Dekret króla Fryderyka Wilhelma II w sprawie zakonów mendykanckich na terenie Prus Południowych wydany 8 XI 1797 r.
King Frederick William II’s decree concerning mendicant orders in South Prussia issued on 8 November 1797

Summary/Abstract: Among the records from the Franciscan Observants monastery in Ostrzeszów (PA 298/6), kept at the Archdiocesan Archive in Poznań, there is a copy of a decree issued on 8 November 1797 by king Frederick William II. He imposed an obligation on mendicant orders to pay a tax on animal slaughter and the production of beverages, which they had formerly been exempt from. By way of compensation, they received a small quarterly financial aid for the religious, novices and their servants, as well as a certain sum per every bed for the infirm in the monastery. In order to receive these benefits, the superiors had to submit reports on the headcount every three months. If they failed to provide true information, they could face an inspection from the provincial officials or lose the compensation. The decree was most probably intended for the officials of the Kalisz department created in 1796, since it was signed by the then president of the Piotrków camera von Oppeln-Bronikowski and its deputy director von Reinbeck. It remains unknown how the Ostrzeszów Franciscan Observants fathers came into possession of the document.

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