In the church of the small village of Neumark is a grave and plaque for “Johann Riedesel zu Neumark.” He was an official in the court of Electoral Saxony and an associate of Martin Luther. His identity has long been a matter of disagreement. Some historic sources treat him as a member of the Riedesel zu Eisenbach while others do not. The best evidence now is that he was not born a Riedesel at all, but rather as Johann Reiling. He previously served the Riedesel zu Eisenbach and came to be known by that name.

Clicking on these thumbnails will open full-size images.

These photos were sent to me by Rüdiger Bier from the interior of the church in Neumark.

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A plaque noting that Johann Riedesel was the godparent to a child of D.M. Luther (Dr. Martin Luther).	A plaque noting the burial of a Hans-Heinrich "Ritesel" and his wife (no dates). He was a grandson of Johann Riedesel and apparently the last known member of this line. In earlier versions of this page I mistakenly confused him with the "original" Johann Riedesel.

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The convoluted story of what is known of this man is recounted  in a new (2019) book by Hans Gutekunst, Johannes Riedesel zu Neumark: Kurfürstlich-sächsischer Kämmerer 1528-1532 und Gevatter Martin Luthers. Privately published.