The House of Lichnowsky or House of Lichnovský is the name of an influential Czech aristocratic family of Silesian and Moravian origin, documented since the 14th century.
31-715: The noble family first appeared in the Duchy of Pless (Pszczyna) in Upper Silesia , when one Estepan de Woszyczyki, probably from Woszczyce ( German : Woschtitz ) near Orzesze , on 17 March 1377 obtained the office of a Schultheiß reeve in Lędziny from the Přemyslid duke John of Opava . His descendant Hanuš (John) of Woszczyki, judge in the Upper Silesian Duchy of Krnov from 1498 to 1507, by marriage acquired
62-667: A German-Austrian protectorate , Hans Heinrich (and, according to his wife, his two elder sons) were among the many to be considered for (and decline) the vacant throne, in part because of their Polish descent. The Prussian Government attempted to Germanize or assimilate the ethnic Poles on its conquered territories, culminating in the Polish Expropriation Act of 1908, which Hans Heinrich XV opposed. The greatest efforts in defence against Germanisation were made by regional newspaper called "Tygodnik Polski Poświęcony Włościanom" ( "Polish Weekly for Estate Owners" ), which
93-650: A Prince for fifty years; in Germany, dukes outranked princes ( Fürsten ). Hans Heinrich XV succeeded in 1907; he had married Mary Theresa Cornwallis-West, better known as Daisy, Princess of Pless . He was one of the Kaiser 's adjutants during the First World War ; several important planning conferences were held at Pless itself during the war; and when the Central powers decided to create a Kingdom of Poland as
124-510: A dowry to his wife Helena, a niece of the Polish king Jogaila . After the acquisition of several villages south of Żory in 1412, Helena, upon the death of her husband in 1424 ruled as a Duchess of Pless , succeeded in 1452 by her daughter-in-law, Barbara Rockenberg, wife of Helena's son, Nicholas V, Duke of Ratibor-Jägerndorf , and the duchy was downgraded to a state country within the Lands of
155-429: A share of Bruntál. As Nicholas IV was still a minor, John acted as his regent until 1385. When Nicholas IV died (between 1405 and 1407), John II inherited his share of Bruntál. John II sold the Duchy of Krnov , which had been separated from Opava in 1377, to Władysław II of Opole in 1384. John I had pledged Mikołów and the Duchy of Pless to Władysław II; John II redeemed these possessions. In 1387, John II founded
186-688: A state country within Brandenburg-Prussia. The Dukes of Anhalt-Köthen-Pless inherited it in 1765 (being descended from the earlier dukes in the female line), the last of them died in 1847, and was succeeded by his nephew, Hans Heinrich X, Count of Hochberg [ de ] , and first president of the Prussian House of Lords . The Hochbergs, from Fürstenstein near Waldenburg (in Lower Silesia ), were father, son and grandson: Hans Heinrich X, XI, and XV; they were among
217-474: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Polish history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Czech history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Austrian history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This German history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Duchy of Pless The Duchy of Pless (or
248-551: The Duchy of Pszczyna , German : Herzogtum Pleß , Polish : Księstwo Pszczyńskie ) was a Duchy of Silesia , with its capital at Pless (present-day Pszczyna , Poland ). After the fragmentation of the Polish kingdom upon the 1138 Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty the lands around the castellany of Pszczyna belonged to the Seniorate Province of Lesser Poland ( Małopolska ), until in 1177 Duke Casimir II
279-1500: The Bohemian Crown . From 1462 onwards, Pless was held by the sons of the Bohemian king George of Poděbrady , until Victor, Duke of Münsterberg in 1480 sold it to his son-in-law the Silesian duke Casimir II of Cieszyn . In 1517 it was acquired by the Hungarian magnates of the Thurzó family. In the accompanying sales document issued in Czech on 21 February 1517 apart from a castle and city of Pless mentions also 3 towns ( Bieruń , Mysłowice , Mikołów ) and 50 villages belonging to Pless: Jankowice , Woszczyce , Międzyrzecze , Bojszowy , Brzozówka, v Wieze , Wola , Miedźna , Grzawa , Rudołtowice , Goczałkowice , Łąka , Wisła Wielka , Pawłowice , Zgoń , Brzeźce , Poręba , Stara Wieś , Czarków , Radostowice , Piasek , Studzionka , Szeroka , Krzyżowice , Warszowice , Kryry , Suszec , Kobiór , Wyry , Łaziska Dolne , Łaziska Górne , Smiłowice , Ligota , Stara Kuźnica , Zarzecze , Podlesie , Piotrowice , Tychy , Wilkowyje , Paprocany , Cielmice , Lędziny , Brzęczkowice , Brzezinka , Zabrzeg, Porąbka, Studzienice , Roździeń , Bogucice , Jaźwce, Dziećkowice . Thurzó again sold it (with
