Eschenbach (noble family)

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Coat of arms of the Eschenbach in the Zurich coat of arms roll , approx. 1340
Coat of arms of the Barons of Eschenbach on weather vane ( Eschenbach Monastery )

The barons of Eschenbach were one of the most important noble families on the Swiss plateau . It took its name from its ancestral castle Eschenbach ( stat ze Eschibach , today Alt-Eschenbach ) and was first mentioned in a document in the middle of the 12th century. The ruins of Alt-Eschenbach Castle are located in what is now the municipality of Inwil . Today's Eschenbach belonged as Obereschenbach to the property of the Barons of Eschenbach.

origin

There is almost no reliable information about the origin of the Barons von Eschenbach. Corresponding connections with the Lords of Rothenburg are not considered secure. Due to their presence on several documents in the middle of the 12th century, however, it can be assumed that the family already had extensive own property (presumably mainly in the Reuss plain ) and held an important position as feudal men of the Counts of Lenzburg . This is also indicated by a joint documentary testimony by Walther I. von Eschenbach and Emperor Friedrich I. Barbarossa in 1173 on the Lenzburg , on the occasion of the death of the last Count of Lenzburg.

Lines

Trunk line

  • Walther I. Freiherr von Eschenbach-Schnabelburg, married to Adelheid von Schwarzenberg from the Elztal in Breisgau
  • Konrad Abbot von Murbach (brother of Walthers I)
  • Ulrich, Provost of the People's Priesthood Lucerne (Brother Walters I.)

Eschenbacher Line:

  • Walther II. Freiherr von Eschenbach (son of Walters I, married to Ita von Oberhofen)
  • Walther III. Freiherr von Eschenbach (founder of the St. Kathrinen / Eschenbach monastery, married to Kunigunde von Sulz in 1254)

Schnabelburger Line:

  • Berchthold I. Freiherr von Schnabelburg (son of Walters I)
  • Berchthold II.
  • Berchthold III.
  • Walther IV. Baron von Eschenbach (son of Berchthold III., Died 1343)
  • Berchthold IV. (Brother Walthers IV.)
  • Mangold (brother of Walthers IV - still mentioned until 1338)

Schwarzenberger Line :

  • former line of Schnabelburger, took over the legacy of Adelheid von Schwarzenberg im Breisgau, died out in 1459

Ascent

The Eschenbachers achieved their actual ascent as followers of the Dukes of Zähringen , who left them the areas of the Imperial Bailiwick of Zurich between Lake Zurich and the Reuss Valley as a fief. In 1185 Walther I named himself for the first time after the newly built Schnabelburg (on the Albis near Zurich) von Eschenbach-Schnabelburg . With the marriage of Adelheid von Schwarzenberg (in Breisgau), he cleverly positioned the Eschenbach family within the Zähringer sphere of influence. This was followed by further weddings of Eschenbachers with members of respected families from Alsace, Breisgau, Black Forest and the Bernese Oberland (Oberhofen). By skillfully using their position of power, the Eschenbachers rose relatively quickly to become one of the most important baron families in the Mediterranean region.

Formations & foundations

Cities and castles

Monasteries

Downfall

Seal of Walther von Eschenbach

With the extinction of the Zähringers in 1218 and the associated loss of power, the rapid rise of the Eschenbachers was stopped. Your brisk activities probably gradually exceeded your financial means. In any case, towards the end of the 13th century they increasingly sold and pledged possessions, goods and rights. So went z. B. Hof and church from Ober-Eschenbach to the monastery of St. Kathrinen.

After the death of Berchtold III. von Eschenbach in the service of King Albrecht I of Habsburg in the battle of Göllheim , King Albrecht I claimed the Eschenbach possessions in the Bernese Oberland. Walther IV and his brothers Berchtold IV and Mangold were forced to sell these important castles ( Unspunnen , Oberhofen ) and properties to King Albrecht. This together with the financially difficult situation (one can speak of impoverishment) prompted Berchtold's son, Walter IV., To oppose a conspiracy of some dissatisfied noblemen (including above all Albrecht's nephew, Johann "Parricida" von Swabia ) to involve the king. On May 1, 1308, the conspirators killed the king near Brugg . Walther IV is said to have held the reins of Albrecht's horse (presumably as a strator ) while Johann von Schwaben struck down his uncle the king.

In the following campaign of revenge by the Habsburgs in August 1309, the castle and town of Eschenbach, the Schnabelburg am Albis and the town of Maschwanden were destroyed. All of the Eschenbachers' remaining possessions were confiscated and placed under the Habsburg Office of Rothenburg. The imperial ban was imposed on Walter IV , but he escaped to the Duchy of Württemberg, where he is said to have lived unrecognized as a cattle herder for 34 years. Shortly before his death he is said to have revealed himself, whereupon he was buried in 1343 with the knightly honors due to him.

literature

  • Heinrich Zeller-Werdmüller: The free of Eschenbach, Schnabelburg and Schwarzenberg . In: Zürcher Taschenbuch, NF Vol. 16 (1893) pp. 75–132 online in the Internet Archive
  • Heinrich Zeller-Werdmüller: The free of Eschenbach, Schnabelburg and Schwarzenberg. II. Part. The Free of Schnabelburg and Schwarzenberg . In: Zürcher Taschenbuch, NF Vol. 17 (1894) pp. 62-105 online in the Internet Archive

Web links