Donat Johann Heissler von Heitersheim

Donat Heissler from Heitersheim

Donat Johann Graf Heißler von Heitersheim (* 1648 ; † September 1, 1696 in Szeged ) was an imperial field marshal of the Austrian Habsburgs in the Holy Roman Empire .

Bust of Count Johann Donat Heissler von Heitersheim / Heldenberg Memorial - Heldenallee

The coat of arms of Donat Johann Graf Heissler von Heitersheim

Life

Uherčice Castle

Born in the Palatinate, he advanced from simple dragoons to colonel of his regiment, with whom he played a decisive role in the relief of Vienna in 1683. The dragoon regiment that got his name ( "Heissler-Dragoon" ) existed until 1918. In 1684 he defeated Count Emmerich Thököly and in 1685 he captured Waitzen . On September 16 of this year he was appointed sergeant-general. In the next campaign he thwarted the enclosure of Munkács and defeated the Turks in the process. He also inflicted defeats on them at Ofen and Szegedin . In 1688 he beat Thököly on the Körös , conquered Passarowitz and also distinguished himself in front of Belgrade. After becoming Lieutenant Field Marshal on January 4, 1689, he marched to Transylvania. But there his luck ran out and he was beaten near Zernyest on August 21, 1689 and was captured. He was only released two years later (1692) in exchange for Thököly's wife, Countess Ilona Zrínyi , who had been arrested by imperial troops. As soon as he was free, he - since February 9th, 1692 general of the cavalry - conquered Großwardein from the Turks on June 5th, 1692 . From 1694 to 1695 he held the supreme command of the main army in Hungary. After he was handed over to the Elector of Saxony, he was promoted to field marshal on May 12, 1696. He was badly wounded in the Battle of Olasch on August 26th and died five days later. Coming from a humble background, he had already been knighted as Rittmeister in 1678. There are no precise dates about his appointment as baron and later as count, but both are undoubtedly made.

Castle owner

Ungarschitz / Uherčice (Znojmo)

Stucco decoration in Uherčice Castle by Baldassarre Fontana

Count Heissler von Heitersheim acquired the Uherčice castle and carried out its beautification. The changes gave it its baroque appearance thanks to the talent of the architect Francesco Martinelli . Under the leadership of the Count, Baldassarre Fontana provided the chapel and the twelve ballrooms with stucco decorations .

Piesling / Písecné

He also acquired Piesling Castle at the same time .

progeny

The count was married to Barbara Maria Countess von Rotthal, (vh Countess Heissler von Heitersheim), who sold the island of Csepel in the Danube to Prince Eugene of Savoy . The couple had two sons:

Franz-Joseph Count Heissler von Heitersheim († July 12th, 1753)

was married to Maria Anna Countess Wratislaw von Mittrowitz (* 23.06.1691; † 22.03.1759) Star Cross Order Lady . In 1702 he acquired Qualkowitz / Kalkwiesen. On October 24, 1731, he sold Piesling Castle to Count Anton von Hartig . Franz-Joseph also made a brilliant career as a member of the privy council , then as a royal judge of the country (1732) and became head of Moravia in 1740 . The couple had four daughters:

• Maria Theresia Maximiliana Carolina Countess Heissler von Heitersheim († August 14, 1759) married Maximilian Joseph Count Mittrovsky von Mitrowitz Freiherr von Nemyssl (* May 30, 1709; † January 18, 1782). They had a son: Johann Nepomuk Count Mittrowsky von Mittrowitz (* January 20th, 1757 Brno; † May 20th, 1799 Brno), ancestor of Nikolaus Harnoncourt .
• Johanna Heissler von Heitersheim married Charles-Gabriel, Baron von Canon and the Holy Roman Empire , Marquis von Ville, Lord of Brick / Silesia , Kuk Chamberlain, Major General and Commander of Debrecen (* 1705 in Nancy / Lorraine ; † February 29, 1792) in 1741 in Moravia).
• Maria Anna Countess Heissler von Heitersheim.
• Maria Judith Countess Heissler von Heitersheim

Bernhard Count Heissler von Heitersheim

1705 became regiment commander of the "Heissler-Dragoons" regiment.

literature

• Wilhelm Edler von Janko :  Heissler von Heitersheim, Donat Johann, Graf . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, p. 671 f.
• Moravian nobility (PDF; 2.46 MB), p. 44
• François-Alexandre Aubert de La Chenaye-Desbois : Dictionnaire généalogique, héraldique, chronologique et historique , p. 383 (French)
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher : The Turkish Wars in the Mirror of Saxon Biographies , Gabriele Schäfer Verlag Herne 2019, ISBN 978-3-944487-63-2 . Pp. 162-164 et al. a.

Web links

Commons : Donat Johann Heissler von Heitersheim  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Austria's heroes and military leaders from Maximilian I to the most recent times, in biographies and character sketches from and based on the best sources and source works. , GoogleBooks, pages 356-359
2. ↑ Genealogy Liko-Kralik ( Memento of the original dated August 9, 2016 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.