Ferdinand Mayerhofer von Grünbühel

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Ferdinand von Mayerhofer as major general
Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order

Ferdinand Franz Xaver Johann Freiherr Mayerhofer von Grünbühel , sometimes also Mayerhoffer , (* May 16, 1798 in Vienna , † March 26, 1869 in Klagenfurt ) was an Austrian officer, most recently Lieutenant Field Marshal , Knight Theresa , teacher, diplomat and friend of Franz Schubert .

Life

Ferdinand Freiherr von Mayerhofer - bust in the Heldenberg memorial

Mayerhofer joined the kk Kriegsmarine as a naval cadet on December 16, 1815 , advanced to the rank of ensign of the line in April 1821 and in 1823 received the Knight's Cross of the Portuguese Order of Christ . He was then transferred in December 1824 as first lieutenant to the Graf von Hohenegg No. 20 infantry regiment. as such, Mayerhofer was assigned to the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt as a professor of mathematics in 1825 and was employed as a geometer and triangulator for admission to Illyria in 1828 and 1829, and then in 1830 in the general quartermaster staff . In April 1831 he was promoted to lieutenant captain and seven months later to real captain . From 1836 to 1840 he held the position of commander in the regiment.

Appointed major on March 6, 1841, acted as consul in Belgrade from March 9, 1844 , where he was appointed lieutenant colonel on December 1 of that year and was assigned to the Freiherr von Mihaievits infantry regiment (then Freiherr von Haynau) No. 57 .

The officer advanced to the Colonel on August 20, 1848 and was entrusted with the preparations for carrying out the war operations in the Banat, while still being consul in Belgrade. From June to October of that year Mayerhofer set up an army corps with the limited resources available from the troops and the population of the border regiments there to protect the Banate against the prevailing Hungarian insurrection, without having received any order to do so in his position as kk consul in Belgrade together, whose command he took over.

After the enemy had advanced with considerable armed forces and a large number of artillery via Alibunar to Nundorf on January 1, 1849 , the main task of this corps was to prevent the conquest of Pančevo by the Hungarians. The officer made his decisions in defense of the place with great care. Attacked simultaneously at the crucial moment when the enemy on January 2 from three sides, and especially from the Timis strongly urged her, the colonel led from the center of its lineup, the fifth Peter Ward One border battalion personally against the left flank of the covered by strong cavalry column of attack and forced them to flee. The further pursuit took the Serbian units, which had previously remained hidden behind the defensive line, and wiped out the enemy.

For the effectiveness of his actions, Emperor Franz Joseph I awarded him the Order of the Iron Crown with the war decoration on February 24, 1849 and promoted him to Major General on March 26, 1849 . As a further recognition of the success of the company at Pančevo, the general was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresa Order on the same day.

On July 11, 1849, Mayerhofer was entrusted with the management of the writing headquarters of the Southern Army. From August 29, he then acted as military district commander and from November 18 of that year as provisional head of the province of Serbia and the Temesese Banat in Timisoara , until he was made available in 1851 and on November 16, 1856 with the title of field marshal lieutenant ad honores has been put into retirement.

According to the statutes of the two orders acquired, the general was elevated to the status of Austrian baron by the emperor on January 12, 1850. He was married to Anna Hoenig (born August 27, 1804) since February 11, 1832.

The baron was also a friend and patron of the composer Franz Schubert. He translated several song texts into German for him, including the drinking song from English (originally by William Shakespeare ).

coat of arms

Family coat of arms of the Mayerhofer von Grünbühel 1636

1636: The shield shows a double-tailed, fire-spraying, golden panther in black on a green three-piece set, with both front paws holding a long knife with the edge turned outwards by the handle and point. On the crowned stinging helmets with black and yellow blankets the panthers growing as if in a shield.

1696: Squared shield with central shield. The latter in red on a green threefold a white Spanish cross (patriarchal cross). 1 and 4 in black a golden double-tailed panther, in the left paw a long knife with a golden handle, in the right holding a red-white-blue Turkish turban. 2 and 3 a wide silver bar in red. Two crowned tournament helmets: On the I with red and silver blankets the panthers as if in shield; on II with black and gold covers, an open flight, like 2 and 3 marked.

1850: As 1696, only the fields of the spine label mixed up. Three crowned tournament helmets: On the I with red and silver covers, the patriarchal cross on a green three-piece; II like I from 1696; on III with red-silver covers a closed flight covered with a silver bar at the front and a gold bar at the back. Shield holders are two men in armor, the one on the right carrying a black and gold lance, the one on the left a red, white and blue split banner. Motto: "Loyal and free."

literature

Web links

Commons : Ferdinand Mayerhofer von Grünbühl  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Joseph Strack: "The Generals of the Imperial and Royal Army", Verlag Keck, Vienna 1850, p. 319 ff.
  2. ↑ Der Adler No. 69 of Monday, March 22, 1849, p. 464
  3. ↑ Klagenfurter Zeitung No. 103 of Wednesday, December 23, 1844
  4. ↑ P. Broucek:  Mayerhofer von Grünbühel Ferdinand Frh .. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 6, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-7001-0128-7 , p. 16.
  5. ↑ Wiener Zeitung No. 74 of Thursday, April 1, 1869, p. 3
  6. ↑ Klagenfurter Zeitung No. 32 of Thursday, September 14, 1848, p. 126
  7. ↑ Klagenfurter Zeitung No. 30 of Saturday, March 10, 1849, p. 127
  8. ^ A b Antonio Schmidt-Brentano: The kk or kuk Generalität 1816–1918, Austrian State Archives, 1907, p. 116
  9. ↑ Klagenfurter Zeitung No. 82 of Tuesday, July 10, 1849, p. 366
  10. ↑ Die Presse No. 167 of Sunday, July 15, 1849, p. 2
  11. ↑ Wiener Zeitung No. 31 of Tuesday, February 5, 1850, p. 388
  12. ↑ Monitor of the date
  13. ↑ Gustav Kastenhofer: "Ferdinand Mayerhofer, a friend of Franz Schubert as a geometer", In: "Carinthia I: Mitteilungen des Geschichtsverein für Kärnten", printed and published by J. Leon, Klagenfurt 1891, p. 579 ff.
  14. ↑ Alfred Ritter Anthony v. Siegenfeld: "Genealogical pocket book of the noble houses of Austria", Verlag Otto Maaßs' Söhne, Vienna 1906, p. 425
personal data
SURNAME Mayerhofer von Grünbühel, Ferdinand
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mayerhofer von Grünbühel, Ferdinand Franz Xaver Johann Freiherr (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian field marshal lieutenant and teacher
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1869
Place of death Klagenfurt