Danzig Notables -- Valentin Ernst Tessin

Born in Danzig in 1638, Tessin was a wealthy beer brewer and became the first father-in-law of Johann Georg Kulmus, when he married Regina Konkordia Tessin (d. 1710) in 1704. In 1670 he had become a member of the Hundertmänner, as representative of the so-called "Broad Quarter" (Breites Quartier) in Danzig. In 1679 he was elected mayor of that Quarter (Quartiermeister), and in 1708 the Council elected him Schöppe, a member of the Danzig lay judiciary (the Second Order). He died in 1721. It was his service on behalf of the Hundertmänner in 1678 which earned him a degree of local notariety. At that time a controversy had erupted over Aegidius Strauch, Rector of the Akademisches Gymnasium, preacher at the Dreifaltigkeitskirche, former professor at the university of Wittenberg. Strauch, a demagogue and flaming opponent of the Calvinists (i.e. patricians), had become a favorite of large sections of the population, especially the craftsmen. In 1675 he was charged with contacts with the enemy (Sweden) and relieved of his posts. A tumult erupted and crowds blockaded the Rathaus for over a day demanding his reinstatement. The Hundertmänner were the first to acquiesce. The other Orders promised the same but, after they were let out of the Rathaus, rather than reinstate Strauch they had him hounded from the city and incarcerated in a Prussian jail. Danzig guilds demanded that Strauch be freed and sent a delegation, including Tessin, to plead with the King for his release. When they succeeded, after a visit by the King to Danzig in 1677, the King also bargained with the Council for the expansion of certain other privileges to the Hundertmänner.