Albert Joseph von Hoditz

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Albert Joseph von Hoditz

Albert Joseph Reichsgraf von Hoditz and Wolframitz (* May 16, 1706 in Roßwald ; † March 18, 1778 in Potsdam ) was an Austro-Prussian landowner and officer from Moravia during the Enlightenment .

origin

His parents were Count Carl Joseph von Hoditz and Wolframitz (1673-1741) and his wife Eleonore Barbara von Paczensky and Tenczin (1676-1725). His brother Isidor became a Prussian colonel, two other brothers became clergymen.

Life

Albert Joseph von Hoditz was born on the Hoditz family estate Roßwald near Hotzenplotz in Austrian Silesia (today Osoblaha , Moravia ). He received his education in Vienna, made long trips to Italy and was a chamberlain to the court of Emperor Charles VI.

In 1734 he married Sophia von Sachsen-Weißenfels , the widow of Margrave Georg Wilhelm von Bayreuth , who was already 50 years old at the time of her marriage to Hoditz.

Hoditz cultivated contacts all over Europe, cultivated a “fantastic sense of art” and counted among other things the ruler of enlightened absolutism Frederick the Great among his friends.

Hoditz was a Freemason and very enthusiastic about the ideas of the Enlightenment . The Enlightenment was a member of the Aux Trois Squelettes lodge in Breslau , founded in 1741 and headed by the future Prince-Bishop Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch . At Schaffgotsch's instructions, Hoditz set up the first lodge in Vienna Aux Trois Canons in 1742 , which gave him a special role in the development of Freemasonry in Austria.

After Hoditz had spent his original fortune of 5 million thalers - mainly on the luxurious renovation of the castle in Roßwald - he made a living from a pension that Frederick the Great put out for him. At the invitation of the king, he spent the last years of his life in Potsdam, where he lived since 1776 and died on March 18, 1778.

Rosswalde estate

Frederick the Great with Count Hoditz. Drawing by Ludwig Löffler

In Roßwald, Hoditz lived from the income of his manor . As a result, he devoted himself particularly to the expansion of this estate. Similar to Prince Pückler later in Muskau , Hoditz had an extensive landscaping redesign done; In addition, the castle was changed by numerous building measures, so that one sometimes spoke of Roßwald as a "fairy seat". He had the large park adorned with buildings, temples, bosquets, statues, water arts, etc., and theater plays were also performed there. Hoditz endeavored to involve his subjects in court, so most of the works of art in Roßwald were made by "amateur artists" whom he had trained from the local population. The actors, dancers, singers, etc. who worked on site were almost all from Roßwald or the surrounding area. Hoditz's creations caused a sensation. Frederick the Great visited him in Roßwald in 1765 and 1770 and "testified to Hoditz his pleasure with a poetic epistle and an important gift."

Cremation pioneer

When Hoditz died, his body was transferred to Roßwald and there - as ordered - cremated on a stake, which attracted a large number of spectators to Roßwald. The fact that a personality of this rank not only openly spoke out in favor of cremation , but also allowed it to be practiced, was a spectacular case in German-speaking countries. The body of his deceased wife was cremated on Roßwald as early as 1752.

Aftermath

After the owner's death, the parks in Roßwald quickly fell into disrepair and have since disappeared. On the orders of Frederick the Great, part of Jägerstrasse in Potsdam, where Hoditz had lived, was renamed Hoditzstrasse ; his palace was today's house No. 9. Hoditz's correspondence with the Prussian king is for the most part printed in his oeuvres .

Coat of arms of Counts Polzer-Hoditz and Wolframitz, 1917.

The line of the Imperial Counts von Hoditz and Wolframitz died out in the male line in the 19th century. During the First World War , Mathilde von Hoditz and Wolframitz († 1932) adopted the children from the marriage of their sister Maria Christine († 1924), who was married to the Austrian civil servant Julius Ritter von Polzer (1834-1912), giving them the name Ritter von Polzer-Hoditz and Wolframitz received. In 1917 Maria Christine von Hoditz and Woframitz (1824–1924) asked Emperor Karl I to place the counts of the Hoditz family “with a coat of arms unifying the emblems of the families of the Knights of Polzer and the Counts of Hoditz and Woframitz” on their children to be allowed to transfer. She did so when her younger son Arthur Polzer (born August 2, 1870 in Lemberg ; † July 24, 1945 in Baden near Vienna ), a doctor of law, became head of the imperial cabinet on February 7, 1917. After the application by handwriting of October 11, 1917 to the k. k. Minister of the Interior Friedrich Graf Toggenburg (1866–1950) had been approved, carried Arthur Polzer, his brother Ludwig Polzer , landowner and officer, as well as siblings and their descendants the name and title of a Count of Polzer-Hoditz and Wolframitz. The dynasty of the Reichsgrafen von Hoditz and Wolframitz finally died out on March 13, 1932 with the death of Mathilde von Hoditz and Wolframitz, the aunt of Arthur and Ludwig von Polzer-Hoditz. 

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edmund Glaise von Horstenau , Peter Broucek (Ed.): A General in the Twilight. Volume 2: K. u. k. General staff officer and historian. Publications of the Commission for Modern History of Austria, Volume 67. Böhlau, Vienna 1980, ISBN 3-205-08740-2 , p. 391. - Text online .
  2. ↑ Daily report. (...) Countess Mathilde Hoditz-Wolframitz †. In:  Badener Zeitung , No. 21/1932, March 16, 1932, p. 3 (online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / bzt.
personal data
SURNAME Hoditz, Albert Joseph von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hoditz and Wolframitz, Albert Joseph Reichsgraf von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-Prussian landowner and officer
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1706
PLACE OF BIRTH Rosswald
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1778
Place of death Potsdam