Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg

Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg
Noble family	House of Poděbrady
Father	John, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels
Mother	Christina Catherine of Schidlowitz
Born	22 May 1545(1545-05-22) Oleśnica
Died	17 March 1569(1569-03-17) (aged 23) Oleśnica

Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg (also Charles Christopher of Poděbrady, Czech: Karel Krištof z Poděbrad or Karel Krištof z Minstrberka; 22 May 1545, Oleśnica – 17 March 1569, ibid.) was duke of Münsterberg from1565 until his death. He also held the title of Count of Glatz.

Life

Charles Christopher, Duke of Münsterberg was a member of the Münsterberg branch of the House of Poděbrady. His parents were Duke John of Münsterberg-Oels and his first wife Christina Catherine of Schidlowitz (Czech: Kristyna Katarzyna Szydłowiecka; 1519–1556).

In 1558 Charles Christopher undertook a Grand Tour through Europe and then stayed at the court of Emperor Ferdinand I. After the death of his father, who had married his second wife Margaret (d. 1580), a daughter of Duke Henry II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel since 1561, Charles Christopher inherited in February 1565 the duchy of Münsterberg. The Duchy of Oels was inherited his cousin Charles II, the Duchy of Bernstadt was inherited by his brother Henry III. Like his father and his brothers Charles Christopher supported the Reformation in his territory. In 1567, Catholic services were suspende in the Peter and Paul cathedral in Münsterberg.

Charles Christopher was not married and died after a short reign only four years ago at the age of 24 years. With his death the rule of the House of Poděbrady in Münsterberg. The duchy fell to the Bohemian Crown as a vacant fief. The other lines of the Poděbrady family were allowed to use the title of "Duke of Münsterberg" until the Poděbrady family died out in 1647.

Ten years after Charles Christopher's death his cousin Barbara of Bieberstein donated a marble epitaph to the Castle Church at Oels. It was probable created by Hans Fleiser (also called Gruyter) and shows Duke Charles Christopher clad in armour^[1].

References

• Hugo Weczerka: Handbuch der historischen Stätten: Schlesien, Stuttgart ,1977, ISBN 3-520-31601-3, pp. 18, 98 and 322 and genealogical tables on pages 602-603.
• Ludwig Petry and Josef Joachim Menzel (eds.): Geschichte Schlesiens, vol. 2, ISBN 3-7995-6342-3, p. 67.
• This page is a translation of its German equivalent.

External links

• [pttp://genealogy.euweb.cz/bohemia/podieb.html Genealogy of Poděbrady]

Footnotes

1. ^ Georg Dehio: Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler in Polen: Schlesien, München / Berlin, 2005, ISBN 3-422-03109-X, p. 687.

Persondata
Name	Charles Christopher of Münsterberg
Alternative names	Charles Christopher of Poděbrady; Karl Christoph von Münsterberg (German); Karel Krištof z Minstrberka (Czech)
Short description	Duke of Münsterberg (1565-1569)
Date of birth	22 May 1545
Place of birth	Oleśnica
Date of death	17 March 1569
Place of death	Oleśnica