo Weczerka: ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien'', Stuttgart, 1977, , pp. 18, 98 and 322 and genealogical tables on pages 602–603.
*
Ludwig Petry and
Josef Joachim Menzel (eds.): ''Geschichte Schlesiens'', vol. 2, , p. 67.
External links
*
Footnotes
Dukes of Münsterberg
1545 births
1569 deaths
16th-century German nobility
Podiebrad family
People from Oleśnica
{{Germany-noble-stub