George the Broad from Herberstein

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The coat of arms of the Barons von Herberstein in Johann Siebmacher's coat of arms book 1605

Georg "der Breite" von Herberstein , baron of the Reich zu Neuberg a. Gutenhag (* January 28, 1529 ; † 1586 ) was an Austrian nobleman who professed Lutheranism , but nevertheless retained the trust of his strict Catholic sovereign Archduke Karl II of " Inner Austria ", who made him a councilor and treasurer , and in 1570 provincial administrator and in 1580 appointed governor of the Duchy of Styria . Through his sons he became the closer progenitor of the flourishing Styrian line and the Silesian line, which died out in 1729 .

origin

Georg "der Breite" von Herberstein came from the Austrian, more precisely Styrian, noble family von Herberstein , namely from the older main line, which is derived from Georg von Herberstein to Castle Herberstein († 1458).

His father was Bernhardin I von Herberstein Reichsfreiherr zu Neuberg and Gutenhag (* c. 1490; † March 10, 1554) at Herberstein Castle and Seibersdorf . In 1528 he was colonel of the Styrian war people and in 1534 provincial administrator in the Duchy of Styria . In 1537 he was raised to the rank of imperial baron and accepted into the lordship of Austria under the Enns (corresponds roughly to today's state of Lower Austria ). Since 1542 he was allowed to call himself "Freiherr zu Neuberg and Gutenhag".

His mother was Katharina von Saurau (⚭ February 3, 1519; † February 28, 1570) from the tribe of those von Saurau (noble family) , an ancient nobility of Styria. She was a daughter of Georg von Saurau, a knight on Ligist ( political district Voitsberg , in Styria) and Wolkenstein (municipality of Wörschach in the district of Liezen in Styria) and Margarethe von Rindschaid , a daughter of Dietmar von Rindscheid (noble family) and the Rosina von Windisch-Graetz .

Life

Herberstein was the second born of his father's eight sons, so initially had no prospect of inheriting the estates of his line, but when his father died in 1554, he followed this in the possession of the Herberstein family as well as in the other lands as his older brother died childless.

  • Herberstein Castle (July 2006)

  • Entrance to the castle

  • Castle courtyard, view from the entrance

  • Castle courtyard, view of the entrance

The teachings of the Reformation spread in Styria from 1530 and quickly found wide acceptance among the nobility. Herberstein also acknowledged the teachings of Martin Luther , dedicated the chapel in Herberstein Castle to the Reformed church service and had a Lutheran school set up there.

Herberstein also played an active role in the estate administration, and represented the interests of Protestantism there. As early as 1547, the governor of Styria, Hans III. Disgrace of Weißenwolff Freiherr von Sonnegg (1493–1564) at the “armored” Reichstag in Augsburg - in vain - free exercise of religion.

As an active representative of the nobility and the Reformation, Herberstein was elected to the state ordinance and in this capacity was actively involved in securing the reformed practice of religion by participating in the drafting of the Graz religious specifications in 1572. Through this the sovereign, Archduke Karl of Austria (born June 3, 1540 in Vienna , † July 10, 1590 in Graz ), the regent of the " Inner Austria " called subdivision of the hereditary lands of the House of Austria (the duchies of Styria (mark) , Carinthia , Carniola and the county of Gorizia ) made substantial concessions to the supporters of the Reformation. But it was not until 1575 or definitely 1578 at the state parliaments in Bruck an that the Protestant estates, with Herberstein's participation, were able to freely practice their religion.

Archduke Charles II

Despite his commitment to Lutheranism , Herberstein was able to preserve the grace and benevolence of his sovereign, Archduke Karl , who had ruled Inner Austria since 1564 , until his death. This was by no means self-evident, since Archduke Charles II of Austria - unlike his brother Emperor Maximilian II - was a devout Catholic and supporter of the Counter-Reformation , who called the Jesuit order into the country and instructed him to carry out the Counter-Reformation - especially in the school system - transmitted. In 1573 he founded the Academic Gymnasium in Graz as a Jesuit college .

