Heinrich von Reuschenberg

Heinrich von Reuschenberg (1599)

Heinrich von Reuschenberg , full name Johann Heinrich von Reuschenberg zu Setterich , (* 1528 presumably at Setterich Castle ; † March 30, 1603 in Cologne ) was a Teutonic Knight and, as the Land Commander of the Alden Biesen Ballei, implemented extensive reforms within the order.

Live and act

Heinrich von Reuschenberg came from the line Setterich of the noble family of Reuschenberg and was a posthumous son of Edmund and his wife Philippine of Nesselrode born. Like many of his relatives since the 15th century, he also joined the Teutonic Order (November 9, 1547) and in the first years of his membership held the position of cellar master in the Maastricht Kommende Neuenbiesen. From 1550 he managed the Rhenish goods of the Ballei Alden Biesen and from 1551 to 1572 he was Commander of the Coming Ramersdorf near Bonn . In the period from 1564 to 1567 he also looked after theTeutonic Order of St. Aegidius in Aachen .

In 1566 Heinrich was appointed deputy of the Alden Biesener Landkomtur Johann von Goer and acted as administrator of the Siersdorfer Kommende from 1569 to 1591 . There he was responsible for the new construction of the ailing Siersdorf mansion , which was completed in 1578. An inscription and Heinrich von Reuschenberg's coat of arms (with the representation of his family coat of arms) above the main entrance of the building testify to this.

Coat of arms of Heinrich von Reuschenberg

After Johann von Goer's death on August 24, 1572, he was initially appointed governor of Alden Biesen as his deputy. However, he was not officially appointed as land commander until January 21, 1577. During his tenure, he protected his nephew Edmund von Reuschenberg zu Overbach, whom he first appointed governor in Siersdorf on October 1, 1586, before Edmund was appointed Commander in Siersdorf on June 30, 1591.

Reuschenberg had its own coins minted. These were on one side with his family coat of arms and the inscription: "SOLI DEO GLORIA 1588". On February 26, 1594 Reuschenberg bought a moated castle in Blatzheim. He had it rebuilt by 1602 and handed over the commanding castle to the Coming Boys-Biesen . The facility should serve as a summer residence for the Commander.

The 75-year-old Heinrich von Reuschenberg finally died on Easter Sunday, March 30th, 1603 in Cologne's Kommende Jungs-Biesen and was buried at the church of the Carmelite monastery in Severinstrasse . His grave memorial was on display for a long time in the House of Rhenish History in Cologne before it was destroyed in World War II.

meaning

In 1568 the Spanish-Dutch War began and ended the good economic situation of the Ballei. The repeated destruction of the order's property by the warring parties led to severe economic losses and forced the order to better organize its administration. However, there was a crucial lack of well-trained knights and priests. Reuschenberg counteracted this by donating twelve scholarships for the Laurentianer Burse at Cologne University in 1572. He founded a Latin school in Gemert and provided it with twelve scholarships. He also founded the Coming Boys-Biesen in 1593. His greatest merit to the Order was the reorganization of the Ballei and the consolidation of its finances.

literature

• Hans Kunnes: "The Commenderie zu Siersdorp". On the history of the settlement of the German Order in Siersdorf in the 16th century. In: Elmar Alshut, Guido von Büren, Marcell Perse (eds.): A castle is being built ... From Jülich in the Rhineland to Horst in Westphalia (= Jülich research. Volume 5). Jülich History Association, Jülich 1997, ISBN 3-930808-064 , pp. 87-91.
• Jozef Mertens: Omwille van het behoud van het kathieke loof en other concerns. De onderwijs- en balijepolitiek van landcommandeur Heinrich von Reuschenberg († 1603). In: “Met desen Crude est guet stoven…” Biesense opstellen aan Gilbert van Houtven. (= Bijdragen tot de divorced from de Duitse Orde in de Bali Biesen. Volume 8). Bilzen 2006.

Web links

• Hans Kunnes, Bernd Reuschenberg: From Reuschenberg in the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Berg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans Kunnes: Von Reuschenberg in the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Berg , accessed on April 29, 2018.
2. ↑ Bernhard Prokisch : The coins and medals of the Teutonic Order in modern times. Austrian Research Society for Numismatics, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-9500530-8-5 , p. 343.
3. ↑ Udo Arnold et al. (Ed.): Knights and Priests. Eight centuries of German orders in northwestern Europe. Exhibition of the Landcommanderij Alden Biesen and the Vlaams Commissariaat-Generaal voor Toerisme. Turnhout 1992, p. 121.

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann von Roide	Commander of the Coming in Aachen 1566–1567	Johann von Cortenbach
Johann von Cortenbach	Commander of the Coming in Aachen 1580–1584	Wilhelm Frambach Bock von Lichtenberg