George William, Duke of Liegnitz

File:Jerzy Wilhelm Legnicki.JPG

George William of Legnica (Template:Lang-de; Template:Lang-pl; b. Oława, 29 September 1660 - d. Brzeg, 21 November 1675) was the last Duke of Legnica and Brieg (Brzeg) since 1672 until his death.

He was the eldest but only surviving son of Christian, Duke of Legnica-Brzeg-Wołów-Oława by his wife Louise, daughter of John Casimir, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau.

Life

Duke Christian, who spent many years in exile during the Thirty Years War, and after the abdication of John Casimir from the Polish throne, put his own candidacy for the throne of Poland; in order to win the affection and support of the old nobility, he initially wanted to give his newborn son an old Piast name (like Mieszko or Bolesław); however, the Calvinist clergy of his Duchy opposite to this, maintaining that this idea could bring the return to paganism over Poland. The Duke, however, care that his son spoke wore English clothes.

The deaths in 1663 and 1664 of his paternal uncles George III of Brieg and Louis IV of Legnica without surviving issue left him as the only heir of his father in the still vast Duchy of Legnica-Brzeg. As a result, since his early years, George William received a careful education. During his upbringing, he put in the hands of the Count-Marshal Frederick von Bohmen, and the doctor Henry Martini. Was in this first period of his education that he adquired an excellent knowledge of German, French and Latin, but he was able only to speak in Italian, Spanish and Polish; also, he was educated in theology, philosophy and rhetoric.

After the death of his father in 1672, the twelve-years-old George William succeeded him as Duke of Legnica-Brzeg Jerzy Wilhelm was sent by his mother to study in Frankfurt. Science, however, not completed. Has become an obstacle to the reluctance of Protestant states here Legnicko-Brzeskich to protracted regencji mother of Prince, Ludwika, more and more openly in support of entering the yard of Catholics (the real scandal became a matter of an older married sister of Prince Karolina Catholic aristocrat of the family of Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg).

The formal taking over of power took place 14 March 1675. A month earlier Jerzy Wilhelm was present at the court of the Roman-German emperor Leopold I in Vienna, where he made solemn tribute to Lenny. Louis Anhalcka forced by her reluctant to be removed subject to the husband received the widow Wołowie binding. Good governments are announcing George Wilhelm stopped sudden death of Prince. The reason for the death piętnastoletniego Piasta was a strong fever, which nabawił on the hunt, which went on despite niewyleczonej smallpox. This happened in the Bank 21 November 1675. Prince was buried in the church of St. John in Legnica. Duchy Legnicko-Brzeskie to death last Piastowicza became part of the imperial domain, despite the decline in filing claims from uncle George Wilhelm - August Legnickiego count. 1680 steers to the left in the hands of Ludwika Anhalckiej. In 1707 on her sister Caroline died, the last Piastown.

He was also Considered in most sources as the last of the Piast dynasty.

Other sources indicate that it was not the last Piast brzesko-Legnica, giving his uncle, Augustus Legnickiego count, 14 dead in May 1679 in his estate Prieborn (Przeworno) in the Principality of Brest (who, however, as originating from morganatycznego relationship did not become entitled to the names and heritage).

Inaccuracies as to the death of the last Piasta may result from the controversy around the recognition as the Piast blood side of the line and nieksiążęcych Dynasty.

He was a member of the Dukes of Silesia, who are since the 17th century referred to as Silesian Piasts, a branch of the Piast dynasty. When the 15 year old Georg Wilhelm died, his mother had a masoleum built for him at Liegnitz. On its foundation stone a text was carved referring to him as Silesian Piast. The term Piast dynasty was first used in a history book by Polish historian Adam Naruszewicz in his books History of Poland, which he started in 1779.

The independent Masovian Piasts died out in 1526, while the Duchy of Teschen Teschen (Cieszyn) line died out in 1653. George William was therefore the last ruling member of all the Piast dynasty, while his uncle, Count Augustus of Liegnitz, was the last surviving member of the Silesian Piast dynasty. Upon his death in Brieg (Brzeg), the duchy reverted back to the Holy Roman Empire, which for centuries was ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, who took up the government.