Christoph Stürgkh on Plankenwarth

Christoph Stürgkh auf Plankenwarth († November 3, 1594 ) was an Austrian nobleman and member of the Styrian knighthood , owner of Plankenwarth Castle and the Stürgkh Palace in Graz , who, through his marriage to Virginia Kassandra Widmanstetter, became the son-in-law of the important humanist , diplomat and orientalist Johann Albrecht Widmanstetter (* 1506, † 1557) and at the same time came into brotherhood with the first noble families in Europe.

Ludwigsburg, the outer bailey of Plankenwarth Castle below

origin

Christoph came from the Stürgkh family , who came from the village (since 1496 Markt) Donaustauf in the Regensburg district in the Upper Palatinate (in the Free State of Bavaria ), where they first appeared in a document with Konrad Stürgkh in 1333.

His father was Georg (II.) Stürgkh auf Plankenwarth († 1571), doctor of rights , regimental councilor, owner of the manor and castle of Plankenwarth . His grandfather was Georg Stürgkh auf Plankenwarth († 1547), who had been raised to the nobility in 1532.

His mother was Margareta vu zu Trauttmansdorff on Pertlstein with Bertholdstein Castle , one of the largest hilltop castles in Styria. However, this castle did not remain in the possession of the Stürgkh family, as it was owned by the von Lengheim family as early as 1578. Margareta, who died after January 6, 1575, was an heir to Sebastian von und zu Trauttmansdorff auf Pertlstein († 1519) and Margareta Judenhofer.

Life

Palais Stürgkh in Graz

Christoph was the eldest son of his parents and grew up with his siblings. Of these, his sister Esther Ferdinand Rüdt von Collenberg and his brother Polycarp († 1594) married Apollonia Schneeweiß, a daughter of Christoph Schneeweiß von Arnoldstein and Apollonia von Leobenegg, in December 1574.

Participation in current affairs

Christoph's life was not insignificantly influenced by external political developments.

On the one hand, this is due to the Turkish threat that flares up again and again . The Turkish armies had failed in the first siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1529 , but they defeated an Austrian army in southern Styria in 1537 , conquered the Hungarian capital Buda in 1541 and undertook a new campaign in the Habsburg territories in 1566, with an inner Austrian contingent under Archduke Charles II. moved to Hungary , but because of the death of Suleyman I "the Magnificent" (* 1494/96 in Trabzon ; † September 6, 1566 before Szigetvár ) Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph (1520–1566) no longer had to intervene.

As the main burden of defense efforts was borne by the Inner Austrian Länder, the provincial government and thus also Stürgkh were directly affected by these measures. Among other things, the parliamentary committee of the inner Austrian estates in Bruck an der Mur in 1578 regulated the financing of the military border through which the border between Habsburg Hungary and the Ottoman Empire was to be secured against raids and attacks from the Ottoman Empire by building fortifications and the settlement of fortifications .

On the other hand, in 1564, the sons of Emperor Ferdinand I saw another division of the lands of the " House of Austria ". As a result, the youngest son of the emperor, Archduke Karl II (born June 3, 1540 in Vienna , † July 10, 1590 in Graz ) received a share of the dominion of the House of Austria, which included the countries south of Semmering , i.e. the duchies of Styria , Carinthia , Carniola and the coastal region and was designated as " Inner Austria ". As a result, the city of Graz was upgraded in 1564 by becoming the capital of this large domain and the residence of Archduke Karl “of Inner Austria” and thus an important branch of the House of Habsburg .

At the same time, the conflict between Catholics and Protestants simmered , which at that time was characterized by the advance of the Counter Reformation .

The new Prince Archduke Karl II was - unlike his brother, Archduke Maximilian II (born July 31, 1527 in Vienna, † October 12, 1576 in Regensburg ) of Austria, since 1564 Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire - a devout Catholic and therefore promoted the Counter Reformation in his domain. First, however, he had to make concessions to the largely Protestant estates . He did this by significantly accommodating the inner Austrian estates in the Graz Religious Pacifications in 1572 and in the Brucker Libell in 1578. Christoph Stürgkh, himself an estate in the Duchy of Styria , has undoubtedly contributed to these decisions. which in practice amounted to a toleration of Protestantism .

