Heinrich Schlik zu Bassano and Weißkirchen
Heinrich Graf Schlick zu Bassano and Weißkirchen (* 1580 ; † January 5, 1650 in Vienna ) was an Imperial Field Marshal and President of the Court War Council .
Life
He was born the son of Georg Ernst von Schlik and his wife Sidonia Colonna von Fels und Schenkenburg. His grandmother Katharina came from the Thuringian noble family von Gleichen -Tonna and was the sister of the Cologne choir bishop Christoph von Gleichen († 1548)
As a young man in the army of General Giorgio Basta, Schlik took part in the campaigns in Hungary from 1598. At the beginning of the 17th century he entered service in Spain and fought in the Netherlands . When the Jülich-Kleve controversy of succession broke out in 1609, he returned to the service of Emperor Rudolf II and set up a cuirassier company with which he fought in Jülich and Alsace . He then went on a cavalier tour to France and England and devoted himself to mathematical studies. He then served in rapid succession under the flags of Palatinate-Neuburg , Braunschweig and Spain.
Thirty Years' War
At the beginning of the Thirty Years War , Schlik was given command of an imperial regiment in 1621 . With this he fought in Hungary under Bucquoy and in 1622 in Silesia under Maximilian von Liechtenstein . In 1625 his regiment, which now comprised 10 infantry companies with a total of 2,000 men, was incorporated into Wallenstein's army and he himself was entrusted with the command of the entire artillery .
During the fighting in Central Germany he was commissioned by Wallenstein as the commandant of a strong cavalry corps to occupy Magdeburg and Halberstadt . He played an outstanding part in the defeat of Mansfeld near Dessau on April 25, 1626 and, together with Aldringen, received an imperial letter of commendation. In January of this year he had already been appointed Imperial Feldzeugmeister over the artillery. Wallenstein pursued Mansfeld first to Silesia and then to Hungary. Schlik was entrusted with the management of fortification work near Komorn . At a reconnaissance enterprise along the Waag (in today's Slovakia ), which he carried out with 80 horsemen, he was captured by troops of Bethlen Gabor . He had to buy himself off with 20,000 thalers. After his return he was promoted to field marshal on June 2, 1627 . As such, he took part in the Danish-Lower Saxony war , in which Wallenstein was successful against the Danish king Christian IV , and advanced with his troops as far as Jutland .
After the victorious conclusion of this campaign in 1630, Schlik retired from military service. After several unsuccessful attempts to reassign him to command, the Kaiser succeeded in persuading him to take over the office of President of the Court War Council . As such, he was one of Wallenstein's most determined opponents. After his fall and his bloody end in Eger in 1634, Schlik remained at his post at the head of the Court War Council. Only once, when the Swedish general Königsmarck had conquered the Lesser Town of Prague in July 1648, shortly before the end of the Thirty Years War, and besieged the old town after the Prague art theft, did he allow himself to be persuaded by the emperor to lead the operations in Bohemia . After the peace treaty he returned to Vienna and remained in office until his death.
In addition to his military prowess and political cleverness, his contemporaries also praised his excellent memory. Not only did he remember all the villages, rivers and mountains that he had touched in his career, but he also knew the names and circumstances of all the imperial officers by heart.
family
Heinrich von Schlick converted from the Lutheran to the Catholic faith in 1622 and married Anna Maria von Salm-Neuburg (1598–1647) on February 21, 1623 , with whom he had two children, Franz Ernst and Maria Sidonia.
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Schlik, Heinrich (IV.) Graf . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 30th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1875, p. 109 f. ( Digitized version ).
- C. Duncker: Schlik, Heinrich Graf von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 31, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1890, pp. 495-499.
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schlik, Heinrich zu Bassano and Weißkirchen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schlick zu Bassano and Weißkirchen, Heinrich Graf; Schlik zu Bassano and Weißkirchen, Heinrich Graf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian Field Marshal and President of the Court War Council |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1580 |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 5, 1650 |
| Place of death | Vienna |