310-715: The German Catholic Centre Party which Müller had co-founded; they retained the seat until 1903, when much of the Centre Party's delegation from Upper Silesia was replaced, although by very thin majorities, by the Polish National Democrats . The Princes of Pless regarded themselves as benevolent lords. Hans Heinrich XI introduced a pension scheme in 1879, before Bismarck's social legislation; also company housing and other social measures. But worker discontent under his son reached
341-515: The Great of Poland in the 1335 Treaty of Trentschin . In 1336, King John gave the Duchy of Racibórz with Pszczyna to the Přemyslid duke Nicholas II of Opava , who had married late Duke Leszek's sister Anna of Racibórz and ruled both duchies in personal union . In 1407 Nicholas's grandson John II, Duke of Opava and Racibórz , gave the territories of Pszczyna, Bieruń , Mysłowice , and Mikołów as
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#1732776108192372-537: The Imperial Diet. Rebellious Bohemians sent envoys to Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania, to offer him the Bohemian crown. When they traveled through Ratibor on 21 September 1421, they were arrested by the citizens and John II handed them over to King Sigismund. The Hussites retaliated by invading Ratibor. Sigismund rewarded Sigismund by transferring the rights to Krnov back to John II, who had to redeem Krnov from Duke Louis II of Brieg . John II died in 1424 and
403-532: The Iron ; Czech : Jan II. Opavský or Hanuš Ferreus ; after 1365 – 1424) was Duke of Opava - Racibórz (Ratibor), Krnov and Bruntál . From 1388 to 1397, he was also governor of Kłodzko and Ząbkowice Śląskie and from 1397 to 1422 pledge lord of Kłodzko and Ząbkowice Śląskie. He was a member of the Opava branch of the Přemyslid dynasty . He was a son of Duke John I of Opava-Ratibor . John I had been
434-617: The Just granted them to the Silesian duke Mieszko I Tanglefoot . Mieszko attached Pszczyna to his Duchy of Racibórz . The Racibórz branch of the Silesian Piasts became extinct with the death of Duke Leszek in 1336. Before his death, Leszek together with several other Dukes of Silesia had accepted vassalization by King John of Bohemia in 1327, putting his duchy in the Bohemian Crown , acknowledged by King Casimir III
465-766: The Prince of Pless, Hans Heinrich XVII moved to England in 1932 and became a British citizen and his brother Count Alexander of Hochberg , owner of Pszczyna Castle and a Polish citizen, had joined the Polish army. Fürstenstein castle was a part of the Project Riese until 1945 when it was occupied by the Red army . All artifacts were stolen or destroyed. 49°58′53″N 18°56′51″E / 49.981350°N 18.947597°E / 49.981350; 18.947597 John II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor John II, Duke of Opava-Ratibor (also known as John II of Troppau or John
496-695: The Prior of the Order of St. John , Marquard of Strakonice. When these men stood in the way of further demands by John and his companions, he invited them to a banquet at the Karlštejn Castle on 11 June 1397. There, he attacked them with the words You, gentlemen, have advised our Lord, the King, not to take care of our German land, because all you want is for him to become King of the Germans . He then killed them. In
527-594: The Prussian state, as election workers; he also threatened the economic well-being of those who opposed his candidate. But the Prince's power was not absolute; the opposition candidate, the "already semi-canonized" Father Eduard Müller , a priest born in Quilitz near Glogau who was active as Catholic missionary in Protestant Berlin, won anyway. This electoral surprise was one of the first great successes of
558-686: The approval of Emperor Ferdinand I , King of Bohemia) in 1548 to the Prince-Bishop of Wrocław , Balthasar von Promnitz . The Promnitz family held the duchy as a state country until 1765. In the War of the Austrian Succession most of Silesia was conquered by the Kingdom of Prussia ; but the Dukes, and later Princes, of Pless would remain the rulers of the territory. Since 1742 Pless was
589-589: The city of Bieruń and appointed a certain Cussowitz as bailiff over Bieruń. In 1391, he gave the villages of Imielin , Kosztowy and Chełm Śląski on the eastern border of his duchy to the Bishop of Krakow . This implied that these villages were no longer part of Silesia. The village of Halemba near Ruda Śląska developed from an iron works founded by his brother Nicholas IV in 1394. In 1394, John II founded another iron works, named German : Bogutzker Hammer , on
620-555: The estates of Lichnov in Moravia. He is first mentioned with his surname Lichnovský in a 1494 deed. The head of the family was an hereditary member of the Prussian House of Lords from 12 October 1854 and was granted the title of Durchlaucht (Serene Highness) in Prussia on 8 March 1860. This biographical article of a European noble is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This European history –related article
