Adam von Dietrichstein

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Adam von Dietrichstein, lithograph by Robert Theer after Carl Agricola

Adam von Dietrichstein Baron of Hollenburg Finkenstein and Thalberg (born October 17, 1527 in Graz , †  January 5, 1590 in Nikolsburg ) was an Austrian nobleman and diplomat in the service of the House of Habsburg .

origin

Adam comes from the von Dietrichstein family, who belong to the Austrian nobility . He was a younger son of Siegmund von Dietrichstein , the first baron of his house († 1533) and his wife, Barbara von Rottal Freiin von Talberg, an illegitimate daughter of the Emperor Maximilian I. He was thus an - albeit illegitimate - cousin of the emperors Charles V and Ferdinand I.

biography

Adam was young when Steward to the court of the Holy Roman King I, and later Emperor Ferdinand and was 1,548 cupbearer of the heir, Archduke Maximilian , who charged him with a number of honorable missions. So he sent him to Innsbruck at the beginning of 1547 to warn Emperor Charles V of the plans of the members of the Schmalkaldic League .

Adam also played an important role in regulating relations between Protestants and Catholics , as Maximilian II sent him to the negotiations that took place on August 2, 1552 for the conclusion of the Passau Treaty between the Roman-German King Ferdinand I and the Protestant imperial princes and thus led to the formal recognition of Protestantism. Three years later he took part in the negotiations at the historic Reichstag in Augsburg , at which the Augsburg imperial and religious peace was drawn up and resolved on September 25, 1555.

The following year he accompanied the Archduke and his wife, the Infanta Maria of Spain , Archduchess of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Charles V, on their trip to the Netherlands . Maximilian II appointed Adam his chief stableman in 1560 and shortly thereafter chief steward of his wife.

In 1561 he received an almost impossible assignment: he was supposed to travel to Rome and, in a secret consistory of Pope Pius IV (Giovanni Angelo Medici, actually: Medigino), to prevent further bloody religious wars in the Austrian provinces, lay people can also enjoy of the Lord's Supper in both forms and celibacy - following the example of the Greek Church that has existed for centuries - is abolished. This bold proposal, which he defended with conviction, was rejected in Rome - under repeated threats of excommunication against him and his masters.

In 1563 King Maximilian II appointed him his chief chamberlain.

Dietrichstein was given a new task shortly afterwards, as Maximilian II appointed him the chief steward of his sons, Archduke Rudolf - later Emperor Rudolf II - and Ernst - later governor- general of the Spanish Netherlands - as well as ambassador to the court of King Philip II of Spain . He was to accompany the Archduke to Spain and supervise their upbringing there. His most important diplomatic task, however, was to prevent alienation from becoming alienated because of different views on religious issues - especially because of the freedom to practice religion that was granted to the Austrian estates and because of the action against the Protestants in the Netherlands, where the Spanish-Dutch War broke out in 1568 came between the two lines of the House of Austria . Dietrichstein succeeded in doing this thanks to his position of trust and skill. In Spain he was accepted into the order of Calatrava , where King Philip II transferred him in 1569 the important commandery of the order in Alcañiz . In the same year, through his mediation, Archduke Rudolf II became engaged to the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain. It was not until 1571 that Dietrichstein returned to Austria with the two archdukes, and the success of his mission was confirmed by a personal congratulatory letter from Pope Pius V (Antonio Michele Ghisleri).

His notes on the fate of the unfortunate heir to the Spanish throne, Don Carlos , who died in 1568 , are important contemporary testimonies that were also used in later literary adaptations of the subject.

In 1572 he was sent to Hungary by Emperor Maximilian II as an authorized representative in order to obtain approval from the estates for the coronation of the Crown Prince, Rudolf II, as King of Hungary , which he succeeded in doing after recognizing the principle of the elective monarchy in Hungary .

City coat of arms of Nikolsburg (Mikulov) with the family coat of arms of the Dietrichstein included in it

In the same year, Emperor Maximilian II. Dietrichstein transferred the rule of Nikolsburg in Moravia as a fief in recognition of his services, which , however, on the occasion of a visit to Nikolsburg in 1575, transformed it into a free property and at the same time elevated it to a free rule with corresponding privileges. This great rule had a connection to Austria for a long time, as Ottokar II Přemysl of Bohemia had enfeoffed the House of Liechtenstein with it in 1249 . After more than 300 years, however, in 1560 Christoph von Liechtenstein sold it to the rich Hungarian magnate Ladislaus von Kerecsenyi for economic reasons for 60,000 Bohemian thalers . It fell back in 1572 as a reverted fiefdom to the sovereign, who was able to reassign it. In the next few years Adam tried with success to reintroduce the Catholic religion in Nikolsburg, for which Pope Gregory XIII. (Ugo Boncompagni) congratulated in personal letters. The name of the castle rulers Nikolsburg later became part of the name of his descendants, who called themselves von Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg.

