Albrecht II (Bavaria)

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Albrecht II (* 1368 ; † January 21, 1397 in Kelheim ) was the second son of Duke Albrecht I of Straubing-Holland . From 1387 until his death he was governor of the Lower Bavarian part of the duchy. During this time, which was characterized by an economic boom and brisk construction activity, the royal seat of Straubing became the center of a splendid court life. Albrecht II regularly took part in tournaments and fought in Bavaria against the Swabian cities and in the north against the Frisians . He was only just 29 years old. His grave in the Straubing Carmelite Church is one of the city's most valuable art treasures.

Contemporary history background

The Duchy of Straubing-Holland

With Albrecht's grandfather Ludwig IV , the Wittelsbachers had established the Roman-German king for the first time in 1314. After the death of Ludwig IV in 1347, Bavaria was divided among his six sons. Wilhelm I and Albrecht I received the Duchy of Straubing-Holland in the Regensburg Treaty in 1353 . This consisted of the Straubinger Ländchen in today's Lower Bavaria and the Dutch counties of Holland , Zeeland , Friesland and Hainaut , which had come to the Wittelsbach family through Ludwig's wife Margarethe von Holland . After Wilhelm I was unable to rule due to a mental illness in 1358 , his brother took over the administration of the entire duchy until his death in 1404.

The year of death of Ludwig IV, 1347, marks a turning point in the history of Europe. The Black Death , a plague epidemic of unimagined proportions, spread across the continent and caused its population to shrink rapidly. The population decline lasted for over a century and only came to a standstill over forty years after Wilhelm's death. In addition to the devastating economic and demographic effects of the plague, the Hundred Years War broke out between England and France in 1337 . The influence of the church, which split for four decades in the Avignon Schism in 1378 , also declined. Because of this development, the time in which Albrecht was born is also referred to as the crisis of the late Middle Ages .

Life

Albrecht I of Bavaria, the father of Albrecht II.

Youth and private life

Albrecht II was born in 1368 as the fifth child of Duke Albrecht I and his wife Margarete von Liegnitz-Brieg, his place of birth is unknown. As early as 1370 it was agreed that he should marry the two years older daughter of the Emperor Anne of Bohemia ; however, she finally married the English King Richard II in 1382 .

Since 1377 Albrecht II was raised in Lower Bavaria by Landgrave Johann von Leuchtenberg , whom his father had appointed carer there in 1368 , and was prepared for his future role as Duke in Straubing. At the age of 19 he was appointed governor by his father of the same name, who himself ruled from Straubing until 1358. Albrecht II developed a splendid household. According to Landschreiber's calculations , Welsch wine was served on his table with dishes spiced with pepper , ginger and saffron , while actors and musicians provided entertainment. Albrecht's guests heard, for example, the singer of the Roman-German king , the herald of the Duke of Austria or musicians from his father's court in The Hague . High-ranking visitors like the Burgundian Duke Johann Ohnefurcht , who made a stop in Straubing in 1395 on the way to the battle of Nicopolis against the Ottomans, were treated with particularly great effort .

Albrecht II successfully tried his hand at parrot shooting, introduced by his father in Lower Bavaria , in which one shot with a crossbow at a wooden or clay bird, and was enthusiastic about the knightly life. He and his subordinates regularly attended the tournaments of the German and European nobility and fought around 1390 in Landshut , 1391 in Nuremberg and 1393 in Heidelberg . He also liked to go to bathing rooms . According to the land clerk's accounts, the young governor was usually looked after by two young women. Albrecht also worried about the salvation of his soul. He often donated money to priests, pilgrims or the poor. The memorial book for the dead of the Straubing Priestly Society founded in 1250 , a prayer association of Lower Bavarian clergy, names him as the first lay member. In addition, Albrecht II did not neglect his actual task, the administration of the Straubing country entrusted to him by his father .

Government activity

During the reign of Albrecht II, several buildings were started that still characterize the Straubing townscape today, including the city tower and the St. Jakob basilica.

The government activities of Albrecht II are documented in a number of documents in addition to the account books of his land clerk Wolfhart . These show that Albrecht I only gradually left full responsibility to his son. On September 17, 1389, the elder Albrecht decreed that the Straubing citizens should permanently receive the income from the ducal bridge toll for the maintenance of the Danube bridge and the road paving that had been laid since 1376 . The maintenance of the Danube bridge in particular was an important task, as there were only three of them in the entire Duchy at that time, in Kelheim, in Straubing and in Deggendorf . Three years later, on May 20, 1392, Albrecht I left it to his son to confirm the privileges of the city of Straubing.

The younger Albrecht also safeguarded the interests of the Wittelsbach family in Bavaria. He personally took part in the city ​​war between the Bavarian dukes and the Swabian cities in 1388/89 and cultivated his relationships with his secular and spiritual neighbors, the Lower Bavarian nobility, the Regensburg Bishop Johann von Moosburg and the Bishop of Passau during mutual visits and joint hunts . In 1390 he accompanied his sister Johanna to Vienna , in 1393 he visited King Wenceslas in Prague . He did not participate in the inner Wittelsbach disputes over the division of the country in 1392 .

Inside, Albrecht II, like his father, promoted the economic development of the 30 or so towns and markets in the Straubinger Ländchen. Lively construction activity developed in the capital Straubing in particular. In addition to the ducal palace begun by Albrecht I in 1356, the large church buildings St. Jakob , St. Veit and Karmelitenkirche should be mentioned here, in which greats such as the cathedral builders Hans Krumenauer and Hans von Burghausen participated. The conversion of a property on the town square to the town hall and the completion of the first construction phase of the town tower also took place at this time .