Archduke Karl, however, was determined to help the Counter-Reformation achieve a breakthrough in his countries. In return, he called the Jesuits into the country, founded the Academic Gymnasium in Graz as a Jesuit college in 1573 and transferred the University of Graz (Karl Franzens University) , which he had newly founded in 1585, to the Jesuit order, which thus took control of higher education in Styria attained.

Another problem that affected the estates and thus Stürgkh was the Croatian-Slovenian peasant uprising, which broke out against the landlords in Croatia under the peasant leader Matija Gubec due to high taxes and legal deteriorations in 1572 and quickly spread to the Duchy of Carniola and Lower Styria (both today in the Republic of Slovenia ). This uprising was put down by the Styrian estates with military force and Matija Gubec was cruelly executed on February 15, 1573 in Agram ( Zagreb ). Since that time he has been revered in Croatia as a national hero and peasant king.

Although it is not certain which concrete measures go back to Stürgkh's initiative, there is no doubt that Christoph Stürgkh, as the archducal councilor as a state estate and landowner, is not only affected by these developments himself, but also in the deliberations on shaping internal Austrian government policy on these essential ones political developments and challenges.

Acquisition of Ludwigsburg

Duke Ludwig X. of Bavaria (after Christoph Amberger )

Christoph, who owned the Stürgkh Palace in Graz and the Plankenwartn estate with the Plankenwarth Castle outside of it , was able to expand his Plankenwarth estate in 1570 by acquiring the so-called "Ludwigsburg". This owes its creation to the fact that his uncle, Ludwig Stürgkh, rebelled against his father and was therefore disinherited by him. Ludwig therefore spent his life as an imperial officer in various military services. He was only able to return home after the death of his father. However, he found that his father had not forgiven him even in death, as he had forbidden his heirs in his will to accommodate the rejected son for more than eight days. Since Ludwig could not live in Plankenwarth Castle, he had his own Renaissance-style castle built with his brothers at the foot of the castle hill, which later - under his name - became the outer bailey of Plankenwarth Castle as "Ludwigsburg". Since Ludwig left high debts when he died in 1570, his sons had to sell Ludwigsburg to Christoph Stürgkh.

Princely ancestors for the descendants

Through his marriage to Virginia Kassandra von Widmanstetter in 1574, Christoph Stürgkh became the son-in-law of the important humanist , diplomat and orientalist Johann Albrecht von Widmanstetter , (* 1506, † 1557), who was made chancellor of the Austrian states by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1552 and in 1554 had been appointed superintendent of the University of Vienna . Alongside Johannes von Reuchlin and Sebastian Münster , on whose cosmography he worked, he is considered to be one of the founders of Western Oriental Studies . Widmanstetter was in recognition of his services to the knighthood collected and Hofpfalzgrafen appointed. Most recently he was canon in the Regensburg cathedral chapter .

Of family historical interest for the Stürgkh family and their descendants is that Widmanstetter became the son-in-law of Duke George X of Bavaria-Munich through his marriage to Lucretia von Leonsberg (* 1525, † 1557) on January 15, 1542, because she was an illegitimate daughter of the Duke.

Ernst Duke of Bavaria-Munich the one-eyed (* 1373, † 1438) n	Elisabetta Visconti (* around 1343, † 1432), Duchess of Bavaria	Erich I. Duke of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (* c. 1380, † 1427),	Elisabeth Duchess of Braunschweig-Göttingen (* around 1390, † around 1444),	Ernst I. "the Iron" Duke of Austria (* 1377, † 1424), in the "Inner Austrian Lands"	Zymburg Duchess of Mazovia (* 1394/97, † 1429),	Edward King of Portugal (* 1391 † 1438),	Eleonore Infanta of Aragon, (* around 1409, † 1443) Queen of Portugal
Albrecht III. Duke of Bavaria-Munich (* 1401, † 1460),		Anna Duchess of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (* 1415, † 1474), Duchess of Bavaria		Friedrich III. (* 1415, † 1493), Archduke of Austria, Roman Emperor etc.		Eleonore Infanta of Portugal (* 1436, † 1467), Empress
Albrecht IV "the wise" Duke of Bavaria-Munich (* 1447, † 1508),				Kunigunde Archduchess of Austria (* 1465, † 1520), Duchess of Bavaria
Ludwig X. Duke of Bavaria-Munich. (* 1495, † 1545),