Archduke Karl II made Herberstein archducal treasurer and councilor, appointed him provincial administrator of Styria in 1570 and even promoted him to governor of the Duchy of Styria in 1580.

Herberstein also succeeded in increasing his family's property by acquiring the Reifenstein estate in Upper Styria . He died in 1586.

Marriage and children

Herberstein married Barbara Schintel von Dromsdorf (1530-c. 1575) on June 30, 1555, who came from the Silesian duchy of Schweidnitz-Jauer . She was a daughter of Bernhard Schintel von Dromsdorf († January 30, 1549) and Katharina Černohorska von Boskovic (from the Moravian nobility family of Messrs. Czernohorsky von Boskowitz († n. 1559)) (T. v. Jetrich Cernohorsky von Boskovic († †) 1514) and Dorothea von Thun).

Children (order uncertain): Georg “der Breite” Freiherr von Herberstein had twenty-two children from his marriage, but many of them died young. Mention should be made (all from Herberstein, Reichsfreiherren or Reichsfreiin zu Neuberg and Gutenhag):

  • Georg Bernhard von Herberstein, the eldest son (⚭ Sophie von Wildenstein , (without descendants)) was in military service and died in combat in 1596
  • Bernhardin II. Von Herberstein (* 1566; † July 30, 1624) was the closer progenitor of the Styrian line, ⚭ 1.) Maria Constantia Fugger Freiin von Kirchberg and Weissenhorn (* July 2, 1568; † March 22, 1594, ⚭ 2 .) Countess Margarita di Valmarana
  • Georg Andreas von Herberstein, was the progenitor of the extinct Silesian line, ⚭ May 18, 1586 Anna Sibylla Reichsfreiin von Lamberg († October 28, 1621, daughter of Sigismund Reichsfreiherr von Lamberg zu Ortenegg and Ottenstein (* 1536; † 1616/19) and of Siguna Eleonore Fugger Freiin von Kirchberg and Weissenhorn († 1576))
  • Wolfgang Weikhard von Herberstein, sergeant-major in the Hungarian light cavalry, ⚭ Margarethe von Erdödy ; he left two daughters from his marriage, but they remained unmarried
  • Otto Friedrich von Herberstein († 1598), was knight of the Teutonic Order and Commander in Grätz am Lech (?); Military commander of Zengg, a border town of the Austrian monarchy, which was then the center of the Uskoks protected by the Nehaj fortress (today the city of Senj, a town in Croatia , in the Lika-Senj County ); later he became Imperial Councilor and Chamberlain of Emperor Rudolf II (HRR)
  • Karl von Herberstein, was in imperial military service and died in combat in 1596
  • Johanna von Herberstein, ⚭ Johann von Pfeilberg
  • Barbara von Herberstein (* July 24, 1569), ⚭ 1.) Peter Dlugomil von Bierau (Pyroffsky), ⚭ 2.) Adam Odersky von Liderzov
  • Juliane Elisabeth von Herberstein (* 1557; † v. 1645), ⚭ Georg von Drahotusch

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ J. Siebmacher's large book of arms, Volume 26; The coats of arms of the nobility in Lower Austria Part 2, S - Z, reprint edition of the arrangement by Johann Baptist Witting (Nuremberg 1918), Verlag Bauer und Raspe, owner Gerhard Geßner, Neustadt an der Aisch, 1983, p. 24.
  2. ^ JS Verlag, JG Gruber. “ Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste ”, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt Graz, Austria, 1971 article “Herberstein”, p. 105
  3. ↑ JS Ersch, JG Gruber.op.cit. P. 105
  4. ↑ JS Ersch, JG Gruber.op.cit. P. 105
  5. ↑ Family table of Messrs. Cernohorsky von Boskovic: [1] , Katharina can be found there under no. 97
personal data
SURNAME Herberstein, Georg the breadth of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Herberstein, Georg von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Governor of the Duchy of Styria
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1529
DATE OF DEATH 1586