Henry II, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels

Henry II of Münsterberg-Oels
Henry II of Münsterberg-Oels
Born	29 March 1507
Died	2 August 1548 (aged 41); Bierutów
Noble family	House of Poděbrady
Spouse(s)	Margaret of Pernstein; Margaret of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Father	Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels
Mother	Anna of Sagan

Last updated April 06, 2019

Henry II of Münsterberg-Oels (also known as:Henry II of Poděbrady, German : Heinrich II. von Münsterberg-Oels or Heinrich II. von Podiebrad, Czech : Jindřich II. Minstrbersko-Olešnický; 29 March 1507 – 2 August 1548, Bierutów) was from 1536 to 1542 Duke of Münsterberg and of Oels (Oleśnica) and from 1542 to 1548 Duke of Bernstadt (Bierutów). He also held the title of Count of Glatz (Kladsko), though he never actually ruled the County itself.

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

Czech, historically also Bohemian, is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group. Spoken by over 13 million people, it serves as the official language of the Czech Republic. Czech is closely related to Slovak, to the point of mutual intelligibility to a very high degree. Like other Slavic languages, Czech is a fusional language with a rich system of morphology and relatively flexible word order. Its vocabulary has been extensively influenced by Latin and German.

Bierutów is a town in Oleśnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Bierutów. The town lies approximately 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-east of Oleśnica, and 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of the regional capital Wrocław.

Life

Henry II was a member of the Münsterberg line of the Bohemian noble Poděbrady family. His parents were Duke Charles I of Münsterberg-Oels and Anna of Sagan (born: 1480 or 1483; died: 1541), daughter of Duke John II "the Mad".

Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels was a member of the House of Poděbrady. He was Duke of Münsterberg and Duke of Oels as well as Count of Kladsko. From 1519 to 1523 he held the office of the bailiff of Upper Lusatia, in 1523 he was made Obersthauptmann of Bohemia and in 1524 Landeshauptmann of Silesia.

Anna of Sagan was the last surviving member of the Hlohovsko-Zaháňský branch of the Silesian Piasts family, and by marriage duchess of Münsterberg and Oels.

Jan II the Mad also known as the Bad, the Wild or the Cruel, was a Duke of Żagań-Przewóz since 1439, from 1449 Duke of Przewóz, during 1461–1468 and briefly in 1472 Duke of Żagań and during 1476–1488 Duke of half-Głogów.

After his father's death in 1536, Henry initially ruled Münsterberg-Oels joinly with his brothers Joachim, John and George II. In a joint deed dated 25 June 1535, they awarded the city of Srebrna Góra (Silberberg), which belonged to Münsterberg, the status of free mining town. Unlike their father, Joachim and his brothers followed the Lutheran doctrine. In 1537, they expelled the Catholic priests from Münsterberg (Ziębice) and appointed an evangelical vicar.

Joachim of Münsterberg, also: Joachim of Poděbrady, 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.

John of Münsterberg-Oels was Duke 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.

George II of Münsterberg-Oels was a Duke of Münsterberg 1536-1542 and Duke of Oels. He also held the title of a Count of Glatz.

In 1542, Henry 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 the Duchy of Bernstadt. Joachim, the oldest of the brothers became Bishop of Brandenburg. Henry chose Bierutów as his residence, and promoted Protestantism there. He expanded Bierutów Palace, adding the south wing. After six years in office, he died in 1548.

Frederick II, Duke of Legnica, also known as the Great of Legnica, was a Duke of Legnica from 1488, of Brzeg from 1521. The most notorious of all Legnica Piast rulers, thanks to his excellent financial politics his Duchy was expanded to the Oder River, and he became the founder of the Duchy of Legnica-Wołów-Brzeg.

Marriage and offspring

On 7 February 1529 Henry married to Margaret of Pernstein, a daughter of John III of Pernstein. She died later that year.

John of Pernstein was High Treasurer of Moravia from 1506 and 1516 and Landeshauptmann of Moravia from 1515 to 1519 and from 1526 to 1528 and Governor of Moravia from 1530 to 1532. From 1537 to 1548, he was Count of Kladsko and pledge lord of the County of Kladsko.

In 1537 Henry married his second wife, Margaret of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1515–1559), a daughter of Duke Henry V of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. With his second wife, Henry had the following children:

Henry V, Duke of Mecklenburg, nicknamed the Peaceful, was the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg in the region Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the son of Duke Magnus II and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin.

The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting House of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire along the Baltic Sea littoral between Holstein-Glückstadt and Duchy of Pomerania.

Anna (1539–1568)
Salomena (1540–1567), married to George of Thurn and Valsassina
Henry III (1542–1587), married to Magdalena Meseritsch of Lomnitz (Czech : Magdaléna Mezeřícká z Lomnice)
Charles (1543-1543)
George (1544–1556)
Charles II (1545–1617), Duke of Oels since 1565
Catherine (1548–1579), married to George Berka of Dubé (Czech : Jiří Berka z Dubé)

Related Research Articles

Oleśnica Place in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Oleśnica is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Oleśnica County and also of the rural district of Gmina Oleśnica, although it is not part of the territory of the latter, the town being an urban gmina in its own right.