The descendants of Christoph Stürgkh and Virginia Kassandra Widmanstetter therefore had a considerable number of princely ancestors and were - at least extensively - related to the first houses in Europe.

Marriages and offspring

Christoph Stürgkh auf Plankenwarth married first marriage on February 21, 1574 Virginia Kassandra von Widmanstetter, a daughter of Johann Albrecht von Widmanstetter (* around 1506 in Nellingen near Ulm, † March 28, 1557 in Regensburg), who was an important humanist, diplomat and Was an orientalist , and Lucrezia (Anna) von Leonsberg. She was an illegitimate daughter of Duke Ludwig X. of Bavaria (born September 18, 1495 in Grünwald , † April 22, 1545 in Landshut), resided in Landshut from 1516–1545 .

Christoph Stürgkh married Margareta Langenmantel from the old Augsburg patrician family for the second time . She was a daughter of Jobst Langenmantel von Rosenfeld and Traun and Felizitas von Berneck.

Children from first marriage:

• Christof Stürgkh auf Plankenwarth (1637 †) ⚭ 1st) on October 5, 1600 Maria Kleindienst zu Wachsenegg († March 4, 1617), a daughter of Georg Siegmund Kleindienst zu Wachsenegg and Pürkstein and Anna von Ratmannsdorff, ⚭ 2nd ) Maria Sidonia von Kuenburg († March 3, 1651 in Graz). She came from an old Carinthian noble family and was court master of the empress. Her parents were Johann Maximilian von Kuenburg on Brunnsee (near Mureck in Styria) and Johanna Schrott zu Kindberg from Haus Donnersbach (in the Liezen district in Styria)
• Katharina Stürgkh on Plankenwarth ⚭ Philipp Vischer, citizen in Vienna
• Maria Walburga Stürgkh on Plankenwarth ⚭ Michael Schlegel, citizen in Graz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ J. Siebmacher's large book of arms. Volume 26: The coats of arms of the nobility in Lower Austria. Part 2: S - Z. Nürnberg 1918. (Reprint of the arrangement by Johann Baptist Witting, Verlag Bauer and Raspe, Neustadt an der Aisch 1983, p. 282/283)
2. ↑ Entry about Bertholdstein on Burgen-Austria
3. ↑ Siebmacher op.cit, p. 394.
4. ^ The Styria - Bridge and Bulwark. Catalog of the 1986 state exhibition in Herberstein Castle, p. 227.
5. ^ The Styria - Bridge and Bulwark. Catalog of the 1986 state exhibition in Herberstein Castle, p. 13.
6. ^ The Styria - Bridge and Bulwark. Catalog of the 1986 state exhibition in Herberstein Castle, p. 222f.
7. ↑ Volker Bibl: Emperor Maximilians II. Declaration of August 18, 1568 on the granting of the religious concession. In: Communications from the Institute for Austrian Historical Research. 20 (1899), pp. 638ff.
8. ^ The Styria - Bridge and Bulwark. Catalog of the 1986 state exhibition in Herberstein Castle, p. 13.
9. ↑ J. Siebmacher op. Cit. Pp. 282/283

literature

• The Styria Bridge and Bulwark. Catalog of the 1986 state exhibition in Herberstein Castle.
• Johann Baptist Witting (compiled in 1918) In: J. Siebmacher's great book of arms. Volume 26: The coats of arms of the nobility in Lower Austria. Part 2: S - Z. Reprint edition, Verlag Bauer and Raspe, Neustadt an der Aisch 1983.

Web links

• Entry via Graz - Palais Stürgkh on Burgen-Austria