Christoph (Württemberg)

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Duke Christoph of Württemberg
Statue of Christoph von Württemberg on Stuttgart's Schlossplatz
Expanded by Aberlin Tretsch : the old castle in Stuttgart
Christoph's burial place in the collegiate church of Tübingen

Christoph von Württemberg (born May 12, 1515 in Urach ; † December 28, 1568 in Stuttgart ) was the fourth reigning Duke of Württemberg from 1550 to 1568 . He was the son of Duke Ulrich and his wife Sabina of Bavaria .

Life

Wandering years

Only a few months after Christoph was born, his mother fled to her parents' court in Munich in November 1515. The young Christoph initially stayed with his older sister Anna with his father in Stuttgart . When the Swabian Federation mobilized against Duke Ulrich, he brought his children to Hohentübingen Castle . After the surrender of the castle and the exile Ulrich in 1519, the boy was Christoph to Innsbruck at the court of Emperor Charles V sent. Charles V was a grandson of Maximilian I, who died in the same year, and followed him to the imperial throne. Christoph grew up here and was able to gain important political experience.

Meanwhile, Württemberg had come under Austrian administration. Christoph's mother Sabina made efforts to secure the succession to the throne for her son, but this remained uncertain for the time being. At the Reichstag in Augsburg in 1530 Ferdinand was given the Duchy of Württemberg as a hereditary fiefdom. In the meantime, after narrowly escaping being kidnapped by roaming Turkish troops during his stay in Wiener Neustadt in 1529, Christoph traveled with the emperor as a noble boy through Central Europe: in January 1531 he attended Ferdinand's election as king in Cologne and the coronation in Aachen and was then in the Netherlands. Via Württemberg he came to the Reichstag in Regensburg in 1532 and moved on to Vienna, where he stayed at the army show of Emperor Charles V against the Turks. In the summer of 1532 he was completely penniless, as he received neither from King Ferdinand nor from Emperor Karl. He saw himself in the role of the uncomfortable heir and feared being sidelined or murdered. He was supposed to follow the emperor's entourage via Italy to distant Spain, but only came with him as far as Carinthia and from there fled with his friend and teacher Michael Tifferus via Salzburg to Bavaria, where he then went into hiding in order not to be discovered by the persecutors of the Habsburgs . From 1532 to 1534 he stayed in secret places in Bavaria and Switzerland. In the winter of 1533/34 he appeared at a meeting of the Swabian Federation to stand up for the interests of his dynasty.

Count of Mömpelgard

After the battle of Lauffen in 1534, Duke Ulrich regained power over Württemberg and introduced the Reformation there. At the same time, with Ulrich's return, Christoph's claim to his successor was secured, even though the father had a distant relationship with the son. From 1534 to 1542 Christoph was in French service with King Francis I of France at the behest of his father . When Duke Ulrich and his son realized that their conflict could lead to the loss of the duchy for the dynasty, they came closer again. Duke Christoph turned to Protestantism and in the Treaty of Reichenweier in 1542, the Württemberg county of Mömpelgard on the left bank of the Rhine was awarded as governor. In 1544, through the mediation of his father, he married Anna Maria von Brandenburg-Ansbach , daughter of Georg from a Protestant dynasty, which strengthened his confessional position.

Reformer of the state and regional church

When Duke Ulrich died in 1550, the imperial interim was in effect in Württemberg . In the Passau Treaty of 1552, Christoph was able to achieve a cancellation of the interim, but had to avert an imperial felony procedure with high monetary payments . In the following years, Duke Christoph reorganized the entire state and church administration by issuing extensive "ordinances". The reform of the regional church was codified in the “ Great Church Order ” of 1559, a legal foundation. The most important advisor in religious questions was the reformer Johannes Brenz . Württemberg theologians exerted great influence on other Protestant regional churches. The fruit trees on the roadsides were planted on his order.

Castle modifications and elaboration of building regulations

In addition to the four-wing extension of the Old Palace in Stuttgart, Duke Christoph had several Württemberg castles and residential palaces rebuilt in the Renaissance style: including the Hohenasperg and Hohenurach fortresses , the former imperial castle Grüningen and castles in Waiblingen , Leonberg , Schorndorf , Tübingen , Neuenbürg , Grafeneck , Blaubeuren , Kirchheim unter Teck and Böblingen (1568). The coordination of the extensive construction work was in the hands of the court builder Aberlin Tretsch , who played a key role in the twelve-year development of the Württemberg building code issued in 1568.

In 1556, Christoph, realizing that the time of the travel kingship was over, had some renovations stopped, especially since "otherwise only strange birds nest in it".

family

Anna Maria of Brandenburg-Ansbach

In 1544 he married Anna Maria von Brandenburg-Ansbach , daughter of Georg, through the mediation of his father . The couple had the following children:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Apple history on Apfelgut Sulz
  2. ^ Hermann Römer : Markgröningen in the context of Landesgeschichte II., 1550 to 1750 , Markgröningen 1930, p. 4.

Web links

Commons : Christoph von Württemberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Ulrich Duke of Württemberg
1550–1568 		Ludwig
Ulrich Count of Mömpelgard
1542–1553 		George I.
personal data
SURNAME Christoph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duke Christoph of Württemberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Württemberg
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1515
PLACE OF BIRTH Urach
DATE OF DEATH December 28, 1568
Place of death Stuttgart