The Duchy of Oels or Duchy of Oleśnica was one of the duchies of Silesia with its capital in Oleśnica in Lower Silesia, Poland. Initially ruled by the Silesian Piasts, it was acquired by the Münsterberg (Ziębice) dukes of the Podiebrad family from 1495 and was inherited by the House of Württemberg in 1649. Conquered by Prussia in 1742, it was enfeoffed to the Welf dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1792 until its dissolution in 1884.

The Duchy of Münsterberg or Duchy of Ziębice was one of the Duchies of Silesia, with a capital in Münsterberg (Ziębice). Existing from 1321/1322 to 1742, it was located in what came to be referred to as Lower Silesia. Its territory is similar to modern Ząbkowice Śląskie County in Poland.

George II of Brieg, was a Duke of Brzeg from 1547 until his death.

Henry I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels Czech prince

Henry the Elder of Münsterberg was an Imperial Count and Count of Kladsko. He was also Duke of Silesian duchies Münsterberg and Oels and 1465–1472 Duke of Opava. At times, he served as the Landeshauptmann and governor of Bohemia.

The Duchy of Bernstadt was a Silesian duchy centred on the city of Bernstadt in Lower Silesia and formed by separation from the Duchy of Oels (Oleśnica). It was first ruled by the Silesian Piasts dynasty, until its extinction in 1492. In 1495 it and the Duchy of Oels passed to the Dukes of Münsterberg, who came from the House of Poděbrady. In 1647 the Duchy of Bernstadt passed by marriage to the Dukes of Württemberg.

The Bohemian Poděbrady family was a noble family in Bohemia, arising from the Lords of Kunštát. After Boček of Kunštát had acquired the Lordship of Poděbrady by marriage, he called himself "Boček of Kunštát and Poděbrady". The most prominent member of the family was George of Poděbrady, who was king of Bohemia. His sons were raised to imperial counts and Counts of Glatz. They founded the Silesian branch of the family, the Dukes of Dukes of Münsterberg.

Albert I of Münsterberg-Oels was a member of the House of Poděbrady and a Duke of the Silesian duchies of Münsterberg and Oleśnica and Count of Kladsko.

George I of Münsterberg was a member of the House of Poděbrady and a Duke of the Silesian Duchies of Münsterberg and Oels and Count of Glatz.

Karl Friedrich I of Münsterberg-Oels was Duke of Oels from 1617 to 1647 and Duke of Bernstadt from 1639 to 1647. He also held the titles of Duke of Münsterberg and Count of Glatz.

Henry III of Münsterberg-Oels was Duke of Münsterberg from 1565 to 1574 and Duke of Bernstadt. He also held the title of Count of Glatz.

Charles II of Münsterberg-Oels was Duke of Oels from 1565 to 1617 and Duke of Bernstadt from 1604 to 1617. He also held the titles of Duke of Münsterberg and Count of Glatz. From 1608 to 1617 he was Governor of Silesia under the emperors Rudolf and Matthias.

Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg was duke of Münsterberg from 1565 until his death. He also held the title of Count of Glatz.

Elisabeth Marie of Oels was the last member of the House of Poděbrady and a regent of the Duchy of Oels.

Henry Wenceslaus, Duke of Oels-Bernstadt was Duke of Bernstadt from 1617 until his death. He also used the titles of Duke of Münsterberg and Count of Glatz, although he never ruled those territories. From 1629 to 1639 he was Governor of Silesia.

Duke Charles of Württemberg-Bernstadt was Duke of Württemberg-Bernstadt.

References

Hugo Weczerka: Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien, Stuttgart, 1977, ISBN 3-520-31601-3, p. 19, 322 and 506 as well as genealogical tables on p. 602-603.

External links

Marek, Miroslav. "Genealogy Podiebrad". Genealogy.EU.

Regnal titles
Henry II, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels House of Poděbrady Born: 29 March 1507 Died: 2 August 1548
Preceded by Charles I of Münsterberg-Oels	Dukes of Münsterberg (Ziębice) joint rule with his brothers George II, Joachim, and John 1536-1542	Succeeded by Frederick II of Legnica
Preceded by Charles I of Münsterberg-Oels	Dukes of Oels joint rule with his brothers George II, Joachim, and John 1536-1542	Succeeded by John of Oels
New title new duchy partitioned from Oels	Duke of Bernstadt 1542-1548	Succeeded by Henry III of Bernstadt

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Henry II of Münsterberg-Oels
Born	(1507-03-29)29 March 1507
Died	2 August 1548(1548-08-02) (aged 41) Bierutów
Noble family	House of Poděbrady
Spouse(s)	Margaret of Pernstein Margaret of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Father	Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels
Mother	Anna of Sagan