Z dziejów pomorskiej dyplomacji. Wiedeńska podróż księcia Jana Fryderyka (1565–1566)
The chancery on the court of Stettiner Duke Johannes Friedrich, its staff and functioning an outline

Summary/Abstract: Duke John Frederick, who was a claimant to the Szczecin (German: Stettin) throne, went on his first diplomatic journey to the Emperor’s Court in Vienna. The objective of the young Duke’s journey was to make Emperor Maximilian I give the Pomeranian fiefdom directly to the Griffins; thanks to that the Griffins would be equal to all the other dukes of the Reich. The preparation to the journey had been expensive as the Pomeranian Dukes wanted not only to come out well but they also wanted to support the Emperor in his war against the Ottoman Empire. In addition to that, the young Duke was to establish commercial contacts with the Hungarians from whom wine might be imported to Szczecin. During his stay at the Emperor’s Court the heir to the Szczecin throne wanted to present himself in the best possible manner in order to secure the Pomeranian interests. Even a special fund had been created to organize receptions during which John Frederick was supposed to have conversations important for the Duchy. He had been instructed to have all the agreements in writing because it was feared that other dukes and the emperor’s clerks might use chicanery during the Reich’s Parliament session in Augsburg. Little is known on the details of the route the duke travelled; he stayed in Poznań (German: Posen), Augsburg and Freiburg from where he set off to Vienna. On his way back home he passed through Linz, Munich, Augsburg and Kostrzyn (German: Kostschin). John Frederick’s journey, in spite of high costs, was profitable for the Duchy. He managed to obtain the fiefdom, and peace and stabilization were secured. The position of the Pomeranian Duchy in the Reich was reinforced; the proof for that was a peace conference organized in Szczecin, which ended the Northern Seven Years’ War.

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