Eberhard I. (Württemberg, Count)

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Count Eberhard I of Württemberg (copper engraving 1767)

Eberhard I. , called the illustrious (born March 13, 1265 in Stuttgart ; † June 5, 1325 ibid), was Count of Württemberg from 1279 to 1325 and had to endure a long-term territorial conflict with the empire.

Life and Political Work

After the death of his father Ulrich I († 1265), Eberhard's half-brother and predecessor Ulrich II took office at the age of about eleven and was temporarily under the guardianship of Count Hartmann II von Grüningen from Württemberg . Ulrich died in 1279, Eberhard's guardian Hartmann in October 1280, so that the 14-year-old Eberhard could possibly already exercise unrestricted rule over the county of Württemberg from this point in time.

His government was characterized by an almost uninterrupted series of wars and feuds, with a constant change of sides with the one goal of opposing any power that could endanger the nascent Württemberg territory.

The election of Rudolf von Habsburg as King of the Holy Roman Empire in 1273 meant that Ulrich I's territorial expansions , which had been legitimized by the opposing king Heinrich Raspe , should revert to the Empire. Rudolf established Reichslandvogteien to administer the reclaimed imperial territories. Rudolf transferred the Lower Swabian bailiwick to his brother-in-law Albrecht von Hohenberg . Rudolf had the goal of re- establishing the Duchy of Swabia, which existed without a ruler after the execution of the last Staufer Konradin in 1268, and appointed his underage son Rudolf as Duke. Eberhard resisted these measures and there was an open war with the Habsburgs. In 1286 Rudolf besieged Stuttgart and razed its walls, in 1287 he took over or destroyed all permanent places in the Stuttgart area. Eberhard was defeated militarily, but was able to maintain his country.

Rudolf's successor Adolf von Nassau did not pursue any domestic power interests in Swabia, but strengthened the Swabian imperial cities, which Eberhard and other counts displeased. After Adolf's fall in 1298, Eberhard assured his successor, King Albrecht I , the eldest son of Rudolf von Habsburg, his support. In return, Albrecht transferred the Lower Swabian bailiff to him. Eberhard used this to secure his territorial claims.

There was also a break with Albrecht, for whom he waged wars against Count Palatine Rudolf and King Wenzel of Bohemia, when they clashed in their mutual acquisition policies in Swabia. From 1305 Eberhard supported the Bohemian Estates in their fight against Albrecht and his successor, Emperor Henry VII. 1309 Eberhard was because of his selfish Office leadership as bailiff accused ultimately be imposed Henry the imperial ban on him. The emperor now supported the Swabian imperial cities in their dispute with Count Eberhard von Württemberg, under whose aggressive territorial policy they suffered. Heinrich commissioned the new Reichslandvogt, Konrad IV. Von Weinsberg , as military leader of the Swabian imperial cities and some nobles, to wage war against Eberhard in order to eliminate him as the main opponent of his Bohemian domestic power policy.

In the spring of 1311 the Imperial War began . The count lost all of his land, Stuttgart and most of his other cities became dependent on the imperial city of Esslingen. Only the death of Henry VII on August 24, 1313 and the political situation after the king's election in 1314 with Ludwig IV as king and Frederick the Fair as counter-king prevented the defeat of Württemberg. Eberhard then cleverly tacted between king and counter-king so that he could not only compensate for the territorial losses, but also gain additional areas. His participation in the war in Bohemia brought him additional financial resources, which he used to acquire lands and cities from impoverished noble families (e.g. the Count Palatine of Tübingen) in Swabia.

Eberhard I made Stuttgart the center of power, where he is also buried in the collegiate church.

Relationship classification

Eberhard was the son of Count Ulrich I of Württemberg , who died a few weeks before he was born. His mother was Agnes von Schlesien-Liegnitz , who presumably died at his birth, some sources speak of a caesarean section .

Eberhard was married three times, although there is uncertainty about the identity of the first wife. An assumption already made by Crusius is that of Adelheid von Werdenberg (-Heiligenberg) based in Sigmaringen . Other theses were of the opinion that it could be one of Hohenberg's , which is probably due to a confusion with Mechthild von Hohenberg, the wife of his son Ulrich. Another assumption goes in the direction of the Teck house . The acquisition of Sigmaringen by Eberhard's son Ulrich III. in 1325 and the marriage of his sister Agnes to Heinrich von Werdenberg from the Werdenberg-Sargans-Trochtelfingen branch also speak for close ties with this house. In his second marriage he was married to Margarethe von Lothringen , a daughter of Duke Friedrich III. of Lorraine . After her death, on June 21, 1296, he married the Margravine Irmengard von Baden , a daughter of Margrave Rudolf I of Baden .

From his first marriage Eberhard had a son and a daughter:

  • Ulrich (* after 1285; † 1315)
  • Agnes (* before 1300; † before 1349), Countess von Werdenberg ∞ Heinrich III. Count of Werdenberg-Albeck

From his marriage to Margarethe von Lothringen († 1296) Eberhard had a son who eventually succeeded him:

Eberhard probably had three daughters from his marriage to Irmengard von Baden :

  • Agnes, Countess of Oettingen (* around 1295; † 1317)
  • Adelheid Mechthild (* between 1295 and 1300; † September 13, 1342) ∞ Kraft II. Von Hohenlohe († May 3, 1344)
  • Irmengard (* after 1300; † 1329), Countess von Hohenberg

Furthermore, the cleric Ulrich von Württemberg († 1348), also called Ulrich the church lord or Ulrich von Höfingen , was an illegitimate son of Eberhard.

literature

Web links

Commons : Graf Eberhard I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ There is no source evidence for an obvious guardianship on the part of the sons of Hartmann II.
  2. ^ Uhland, Robert, "Eberhard der Erlauchte" in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 4 (1959), p. 233 (online version)
  3. ↑ Regional Studies BW online; County and Duchy of Württemberg
  4. ↑ Source: List of the family of Württemberg under Eberhard I.
  5. ↑ File page on the person in the online state bibliography of Baden-Württemberg
predecessor Office successor
Ulrich II. Count of Württemberg
1279-1325 		Ulrich III.
personal data
SURNAME Eberhard I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Count Eberhard I of Württemberg; Eberhard the Illustrious
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Württemberg (1279-1325)
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1265
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart , County of Württemberg , Holy Roman Empire
DATE OF DEATH June 5, 1325
Place of death Stuttgart , County of Württemberg , Holy Roman Empire