Heinrich von Brettach

Grave slab of Heinrich von Brettach in the Protestant church in Mühlbach

Heinrich von Brettach († August 13, 1295 ) came from a knightly family that had its headquarters in Brettach in what is now the district of Heilbronn.

Life

No knightly coat of arms has come down to us from the family of the Lords of Brettach . In 1261 Heinrich von Brettach received the Heinsheim fief from Erkenger von Magenheim . In 1289 Ulrich von Magenheim sold vineyards in Mörderhausen (formerly near Meimsheim ) and Leonbronn , from which Heinrich receives five Heller interest annually .

Presumably Heinrich von Brettach was a follower of the Lords of Weinsberg and in this context received the property in Mühlbach . The Lords of Weinsberg had imperial villages around Eppingen as pledge , including Rohrbach am Gießhübel from 1316 to 1338 and Richen from 1338 .

In 1290 Heinrich von Brettach gave the chapel in Mühlbach, a branch chapel of the Eppingen parish , with the associated goods to the Wilhelmitenkloster in Marienthal near Hagenau in Alsace so that a new monastery could be founded.

Tombstone

The gravestone of Heinrich von Brettach, who was probably between 55 and 60 years old when he died, is still in the Protestant church in Mühlbach today . The trapezoidal stone is wider at the top than at the bottom, and on the edge there is a Latin inscription in Gothic capitals on three sides , which is carved on the left long side in mirror writing with the letters facing outwards. The inscription reads: In the year of the Lord 1295 on the Ides of August, the knight Hainricus von Bretach, the founder of this place, died.

The youthful, beardless head rests on a pillow and the feet stand on a lion, symbolizing courage and bravery. The cloak is open, and one can see the folds of the dress, which is held together by a belt decorated with rosettes . Heinrich holds up a sword with his right hand on his right shoulder. The left hand is open on the chest. A hoop sits on his hair ornament with drooping curls.

literature

• Adolf von Oechelhäuser : The art monuments of the Grand Duchy of Baden (Volume 8.1): The art monuments of the districts of Sinsheim, Eppingen and Wiesloch (Heidelberg district) , Tübingen 1909, p. 186/87.
• Karl Dettling: 700 years of Mühlbach. 1290-1990. The history of the stone carving village Mühlbach from the beginning to the 20th century . Stadt Eppingen, Eppingen 1990 ( Eppinger Stadtgeschichtliche Publications. Volume 2).
• Franz Gehrig : The tomb of Heinrich von Brettach and the oldest document . In: Mühlbacher Jahrbuch '77 . Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Mühlbach eV, Eppingen-Mühlbach 1977, pp. 11-14.