page_title: House of Soterius von Sachsenheim
section_title: Johann Michael Soterius von Sachsenheim (the Elder)
hierarchical_section_title: House of Soterius von Sachsenheim / Johann Michael Soterius von Sachsenheim (the Elder)
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Johann Michael Soterius von Sachsenheim the Elder (1742-1794)
context_page_description: Soterius von Sachsenheim is a Transylvanian Saxon noble family originating from the village Stein, in the former Saxon Repser Stuhl administrative division. Among its members were politicians and bureaucrats in the Transylvanian state administration and also army officers, scholars, pastors and artists.
context_section_description: Johann Michael (the Elder) was born in Schellenberg on 25 November 1742 and started his studies at the Hermannstadt (Sibiu) gymnasium. In 1770, he married Anna Mara Filtsch, the daughter of the Hermannstadt parish pastor. Their first child, Anna Maria, was born in 1771. Later, two boys were born, Johann Michael (the Younger) and Charles.
  In 1771, he became Gubernialkonzipist and, in 1786, Gubernialsekretär in the administrative system of Transylvania. Following the Edict of Restitution in 1790, a decision was made in 1791 to send a delegation to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, on behalf of the Transylvanian Saxons as they wanted to put forward their own proposal for regulation. Mayor Rosenfeld of Hermannstadt and Johann Michael headed the delegation and in January 1792 they travelled to Vienna to meet Emperor Leopold II. At the same time, Johann Michael was given nobility status by the Emperor, who conferred the title of nobility of von Sachsenheim ("Saxon House" in German) upon him and his descendants, the original signed documents and crest are with family members.
  Johann Michael was known as a musical talent, who played piano and composed arias and menuets. After Samuel von Brukenthal's retirement from politics, Johann collaborated with him in organizing and expanding his collections and library (the nucleus of the future Brukenthal National Museum, which includes also a Soterius von Sachsenheim collection). He died on 31 March 1794 in Klausenburg (today Cluj-Napoca), where the family had moved after it had become clear that the seat of the provincial government was to be permanently located there.
caption: Johann Michael Soterius von Sachsenheim (the Elder) portrait by unknown artist, Brukenthal National Museum
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