Beatrix von Berg
Beatrix von Berg (* 1360 in Burg an der Wupper ; † May 16, 1395 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse ) was the daughter of Duke Wilhelm II von Berg and, by marriage, Electress of the Palatinate .
Life
Beatrix was the daughter of Duke Wilhelm II of Berg and his wife Anna von Wittelsbach , daughter of Elector Ruprecht II of the Palatinate . She was probably born in Schloss Burg an der Wupper, the residence of her parents at that time.
From 1380 the father resided as Duke von Berg in Düsseldorf , where the unmarried daughter was probably staying with her parents.
In 1385 Beatrix married the elector Ruprecht I of the Palatinate , who had been widowed for 5 years and who was already 75 years old. Beatrix was the granddaughter of his nephew and successor Ruprecht II of the Palatinate .
Elector Ruprecht I and his second wife Beatrix resided in Heidelberg , whose university the Palatinate ruler founded, and in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, where he died in 1390.
In the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie it says about Beatrix's husband:
“Even among his contemporaries, Rupprecht I was in high regard, outwardly he was a figure that commanded respect, a chivalrous appearance. With ruthless activity he was considered a mild, benevolent gentleman, a patron of the church and the priesthood, a friend of widows and orphans. The Jews, whose financial power he knew how to make excellent use of, honored in him a just, humane protector. "
Beatrix von Berg only survived her husband Ruprecht I by 5 years and also died in Neustadt in 1395.
There were no offspring from the marriage. The Electoral Palatinate inherited her grandfather Ruprecht II , the nephew of her late husband.
Her husband left Beatrix the castle and town of Neuburg am Rhein as a widow estate , as well as the village of Hagenbach and natural slopes in Bergzabern .
Commemoration
Electress Beatrix was buried next to her husband in the altar area of the collegiate church he founded as a Wittelsbacher Memoria (Neustadt an der Weinstrasse) . Both graves and epitaphs are still preserved. The graves are located in the central aisle of what is now the Catholic choir of the collegiate church, marked by modern bronze inscriptions. The old grave slabs were removed from the floor to protect them and placed - standing upright - on the back wall of the Catholic part of the church (partition to the Protestant area).
Around 1910, the parish priest Dr. Michael Glaser (1863–1915) made four large statues of the Palatinate rulers Rudolf II and Ruprecht I who were buried here , as well as the wives Beatrix von Berg and Margarete von Sicily-Aragon who were buried at their side . They were created by the renowned Munich sculptor professor Hubert Netzer from white Kelheim limestone and are located on the north and south walls of the nave of the Catholic church. The sculptures in the style of historicism are based on old representations; the two female figures and the statue of Count Palatine Rudolf II are based on the images on their epitaphs in the collegiate church.
In her will, Beatrix von Berg donated a perpetual mass in the Neustadt collegiate church on the day of her death, at which candles should also burn on her grave. In addition, she endowed a foundation that each year both Neustadt mayors are paid a certain sum, of which they “eight coats should fight and give right husbands who are the most needy of the same year” .
In the collegiate church (Neustadt an der Weinstrasse) there are 2 “Wittelsbacher Masses” annually, with which the perpetual masses that have existed there since the Middle Ages are grouped into 2 dates. The grave of Elector Ruprecht I and his wife Beatrix von Berg in the center aisle is always blessed - as a substitute for all other deceased princes .
Family environment
The parents of Electress Beatrix donated the famous west window in Altenberg Cathedral , which is considered the largest Gothic stained glass window north of the Alps. They are immortalized in it as donor figures.
Princess Beatrix's brother was Ruprecht von Berg (1365-1394), Prince-Bishop of Paderborn and Passau , a highly educated and energetic shepherd who died of the plague at the age of 29 , although as a priest, but before he died because of his youth Could receive episcopal ordination.
Another brother was Wilhelm von Berg (1382-1428). In the period between 1402 and 1414 he also officiated as Prince-Bishop of Paderborn, where he zealously reformed the diocese together with his spiritual advisor Gobelin Person (1358–1421) in accordance with the Devotio moderna . Wilhelm von Berg did not have any religious orders, eventually resigned from his bishopric and married in 1416 in order to maintain the family line.
literature
- Lukas Grünenwald : Wittelbach monuments and annual memorials in the collegiate church to Neustadt ad H. In: Messages of the Historical Association of the Palatinate. Volume 19, 1895, pp. 129-169.
- Alban Haas : The Aegidien collegiate church in Neustadt an der Haardt. In: Festschrift to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Pfarrcäcilienverein Neustadt an der Haardt. Pfarrcäcilienverein, Neustadt an der Haardt 1933.
- Werner Rösener : Tradition and memory in aristocratic rule and rural society , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003, pages 95 and 96, ISBN 3525355769 ; Scan of the section about Beatrix von Berg
Individual evidence
- ^ Source on the widows' estate of Electress Beatrix
- ↑ The Seelbuch of the Liebfrauenstift zu Neustadt, Historischer Verein der Pfalz, 1993, pages 147–149
- ↑ To the "Wittelsbach Trade Fairs" in Neustadt (lower part of the page) ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beatrix von Berg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Beatrix of the Palatinate |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | 2. Wife of Elector Ruprecht I of the Palatinate |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1360 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Castle on the Wupper |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 16, 1395 |
| Place of death | Neustadt an der Weinstrasse |