651-591: The family name was of Hochberg and of Pless and the title count and prince , respectively, the family name became Graf von Hochberg and Fürst von Pleß , only conveniently, but legally incorrectly, still translated as Count of Hochberg, Prince of Pless into English. In the plebiscite of March 20, 1921 in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles about 75% of the voters in the Pless lands voted to join Poland; and
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#1732776108192682-659: The point of a public petition to the Imperial Reichstag. Alexander II of Russia gave the Hochbergs a herd of wisents in 1864 or 1865, the herd was broken up and reduced to three survivors by poaching at the time of the German Revolution in the aftermath of the First World War . The Hochbergs were Princes of Pless in the Prussian peerage; however, in 1905, Hans Heinrich XI was created Duke of Pless, for his lifetime only - in part because he had been
713-538: The principality was awarded to Poland after the Third Silesian Uprising . The voters in the city of Pless ( Polish : Pszczyna ), however, voted to remain within Germany, with a 67% majority. The Pless land therefore became part of Second Polish Republic in 1922. The Hochberg family owned Książ (Fürstenstein) Castle until 1944. The castle and the lands were then seized by the Nazi government because
744-559: The same year, Jobst of Moravia had to pledge the counties of Kłodzko and Ząbkowice Śląskie to King Wenceslaus, who sold his pledge to John II. After Wenceslaus's stepbrother Sigismund besieged Ratibor in 1400, John II used the occasion of a meeting between Kings Wenceslaus IV and King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland in Wrocław in 1404 to create an alliance against Hungary. After Wenceslaus's death, John II supported his successor, King Sigismund, and paid him homage in Wrocław in 1420 during
775-536: The sole heir of the Duchy of Racibórz in 1365 and had founded the Opava-Ratibor branch of the family. When the Duchy of Opava was divided in 1377, John I had received the Duchies of Krnov and Bruntál . John II's mother was Anna, the daughter of Henry V of Głogów - Żagań . After John I's death, his possession were divided by his sons, John II and Nicholas IV . Nicholas IV, the younger brother, received
806-451: The spot of the deserted village of Bogucice . At the end of the 16th century, this settlement developed into the city of Katowice . In 1389, the bishops of Wrocław and Olomouc and the Dukes of Legnica , Oleśnica , Głogów , Opava and Teschen formed and alliance for mutual protection and to preserve the public peace. John II did not sign this Treaty of Hotzenplotz, because he was a supporter of Margrave Prokop of Moravia . John II
837-649: The wealthiest families in the Holy Roman Empire, in part because of the mines of Pless. The incumbents of state countries ( Standesherren ) had no sovereignty over their possessions, but held the privileges to supervise religion, charitable endowments, school education, and lower jurisdiction. In 1830 the Prussian state stripped all Standesherren of their juridical competences and subjected their remaining privileges to state supervision. The Prince's power over his land, since 1807 constituted as alienable allodial property, and thus his influence on its tenants
868-705: Was buried in the church of the Dominicans in Ratibor. It was not until 1427 that his sons agreed to divide his possessions: his son Wenceslaus received the City and Duchy of Racibórz, Nicholas received Krnov, Bruntál, Pszczyna, Rybnik and Baborów . On 16 January 1407, John II married the Lithuanian Princess Helena of Lithuania, daughter of Dymitr Korybut and a niece of King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland. In 1407, she received as her wittum ,
899-535: Was high steward of King Wenceslaus IV and this made him one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom of Bohemia . He also held the post of Burgrave of Karlštejn . In 1397, John II and other noble councillors accused Wenceslaus IV of neglecting his duties as King of the Romans and asked him to summon an Imperial Diet . The accusations were dealt with by Wenceslaus's councillors and favourites Stefan Poduška von Martinic , Stefan of Opočno, Burkhard Strnad of Janovice and
930-517: Was the first newspaper printed in Polish in Upper Silesia. The town of Pless was 94.3% Polish in 1829; the whole district remained 86% Polish as late as 1867. After 1918, with the end of monarchy in Prussia, the state country privileges were abolished. The noble titles were abolished in Germany in 1919 by the Weimar constitution, but transformed into parts of the family names, thus until 1919
961-695: Was very great; for example, when the Duke of Ratibor , who had represented the constituency of the districts of Pless [ de ] and Rybnik [ de ] in the North German parliament of the North German Confederation , ran in the first election to the Imperial German Reichstag in 1871, Hans Heinrich XI, Prince of Pless, endorsed him, and was able to enlist even the constabulary, servants of