Jan Vaclav Josef Frierenberger ( German: Johann Wenzel Joseph Ritter von Frierenberger ) (1759 ^[1] -1823 ^[2] ) was a general in the Austrian Empire army during the Napoleonic Wars.

Military career [ edit ]

As an officer's son, he decided in his youth to serve in the army. He took part in the Austro-Turkish wars and in 1790 is already listed as a captain. ^[3] His father Major Josef Frierenberger (1709-1773) was awarded the Military Order of Maria Theresa . After the Battle of Austerlitz he was, like his father, decorated on May 28, 1806 with the highest Austrian military decoration - Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa (this represented a claim to a lifetime peerage Knight ( Ritter ) and eventually the holder could claim the hereditary title of free lord ). He was promoted to lieutenant colonel the following year and in 1809 to colonel . Subsequently, on April 27, 1813, he was promoted to major general . He was severely wounded on August 26, 1813, during the Battle of Dresden . Afterwards, the command of the artillery was taken over by General Friedrich Karl von Langenau . Subsequently, the Russian Tsar Alexander I awarded him the Russian Order of St. Anna . In January 1820 he was retired ^[4] and spent the last years of his life in Krom??i? , now Czech republic . He is buried in the old Krom??i? cemetery.

Monument near Austerlitz ^[5] [ edit ]

On December 2, 1995, a stone monument near the old post office along the Olomouc road was unveiled ( 49°11′21″N 16°50′36″E  /  49.18925°N 16.8432778°E  / 49.18925; 16.8432778 ). It was built by the Czechoslovak Napoleonic Society together with the Austerlitz Battery to commemorate two Austrian artillery batteries , which under the command of Major Vaclav Jan Frierenberger covered the retreat of the Russian corps of General Pyotr Bagration at the conclusion of the Battle of Austerlitz . ^{[6] [7]}

Cemetery monument [ edit ]

In 1836 Frierenberger's widow had a monument built on her husband's grave. In 1936, the memorial was relocated to the current town cemetery entrance ( 49°17′14″N 17°23′16″E  /  49.2873333°N 17.3878333°E  / 49.2873333; 17.3878333 ). The memorial in the Empire style is on the list of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic under the item number 101308. ^[8] The statue represents a grieving woman leaning on a pedestal which is carrying a broken Doric column . There are German inscriptions on all four sides of the pedestal shaft honoring the general.

References [ edit ]