Biography and History
Balthasar Oomkens von Esens was the son of Hero Oomkens von Esens, Lord of Harlingerland and Armgard Countess of Oldenburg. The Oomkens family were established in East Frisia (now part of Niedersachsen in Germany) and in the Frisian Oldambt, in the Groninger Ommelanden (now part of Groningen in the Netherlands). The family prided itself on its direct descent from Radbod, King of the Frisians.
Balthasar led a successful resistance of the old Frisian aristocracy against the rise of the Cirksena family, which attempted to unite East Frisia under its rule from the late fifteenth century. The Cirksenas supported Protestantism whilst both Balthasar and his father remained loyal to the Catholic Church.
Allied to his close relations the Counts of Oldenburg and the Duke of Gelderland/Gelre, Balthasar Oomkens von Esens resisted the doubtful political power-grabbing attempted by the Cirksena's (which included a forged imperial document relating to the lordship of Harlingerland) and also championed the interests of the Catholic Church against the Reformation-minded allies of the Cirksena's. As a result of his resistance, Harlingerland remained a free county under its own jurisdiction until it came through inheritance to Frederick the Great in 1744.
Balthasar Oomkens von Esens was a popular figure among the Frisian people and has remained so. He is generally remembered today as "Junker Balthasar" and in Esens (whose city rights he granted in 1527) there is a yearly festival in his honour.
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