Death and tomb

The tomb of Albrecht II in the Straubing Carmelite Church

Albrecht II was intended as heir for the Lower Bavarian part of the duchy, while the northern areas were to go to his brother Wilhelm II , but he still kept up to date with the situation there. He visited his father and brother in the Netherlands several times. He stayed in The Hague in the summer of 1391 and traveled with his father to the most important Dutch and Zeeland cities. In 1396 he fought rebellious Frisians together with Albrecht I and Wilhelm II . On the way back to Straubing, Albrecht II died on January 21, 1397 in Kelheim at the age of barely 29 years. Presumably he fell victim to pneumonia . The Chronica de principibus terrae Bavarorum (1425-1428) of the Augustinian canons Andreas von Regensburg , according to which about thirty years was written after his death, he was "examine a young, large, herlich one in gütikait wholesale ze".

Albrecht II, who had entrusted pastoral care to the Carmelites, was buried in the church of the Carmelite monastery in Straubing . The high grave made of red marble in the church choir, which was completed in 1395, was built around 1410 by his brother Johann III. who had succeeded him as governor in Straubing. It is the only tomb of a male member of the Straubing-Holland line that has survived to this day. The tumba shows Albrecht lying down, who can be recognized as Duke of Bavaria by his ducal hat, armor, flag and diamond shield . A lion rests at his feet. The epitaph reads:

ANNO DO (MINI) M CCC XC VII I [N] DIE BEATE AGNETIS ILLUST (RI) S PRINCEPS D (OMI) N (US) ALBERT (US) DUX BAUARIE EX HAC VITA MIGRAVIT CUI (US) ANIMA CUM FIDELIBUS REQUIESCAT IN PACE

“In the year of the Lord 1397, on the day of St. Agnes, the famous Prince Herr Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, walked out of this life. May his soul rest in peace with the believers. "

literature

  • Michaela Bleicher: The Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing in the Hussite Wars. Everyday life and warfare as reflected in the land clerk accounts . Dissertation, Regensburg 2006, p. 41 with annotations ( online ).
  • Laetitia Boehm : The Wittelsbach House in the Netherlands . In: Journal for Bavarian State History . tape 44 , 1981, pp. 93-130 , especially 113-115 ( online ).
  • Dick EH de Boer: center point in the distance. Straubing's role in the Dutch-Bavarian administration around 1390 . In: Alfons Huber, Johannes Prammer (ed.): 1100 years of Straubing. 897-1997 . Historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area, Straubing 1998, ISBN 3-00-002752-1 , p. 119-148 .
  • Rainer Alexander Gimmel: Eternal ducal office - transient earthly life. The tomb of Duke Albrecht II of Straubing-Holland in the Straubing Carmelite Church . In: Alfons Huber, Johannes Prammer (ed.): 650 years of the Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing-Holland. Lecture series of the historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area . Historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area, Straubing 2005, ISBN 3-00-014600-8 , p. 277-319 .
  • Rainer Alexander Gimmel: Masterpieces of late Gothic sepucral sculpture. Studies on the tumble tombs for Duke Albrecht II of Straubing-Holland in the Carmelite Church in Straubing and for Count Palatine Aribo I of Bavaria in the former Benedictine monastery church of Seeon . In: Annual report of the historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area . tape 106 , 2005, pp. 55-378 .
  • Dorit-Maria Krenn, Joachim Wild : “princes in the distance”. The Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing-Holland 1353–1425 (=  booklets on Bavarian history and culture . Volume 28 ). House of Bavarian History, Augsburg 2003, ISBN 3-927233-86-2 , p. 10, 14, 23, 27, 29, 32-33 .
  • Joachim Wild: The dukes of Straubing and Ingolstadt. Temporary residence cities . In: Alois Schmid , Katharina Weigand (Hrsg.): The rulers of Bavaria. 25 historical portraits of Tassilo III. until Ludwig III . 2nd Edition. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54468-1 , p. 118-129 , especially 121-122 .
  • Joachim Wild: Holland. The Wittelsbacher on the North Sea (1346–1436) . In: Alois Schmid, Katharina Weigand (Hrsg.): Bavaria in the middle of Europe. From the early Middle Ages to the 20th century . CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-52898-8 , p. 92-106 , especially 101-102 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ From Michiel Vosmeer, Principes Hollandiae et Zelandiae , Antwerp 1578.
  2. ↑ To St. Jakob: Alfons Huber: St. Jakob zu Straubing. Elevation to the basilica. Church and parish of St. Jakob in the past and present . Catholic Parish Church Foundation Sankt Jakob, Straubing 1989.
  3. ↑ To the Carmelite Church: Dorothée Berlet: The Carmelite Church in Straubing. Investigations into building history and master builder question . In: Annual report of the historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area . tape 90 , 1988, pp. 37-124 .
  4. ↑ "A young, great, wonderful man of great goodness". Quoted from Krenn / Wild, “princes in the distance” , Augsburg 2003, p. 33.
  5. ↑ Quoted from Krenn / Wild, "princes in der ferne" , p. 33.
predecessor Office successor
Albrecht I. Duke of Straubing-Holland
1387–1397 		Albrecht I.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 18, 2006 .
personal data
SURNAME Albrecht II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Straubing-Holland
DATE OF BIRTH 1368
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1397
Place of death Kelheim