Constantin von Waldburg-Zeil

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Hereditary Count Constantin von Waldburg-Zeil in an oil painting, around 1830
Prince Constantin von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg in an oil painting, 1851

Prince Constantin Maximilian Reichserbtruchseß von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg (born January 8, 1807 in Kleinheubach ; † December 17, 1862 in Kenzingen ) was a royal Württemberg registrar, royal Bavarian imperial council , landlord in Baden and a member of the Frankfurt National Assembly .

Life

Constantin was the son of Prince Franz Thaddäus von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg (* 1778, † 1845) and Princess Christiane (* 1782 † 1811). From 1824 Constantin studied in Freiburg im Breisgau , where he joined the Corps Rhenania Freiburg , in Munich and in Tübingen . Educational trips through half of Europe followed in the years 1830 to 1832, during which Constantin not only visited the Viennese imperial court, but also numerous princes of his time. On September 30, 1833, Hereditary Count Constantin and Maximiliane married Countess von Quadt-Wykrath-Isny (* 1813 † 1874). In the same year, Constantin received the title of Obersthofmeister in Württemberg as a registrar at Zeil Castle. In the same year he moved in as a hereditary member of the Chamber of the Lords of the Kingdom of Württemberg , in which he remained a member until 1851, from 1847 as its vice-president. As early as the 1830s, on the Catholic side, he resisted the Protestant church policy in Württemberg and published numerous political articles. With the death of his father in 1845 he inherited the title of prince, combined with the salutation "Highness", the title of the hereditary imperial council of the Crown of Bavaria and the title "Reichserbtruchseß", which the head of the family has been entitled to since 1628.

Act

In March 1848 he was still one of the co-founders of the "Conservative Association", which fought against the so-called March Movement. Just a few weeks later, "republican" statements were heard from the gentleman, and shortly afterwards he was even accused of promoting anarchy. It was probably the disappointment with his Württemberg king and his peers that caused him to make this completely unexpected turnaround. From then on his motto was: “My cause is Germany and the Catholic faith.” The reason for his turning away from the conservative side was the rejection of the authoritarian government in Stuttgart . He saw himself and his house as victims of despotic measures in the course of mediatization .

In 1848 he was a member of the preliminary parliament . In the elections to the Frankfurt National Assembly on April 26, 1848, he was elected to the revolutionary parliament of the Paulskirche in Frankfurt for the Biberach-Leutkirch district. In addition to his personal reputation, the decisive factor for his success was probably the fact that he was willing to stand up for the rights of the people in the National Assembly and to renounce all privileges for himself and his class . The black, red and gold flag waved from Zeil Castle as a sign of his political views that was visible from afar. If the election of a gentleman to the Paulskirche was a minor sensation, his work there was evidently not of particularly great importance. In the negotiation minutes he is only mentioned in roll-call votes, where he consistently voted with the “left”, but without joining a parliamentary group. Together with the Democrats, he spoke out against the election of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. As Emperor of the Germans. He voted to burden the peasants only moderately when replacing feudal rights. He also called for a strict separation of church and state. He is therefore called the "red prince". Based on an article in the Leukircher Wochenblatt, he was sentenced to five months imprisonment on the Hohenasperg in 1849 for insulting the authorities .

From 1850 to 1851 he belonged to the 1st and 3rd "constitutional revising state assemblies" of the Kingdom of Württemberg and devoted himself to state politics on the part of the People's Party. In 1850 he was sentenced to five months in prison and a fine of 200 guilders for insulting majesty and insulting the state government and the judiciary in an election call. He served his imprisonment at Hohenasperg fortress .

Withdrawal from politics

Health reasons and the renewed strength of the reaction in Stuttgart were decisive for the withdrawal from politics in 1851 , the mild climate on the Upper Rhine led to more and more frequent stays in Kenzingen near Freiburg, where Prince Constantin owned an estate. In 1856 the ongoing investigation into defamation was closed by a compromise. In 1857 the old revolutionary even reconciled himself with the King of Württemberg, in whose military service his son Constantin entered. His brother Karl, who died on March 4, 1853, was already in the service of the king as lieutenant colonel and adjutant.