After the death of Emperor Maximilian II in 1576, Adam's former pupil, Archduke Rudolf, succeeded him as Emperor Rudolf II, whom he served with equal loyalty. He had a difficult diplomatic task to solve in 1588 - together with the Spanish special envoy - Vespasiano I. Gonzaga , duca di Sabbioneta : the negotiations for the liberation of Archduke Maximilian III. from Polish captivity. After the death of King Stephan Báthory (1576–1586), he was elected King of Poland , but was subject to another pretender, Sigismund III. Wasa , because his troops were defeated by the Polish crown field lord Jan Zamoyski and he himself was captured.

Adam von Dietrichstein then retired to Nikolsburg, met with friends such as the professor and imperial court librarian Hugo Blotius or the diplomat, orientalist and teacher of the sons of Emperor Maximilian II, Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq, and corresponded with his former pupil, Kaiser Rudolf II, from whom he is said to have received 600 letters. He fell ill at the end of December 1589 and died on February 5, 1590 in Nikolsburg Castle . He was transferred to Prague to be buried at the feet of his master - Emperor Maximilian II - based on his father's project.

Marriage and offspring

Adam von Dietrichstein married the Catalan noblewoman Margareta Folch de Cardona y Requesens from the princely house of Folch de Cardona in 1553 in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague . (* Barcelona c. 1535, † Madrid February 23, 1609). She was a daughter of Antoni Folch de Cardona y Enríquez, Baron of Sant Boi , Viceroy of Sardinia, Grandee of Spain and court master of the Empress Maria † 1555, (son of the first Duke of Cardona (1482), Joan Ramon Folch IV. De Cardona ) and the Anna Maria Requesens de Soler y Enríquez de Velasco. The couple had 13 children, among others

  1. Marie Freiin von Dietrichstein * 1554 ⚭ 1.) Balthasar de Mendoza y de la Cerda, 1. Conde de Galve, ⚭ 2.) Juan de Borja y Manuel, Marqués de Navarrés
  2. Anna Freiin von Dietrichstein * 1558 † 1630/31 ⚭ Antonio de Fonseca y Enríquez, 3rd Lord and 1615 1st Conde de Villanueva de Cañedo
  3. Maximilian Freiherr von Dietrichstein * 1561, † March 29, 1611, Lord of Nikolsburg and Maidenburg, Knight of the Order of Calatrava and Commander of the Order of Alcañiz , Colonel Master of the Archduke Ernst of Austria, remained without permanent descendants.
  4. Siegmund (II.) Freiherr von Dietrichstein, * 1562, † 1602, closer progenitor of the princely house, his son was Maximilian von Dietrichstein
  5. Anton Freiherr von Dietrichstein, * 1563 † 1567
  6. Hippolita Freiin von Dietrichstein, * 1564 ⚭ 1580 Alvaro Fernandez de Córdoba y Aragón, from the house of the lords of Valenzuela
  7. Johanna Freiin von Dietrichstein * 1566 † 1575
  8. Franz von Dietrichstein , * Madrid on Aug. 22, 1570, † Brno ( Brno ) September 19, 1636, Cardinal (1599), Bishop of Olomouc ( Olomouc ) (1,599 to 1,636)
  9. Beatrix Freiin von Dietrichstein, * 1571, † in the Alcalá monastery founded by her in 1631 ⚭ Luis Hurtado de Mendoza y Mendoza, 4th Marqués de Mondéjar y Vallemoso, 5th Conde de Tendilla
  10. Margareta Freiin von Dietrichstein * 1573 † 1575
  11. Elisabeth Freiin von Dietrichstein * 1575 † 1594
  12. Maria Anna Freiin von Dietrichstein * 1578 † 1587

literature

This article is based on a text in the public domain from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 4th edition from 1888 to 1890.

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predecessor Office successor
Habsburg ambassador to Spain from
1563 to 1570 		Hans von Khevenhüller-Frankenburg
personal data
SURNAME Dietrichstein, Adam von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dietrichstein zu Hollenburg Finkenstein and Thalberg, Adam von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian nobleman and diplomat in the service of the House of Habsburg
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1527
PLACE OF BIRTH Graz
DATE OF DEATH February 5, 1590
Place of death Nikolsburg