Earls of Barby
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The Counts of Barby (noble gentlemen until 1497) were a family of counts who were related to the Counts of Arnstein . They came from Walther III. von Arnstein (* around 1150, † after 1196), who was married to Gertrud von Ballenstedt, an Ascanian , and took their name from the Castle of Barby and the County of Barby , which had been in the possession of the Counts of since the end of the 12th century Arnstein were.
The family died out with Count August Ludwig von Barby (* August 5, 1639; † October 17, 1659). He was the only son of Count Albrecht Friedrich von Barby .
In addition to the Counts of Barby, there is also the primeval Barby family , who are not related to the Counts.
Sideline of the Counts of Arnstein
The split from the Arnstein family was finally consolidated under the brothers Albrecht I (around 1177 to before 1259) and Walther IV (around 1180 to before 1259). Albrecht got the County of Arnstein, Walther got Barby and was first named after this rule in 1226. This Walther IV established the family of the Counts of Barby. A brother of Albrecht and Walther, Gebhard von Arnstein (around 1177/78 to 1256), became the progenitor of the Lindow-Ruppin family of counts .
A Countess von Barby, as a prisoner in the destruction of Randau Castle (1297), plays an important role in the legend of the ancestor of the old Randau Castle.
The last of the Count Barby was August Ludwig. Born on August 3, 1639 at Rosenburg Castle as the only son of Count Albrecht Friedrich, he died at the age of 20 in Wolfenbüttel and was buried on May 13, 1660 in the count's inheritance in the St. John's Church in Barby.
His sister Aemilie Juliane (1637–1706), married to Count Albrecht Anton II of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt , wrote numerous hymns , some of which were very well known.
The Barby Castle ( Burgward 961), on the site of today's baroque Barby Castle , together with the Franciscan monastery (Grablege) and the small town planned at the beginning of the 13th century formed the administrative center of the rule, which was elevated to an imperial county in 1497. In 1540 the counts introduced the Reformation .
The burial place in St. John's Church in Barby
The Johanniskirche von Barby an der Elbe was originally a Franciscan monastery church. It was built between 1264 and 1271. After a fire destroyed the monastery between 1370 and 1381, Count Günther IV von Barby († 1404) helped rebuild the church with financial means. The monastery was abandoned. The Counts of Barby chose St. John's Church as their burial place.
Monuments of the 13th and 14th centuries
- Grave slab of Mr. Bukhard II of Barby († 1271)
- Grave slab for Mr. Walterus X. von Barby († 1313 / before 1316)
- Grave slab of Dominus Albertus Junior von Barby († 1350)
- Grave slab for Nobilis Albert von Barby Senior (Albrecht VII.) († 1358)
- Picture epitaph of Count Albrecht V († 1332) and his wife Jutta / Judith von Barby († 1352)
- Wall sculptures of Count Günther IV. Von Barby and his wife Dorothea († 1385)
- Double grave plate of Count Günther IV. Von Barby († 1404) and his wife Dorothea († 1385)
- Sculptor or donor portrait console with the full coat of arms of the Counts of Barby
coat of arms
In the end, after various changes, the counts carried a coat of arms with a squared shield and two eagles and two roses. The eagle goes back to the lineage of the Counts of Arnstein and was also adopted by the Counts of Mansfeld and the County of Mühlingen. It is a feature of the local coats of arms of Großmühlingen and Kleinmühlingen .
literature
- Barby , In: Helga Wäß, Form and Perception of Central German Memory Sculpture in the 14th Century. A contribution to medieval grave monuments, epitaphs and curiosities in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, North Hesse, East Westphalia and South Lower Saxony (= Volume 1), catalog of selected objects from the High Middle Ages to the beginning of the 15th century (= Volume 2 / partly with picture), Bristol u. a. 2006, pp. 51-63. ISBN 3-86504-159-0 .
- E. Stegmann, Burg und Schloß Barby , Magdeburger Geschichtsblätter 66/67, 1931/32, pp. 40–56.
- Heinrich, Gerd, The Counts of Arnstein , Böhlau Verlag, Cologne 1961.
- Hertel, G. u. G. Sommer, Architectural and Art Monuments of the Province of Saxony , Volume 10 (District Calbe), 1885, pp. 17-26.
- H. Banniza v. Bazan-R. Müller, Deutsche Geschichte in Ahnentafeln I , 1939, pp. 122, 203, 309-310.