Prince Kasper Doenhoff (, , 1587–1645) was a Polish nobleman of

Baltic-German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their resettlement in 1945 after the end of World War II, Baltic Germans have drastically decli ...

extraction, a

Reichsfürst Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Dorpat Province within the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. Upon converting to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, he became a trusted courtier and advisor to

Sigismund III of Poland Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Relig ...

Early life

Kasper Doenhoff was the son of Gerhard von

Dönhoff The House of Dönhoff (Polish: Denhoff, sometimes also Doenhoff) was an old and influential German noble family, which later also became part of the Polish nobility. History It was first mentioned in 1282, in the County of Mark in Westphalia. ...

(1554–1598) and his wife, Margaretha von Zweiffeln (1555–1622). He was the brother of Ernst Magnus von Dönhoff ( Governor of Parnawa) (1581–1642), Hermann von Dönhoff (1591–1620) and Gerhard von Dönhoff, Governor of Pomorze (1590–1648) and Anna von Maydel (1585–1639).

Career

Kasper Doenhoff was the first member of his family to enter the

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

ruling elite of the

, thereby laying the foundations for his family's fortune in the country.Kajzer L.
"A Sieradz 'Palace Decade'? Kacper Denhoff's Foundations in the First Half of the 17th Century,"
''Kwartalnik Historii Kultury Materialnej'' (Quarterly of the History of Material Culture), vol. 52, no. 4, 2004, pp. 403–418. A member of an old

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n and

House of Dönhoff, that also included

Ernst Magnus Dönhoff Ernst Magnus von Dönhoff (; 1581–1642) was a Baltic German who served the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in Livonia and the Polish fief of Duchy of Prussia. He was born a member of the Dönhoff family, a noble family of Prussian origin (t ...

and Marion Dönhoff, Doenhoff became a military commander (''

rotmistrz Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

'' of ''

reiter ''Reiter'' or ''Schwarze Reiter'' ("black riders", anglicized ''swart reiters'') were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th century Central Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others. Cont ...

''s); a

favorite A favourite was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler. It was es ...

of King

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

; and one of the most prominent members of the "court faction" that advocated strengthening the Polish monarch's power. As a courtier of King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

, Doenhoff was sent with a

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

to propose the marriage of Archduchess

Cecilia Renata of Austria Cecilia Renata of Austria (, , ; 16 July 1611 – 24 March 1644) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the wife of King-Grand Duke Władysław IV Vasa. Selection and coronation Cecilia Renata was a daughter of Holy Roman Emp ...

, daughter of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Ferdinand II, to Władysław IV. The mission was successful, and Doenhoff also received noble title of

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

from the

Titles

He became titular Governor of Dorpat (1627–1634) (although already in 1625 the town had capitulated to Sweden and was never reobtained by the Poles); from 1633, Count of the

(along with Ernst and Gerhard von Dönhoff); Governor of Sieradz (1634–45); Court Marshal of the Queen (from 1639); and ''

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

'' of

Wieluń Wieluń () is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). The town is the seat of the Gmina Wieluń and Wieluń County, and is located within the Łódź Voivodeship. Wieluń is a capital of the historical Wieluń Land. W ...

, ''Lauenburg'' (

Lębork Lębork (; ; ) is a town on the Łeba River, Łeba and Okalica rivers in the Gdańsk Pomerania region in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lębork County in Pomeranian Voivodeship. Its population is 37,000. History Middle Ages The region fo ...

Radomsko Radomsko () is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is the county seat of Radomsko County. Founded in the 11th century, Radomsko is a former royal city located ...

Bolesławiec Bolesławiec (pronounced , ) is a historic city situated on the Bóbr River in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Bolesławiec County, and of Gmina Bolesławiec, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Gm ...

Sokal Sokal (, ) is a city located on the Bug River in Sheptytskyi Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sokal urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population is approximately History The first written ...

, Małoszyce, Sobowidze and Klonowo. In the

, he was a noble (''

'');

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(from 1635);

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(from 1637); and court marshal.

Residences and building projects

Doenhoff was influential and wealthy, enabling him to fund several interesting construction projects, mostly in

Sieradz Sieradz (,) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Sieradz is a capital of the historical Sieradz Land. Sieradz is one of the olde ...

Province. He ordered the rebuilding of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

(of which he was ''starosta''), on the Prosna River, into a new residence, complete with

Italian garden Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana, ) typically refers to a style of gardens, wherever located, reflecting a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardenin ...

. Around 1630 he sponsored a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

castle in Kruszyna — the last residential complex in Poland planned around a

-style internal yard, but already with a Baroque-style grand front yard and garden. Kruszyna was Doenhoff's main residence; but it was inconveniently located far from the new Commonwealth capital,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. Hence in 1636 Doenhoff bought and rebuilt another estate, in Ujazdów, near Warsaw, where he replaced the old

Ujazdów Castle Ujazdów Castle () is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park (''Park Ujazdowski'') and the Royal Baths Park (''Łazienki Królewskie''), in Warsaw, Poland. Its beginnings date to the 13th century, and it was rebuilt s ...

with a Baroque palace. Toward the end of his life, he ordered the construction of a family

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

, centered around a domed chapel, in the Jasna Góra sanctuary at

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

. It was completed by his descendants. Despite his ownership of several castles, Doenhoff often resided in a modest manor ('' dworek szlachecki'') near the royal residence at Warsaw.

Family

In 1620 he married Anna Aleksandra Koniecpolska (1598–1651). They had four children: * Prince Aleksander von Dönhoff (d. 1671) * Prince Stanislaw von Dönhoff (d. 1653), married Princess Anna Eufemia Radziwill (1628–1663), had issue * Princess Anna von Dönhoff (1620–1651), married Bogusław Leszczyński and became great-grandmother of

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska (), was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of St ...

* Prince Zygmunt von Dönhoff (1621–1655), married Princess Teresa Krystina Ossolinska (d. 1651); had issue

References

External links

"Kasper Dőnhoff"
''Polish Genealogy Service''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Doenhoff, Kasper 1587 births 1645 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism Polish Roman Catholics Polish Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Polish Counts of the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century Polish nobility Kasper Doenhoff