Erffa

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Coat of arms of those of Erffa

The family of Barons von Erffa comes from the Thuringian nobility and is probably of noble origin. Later the family belonged to the Franconian Imperial Knighthood of the cantons of Odenwald and Rhön-Werra .

history

origin

Erffa moated castle

The forecast by the family arrived n. Chr in 455th with the Huns of Thuringia , as the tribe of the Green-Hun, the members of the later so-named families of Erffa, von Wangenheim and of Uetterodt presided at the Nesse (Werra ) settled there in order to practice agriculture and to conduct a not insignificant trade in grain in the Saale and Elbe regions. At that time the Wends and the Sorbs were resident there, but without any permanent residence.

The family first appears in a document in 1170 with Hartungus de Erfaha. Half a century later, another Hartung v. Erffa Landgrave Ludwig (the saint) of Thuringia on the Fifth Crusade . After his death he brought his remains from Otranto back to Thuringia, where he initially acted as guardian of Ludwig's widow, Saint Elisabeth .

Originally noble , the Lords of Erffa became supporters of the Wettins after the end of the Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession in the 13th century . Over the centuries, members of the family held many high positions as councilors or ministers, especially in Saxon-Thuringia and Franconia.

Status survey

In 1702 Georg Hartmann v. Erffa, General Feldzeugmeister the Franconian circle , Emperor Leopold I the hereditary baron diploma . After the fall of the Old Reich , the baron status was confirmed in 1870 by the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg-Gotha and in 1879 by the State of Prussia .

Family seats

Today's Friedrichswerth with the Wasserburg Erffa was the family seat . Friedrichswerth is located near Gotha and was called "Erffa" until 1685 after it was sold to Duke Friedrich I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg in 1677. Secondary literature reveals further possessions in a dozen places in the Nessetal ( Haina , Goldbach , Warza , Sonneborn ) and Hörseltal ( Fröttstädt ), in the center of the former Landgraviate of Thuringia . Further castles, goods and possessions existed over time in Wallhausen , Osmarsleben (Oßmerschleben), Helmershausen , Rodach , Heldritt , Unterlind , Niedertrebra , Goldschau , Sondheim , Windhausen , Birken / Bayreuth Castle , Wernburg and Ahorn with Ahorn Castle , Desert Maple , Sindolsheim , Neuhaus and Finkenau . In the 19th century, the two Ahorn lines were established in Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Wernburg near Pößneck (temporarily part of Saxe-Gotha) .

coat of arms

Coat of arms as painting of a church window in maple (1916)
The von Erffa coat of arms above the courtyard entrance to Ahorn Castle, Ahorn.

The family coat of arms shows an open, golden eagle flight in blue. On the helmet there are nine flags on golden shafts, divided by red and silver, the number and color of the flags varying over time. The helmet covers are red-silver.

The motto is: "Fideliter et constanter" ("Faithful and steadfast").

The von Erffa in the Red Eagle Order , medals in the Order Church of St. Georgen ( Bayreuth ):

  • Georg Sigmund von Erffa (born December 9, 1690), panel dated 1733

  • Georg Hartmann von Erffa (* May 14, 1727; † June 11, 1770), plate dated 1763

In the church of Helmershausen there is the epitaph of Georg Friedrich von Erffa with the ancestral coat of arms v. Erffa, v. Dölau , v. Milchling , v. Scheiding , v. Honsberg, v. Haugwitz . Another epitaph of his is on the Veste Coburg :

Personalities

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Original in the StArchiv Marburg, Stift Hersfeld
  2. ^ Travel and war pictures of German South West Africa, Verlag des Waisenhauses, Halle / Saale, 1905
  3. ↑ Medardus Brehl (2003): The drama takes place on the dark stage of the sand field from pages 86–96. in: Genocide in German South West Africa, Zimmerer & Zeller [Hrsg.], Berlin, Links-Verlag

Web links

Commons : Erffa  - collection of images, videos and audio files