„Pierwszy fundator” Kościoła Jezusowego. Erdmann II von Promnitz (1683-1745)

• Authors: Polak Jerzy

Title variants

EN

The “First Founder” of the Jesus Church – Erdmann II von Promnitz (1683–1745)

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

This is a biography of an eminent representative of the Promnitz baronial family – one of the most prominent aristocratic families of Silesia and Lower Lusatia between the 16th and 18th century. From 1703, Erdmann II held two state countries in fee tail: Księstwo Pszczyńskie (the Duchy of Pless) and the Żary-Trzebiel state in Lower Lusatia. During the first years of his reign, he maintained a magnificent court. Between 1705 and 1708, the court’s kapellmeister was Georg Filip Telemann, then a budding baroque composer. The Count (Reichsgraf), being the heir of a Lutheran family, tried (unsuccessfully) to restore Protestant churches, but that only became possible after Prussia conquered Silesia in 1742. Earlier, in 1709, after the Treaty of Altranstädt (1707), he sought to found one of the six Protestant so-called Grace Churches in Pszczyna. The church was however established in the nearby town of Cieszyn (the Jesus Church). Erdmann II helped finance its construction. He also financially supported one of the pastors, as well as several dozens of boys who came from his estates to study in the parish school. He founded many schools in Lower Lusatia and one in Pszczyna. The count maintained a close relationship with August Hermann Francke, a professor at the University of Halle. Ermann II was also a leading patron of the Pietist movement in Silesia and Saxony. In 1718, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle (Poland’s highest decoration). He was also a member of the secret council of Frederick Augustus I (king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Augustus II the Strong). The biography also covers his diverse business endeavours (construction, first industrial investments) and military career.

• Publisher: Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne Oddział w Cieszynie
• Journal: Pamiętnik Cieszyński
• Year: 2016
• Volume: T. 21
• Pages: 39-66

Contributors

author

Polak Jerzy

• Bielsko-Bialskie Towarzystwo Historyczne