Content deleted Content added
usual anon rvt |
m Correct standard headers and general fixes |
||
Line 1:
'''Conrad Letzkau''' (in Polish: ''Konrad Leczkow'') (birthplace unknown, second half of 14th century - died, 1412 in [[Danzig]] (Gdańsk)) was a Councilman and later a [[Mayor of Danzig]] who, together with [[Arnold Hecht]], was treacherously murdered<ref name=Wall>David Wallace, "Margery in Dańsk", University of Pennsylvania, [http://www.bbk.ac.uk/events/matthews/david_wallace the two mayors were murdered]</ref><ref>Lech Krzyżanowski, "Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia: a guide to the Triune City", Sport i Turystyka, 1974, pg. 23 [http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=Konrad+Leczkow+treacherously+murdered&as_brr=0&spell=1&oi=spell]</ref><ref>[http://www.gdansk.pl/turystyka,320,1206.html "Wydarzyło się w Gdańsku" (It happened in Gdańsk), Gdańsk city page
==Origins==
While his exact place of birth is unknown, Conrad's family came from the area of the [[Zulawy|Żuławy Gdańskie]], from the village of [[Leszkowy|Letzkau]] (then ''Leszkowy''<ref name=Dla>
==Autonomy of Danzig==
Line 10:
Previously however, Letzkau took an active part in the Order's politics. In 1398 he led a united Teutonic-Hanseatic [[flotilla]] against [[Baltic Sea]] pirates, the [[Victual Brothers]], attacked and took the island of [[Gotland]]. In 1404, while on an expedition against [[Danish people|Danish]] [[corsairs]] he was captured and imprisoned for two years in [[Varberg]]. In 1408 he served as a diplomat to the Danish Queen [[Margaret I of Denmark|Margaret]], in an embassy which sold the conquered island of Gotland to Denmark.<ref name=Dla/>
==The city and the
The funds obtained from the sale of Gotland were used by the Knights to arm themselves in the war against [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Poland-Lithuania]] which soon broke out. A 300 person regiment from Danzig, including Conrad, took part in the [[Battle of Grunwald]], fighting on the side of the Knights. The [[komtur]] leading the regiment, [[Johann von Schönfeld]] escaped from the battle field while most of the three hundred regular soldiers, composed mostly of Danzig's burghers and ordinary citizens were taken captive by the Poles and Lithuanians. However, the Polish king, [[Jogaila]], aware that the Danzigers had already been dissatisfied with the Order's rule, set all of them free, hoping to win goodwill among them for the future.<ref name=Dla/>
Line 27:
==Negotiations, setup and murder==
The two sides soon agreed to negotiations. On the 5th of April 1412 a truce was arranged. Von Plauen removed the iron chain blocking the harbor and the citizens removed fortifications from the city gate. On [[Palm Sunday]], April
==Aftermath==
The fact of the murder of Letzkau and others was kept secret by the younger Von Plauen for as long as possible. However, after two days, Letzkau's daughter (and wife of Gross) Anna Gross, became worried and started going to the castle's gate to inquire about their fate. The guards told her that the mayors had gotten drunk, insulted the Master and then committed suicide out of shame which Anna took as a cruel joke. On the 11th of April the rest of the city council decided to sent a delegation to the Grand Master, Von Plauen the Elder. The delegation was initially imprisoned but after a few days the Grand Master ordered their release and gave them a letter promising the release of the seized mayors. At that point, Von Plauen the Younger realized he could not keep their deaths a secret anymore. He ordered the bodies of the murdered men fished out of the moat and placed in a field where it was proclaimed that they were legally executed for treason. The rest of the council was terrorized and became paralyzed with fear. Von Plauen successfully revoked all previously granted privileges, and instituted his tax. He also forced his own men onto the council who had previously opposed Conrad Letzkau in the council meetings. Tiedemann Huxer, the man who turned away at the last minute, was made a Mayor of the city which has led to speculations that he was part of the conspiracy to murder the independent minded councilmen.<ref name=Dla/>
According to legend, when the news of the murder was revealed, Anna Gross Letzkau cursed the knights and their castle saying "Let not a stone remain upon stone of this castle!". This came to pass almost half a century later, when the destruction of the Knights' castle by angry Danzigers in 1454 marked the start of the [[Thirteen Years' War]]<ref>
==Commemoration==
Currently a tablet in the [[St. Mary's Church, Gdańsk|St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk]], in front of the chapel of [[Jadwiga of Poland|St. Jadwiga of Poland]] commemorates Letzkau's and Hecht's death with an inscription in Latin which reads:
Line 42 ⟶ 41:
A new [[Carillon]] was build in Gdańsk (second one in the city) at the Main Town Hall in 1999 and each of its 37 bells, in addition to being engraved with the coat of arms of the city and Poland, was given a historical patron. Conrad Letzkau was made the patron of bell #33.<ref>"Nowy carillon dla Ratusza Głównego Miasta" (New Carillon For the Main Town Hall of the City), Biuletyn Informacyjny "Herold", 31.07.2000, [http://www.teatry.art.pl/filharmonie/carillon/1.htm]</ref>
==See
*[[Christian Ludwig von Kalckstein]]
*[[Lizard Union (medieval)]]
| |||