Rider: Over there you can see the “Marck” mansion, a quite beautiful water castle and residence of Lord Johann Arnold von Diepenbroick. Some years ago, it must have been 1643, I delivered to him a message from imperial advisory council Krane himself!
It was about this: the empire was negotiating with the Swedes in Osnabrück and with the French in Münster. The emperor did not want to be pulled over the barrel nor have the screws put on him by those two allied forces. That’s why he ordered his two envoys to regularly meet at a place in between the two cities to exchange views. Advisory council Krane was to inspect the venue beforehand. Marck mansion, just south of Tecklenburg, seemed a viable option so that the imperial councilor approached Lord von Diepenbroick in form of the bespoken letter. He demanded regular accommodation of the imperial delegates and suitable stables for the horses. In exchange, he offered decent payment in hard cash and a neutral status, just like the two congress cities. Hence, von Diepenbroick would not have to worry about the hardships of the war anymore. On top of that, Krane would make sure that the Swedes and the French will not pay him a visit as well. A quite compelling offer altogether.
Naturally, the lord of the castle considered it an honor to meet the emperor’s request. At the same time, however, he got frightened. A week later, I came to pick up his reply, in which, despite his positive answer, he explained that, due to the war, he could only offer barely furnished, inadequately equipped rooms to accommodate the delegates. He suggested to send someone to inspect and, if necessary, properly furnish the rooms.
I know that councilor Krane responded to that offer rather soon. In the same year, he met an envoy of the Danish king halfway in between Münster and Osnabrück. It was the only time they met there, however. Apparently, the mansion didn’t quite meet their requirements after all.
In general: regular, personal meetings of the delegates seemed to be too big of an effort so that, in the end, they relied on us, the post riders.