His poor health repeatedly led to serious illnesses, he made his will, in the spring of 1862 he witnessed the marriage of his eldest son and died on December 17, 1862 in Kenzingen during one of his stays in the Kaiserstuhl. He was buried five days later in the family crypt of the princely family in the collegiate and parish church in Zeil.

family

Prince Constantin von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (1807–1862) was depicted with his family in this oil painting around 1850. The family picture shows from left to right the eldest son, Hereditary Count Wilhelm , the Princess Maximiliane, the Prince Constantin, the educator Rose de Maisonneuve, daughter Anna, son Carl and the private tutor and clergyman Dr. Karl Lichtenstein . In the background, son Constantine is pictured. The children Ottolina and Alexandrine, who died early, are depicted as angels. Zeil Castle can be seen on the hill.

Six children emerged from her marriage to Maximiliane Countess von Quadt- Isny (1813–1874):

  • Ottolina (* 1834; † 1842)
  • Hereditary Count Wilhelm (* 1835; † 1906), the later successor as Prince of Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg
  • Count Konstantin (* 1839; † 1905), ⚭ 1863 Ludwina Freiin von Hruby and Gelenj (* 1837; † 1901)
  • Alexandrine (* 1840) died as an infant
  • Count Karl (* 1841; † 1890), since 1885 Count von Waldburg zu Syrgenstein, ⚭ 1875 Sophie, née Countess von Waldburg zu Zeil and Wurzach
  • Anna (* 1844; † 1877), ⚭ 1875 Freiherr Nikolaus von Enzberg († 1901)

literature

  • Heinz Gollwitzer : Princely Democrats , in: Die Standesherrren . 2nd Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1964, pp. 196-201
  • Walter-Siegfried Kircher: Nobility, Church and Politics in Württemberg 1830-1851. Church Movement, Catholic Class Lords and Democracy . (= Göppingen Academic Contributions; Volume 79). Verlag Alfred Kümmerle, Göppingen 1973, ISBN 3-87452-209-1
  • Walter-Siegfried Kircher: A princely revolutionary from the Allgäu. Prince Constantin von Waldburg-Zeil, 1807-1862 . Allgäuer Zeitungsverlag, Kempten 1980, ISBN 3-88006-068-1
  • Walter-Siegfried Kircher: A revolutionary prince? - Constantin von Waldburg-Zeil and the revolution of 1848/49 . In: Swabian homeland . 49th vol., No. 2, April-June 1998, pp. 200-206
  • Walter-Siegfried Kircher: Prince Constantin von Waldburg-Zeil: "... in the common interest of the Oberland" . In: House of History Baden-Württemberg, Society Oberschwaben (ed.): No freedom without justice. Revolution 1848/49 in Upper Swabia . House of History Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-933726-15-8 , pp. 108–121
  • Frank Raberg : Biographical handbook of the Württemberg state parliament members 1815-1933 . On behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-17-016604-2 , p. 975 .
  • Volker Himmelein (ed.): Old monasteries, new masters. The secularization in the German southwest 1803. Large state exhibition Baden-Württemberg 2003 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2003, ISBN 3-7995-0212-2 (exhibition catalog and essay volume)
  • Walter-Siegfried Kircher: “Catholic above all”? The Waldburg House and the Catholic Church from the 19th to the 20th century . In: Mark Hengerer, Elmar L. Kuhn (Hrsg.): Adel im Wandel. Upper Swabia from modern times to the present . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 3-7995-0216-5 , Vol. 2, pp. 287-308
  • Walter-Siegfried Kircher: "Education, ... life, ... good faith. Noble education and catholic religion in the 19th century". In: Religion needs education - education needs religion. Festschrift for Horst F. Rupp, edited by Lars Bednorz, Olaf Kühl-Freudenstein, Magdalena Munzert. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2009, pp. 169–182. ISBN 978-3-8260-4154-9

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal Archives: Members of the Pre-Parliament and the Fifties Committee (PDF file; 79 kB)

Web links

Commons : Constantin von Waldburg-Zeil  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Waldburg-Zeil, Constantin von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg, Constantin von; Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg, Constantin Maximilian Reichserbtruchseß Prince of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nobleman and member of the Frankfurt National Assembly
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1807
PLACE OF BIRTH Kleinheubach , Lower Franconia
DATE OF DEATH December 17, 1862
Place of death Kenzingen , Baden