Hermann von Görtz-Wrisberg

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Wilhelm Otto Hans Hermann Graf von Schlitz called von Görtz and Wrisberg , usually addressed for the sake of simplicity as Graf von Görtz-Wrisberg , (* April 5, 1819 in Hanover , † February 22, 1889 in Braunschweig ) was a lawyer, financial expert, politician and Braunschweig Minister of State. In a critical phase of the Duchy of Brunswick , he secured the statehood of Brunswick as chairman of the Regency Council .

Youth, origin and education

Hermann v. Görtz-Wrisberg as a Göttingen student around 1840

Graf von Görtz-Wrisberg came from the branch of the Hessian family of the Counts von Schlitz called von Görtz, who lived in Brunkensen near Alfeld . His father was the Bavarian chamberlain and heir to Brunkensen and Brüninghausen Count Moritz von Schlitz called von Görtz-Wrisberg. His mother was Countess Luise Eugenie von Görtz-Wrisberg, b. by Staff. The marriage ended in divorce in 1821. In 1830, as a party member of the expelled Duke of Brunswick, Charles II, the mother ran into political difficulties, was expelled from the Duchy of Brunswick and arrested in April 1832 for high treason. The ducal regional court did not convict her, but the state police held her in custody for a long time. She died on May 17, 1847 in exile in Ryazan , Russia.

Hermann Graf von Görtz-Wrisberg attended the Martino-Katharineum grammar school and the Collegium Carolinum , the forerunner of today's Technical University of Braunschweig , from 1829 onwards . From 1839 to 1841 he studied law , first in Jena , then in Göttingen , where he joined the Corps Brunsviga . On March 19, 1842, he passed the first legal exam in Wolfenbüttel .

family

He married Helene von Meyer on September 19, 1847 (October 17, 1824 - September 4, 1863). The couple had several children:

  • Auguste Emilie Emma Irmgard (* July 19, 1848; † May 2, 1900) ⚭ 1870 Freiherr Erich von Löhneysen (* February 8, 1848; † December 6, 1906)
  • Friederike Mathilde (born January 31, 1850; † May 5, 1933) ⚭ 1877 Friedrich Westermann (born February 11, 1840; † February 4, 1907)
  • Adolphine Helene Minna Ida (* March 18, 1851; † February 20, 1876) ⚭ March 31, 1875 Ernst Dommes

After the death of his first wife, he married Anna von Meyer on October 26, 1864 (* August 17, 1837; † July 12, 1865) and after her death on March 12, 1885, Marie Schmidt (* September 16, 1837).

Careers in administration and politics

After completing his studies, he entered the civil service in Brunswick and worked for the following years as an auditor at the district courts in Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel and at the Seesen office . Here he earned a rescue medal because he had saved a young man from drowning at his own risk. On May 29, 1847, he passed the second legal exam.

On June 1, 1847, he was hired as a staff and garrison auditor and in this position accompanied the Brunswick troops to Schleswig-Holstein in 1848/1849 . In 1873 he achieved the title of "Secret Finance Council" in the financial administration. He was a member of the Braunschweigische Landtag ("Landtag") from 1866 to 1876, but had to give up his mandate, since in that year he became a member of the State Ministry, i.e. the government ( executive ). Here he was mainly concerned with the finance and foreign policy departments. In 1883 he became chairman of the state ministry with the title of "Minister of State", i.e. head of government.

Political importance

After the death of the heirless Duke Wilhelm in 1884, a critical situation arose for the duchy. The rightful Guelph pretender to the throne would have been Duke Ernst August von Cumberland from the Hanoverian line of the dynasty. However, after their defeat in the German War of 1866, the Guelphs were in exile in Gmunden in Austria. The Kingdom of Hanover was annexed by Prussia as a province. The former royal family was in irreconcilable quarrel with Bismarck and the emperor of the Hohenzollern family . A legal succession was therefore not realpolitically enforceable.

Violently attacked by Welf partisans, Count von Görtz-Wrisberg, as chairman of the Regency Council, ensured that the Duchy of Braunschweig was ruled as regent from 1885 by Prince Albrecht of Prussia , a nephew of Kaiser Wilhelm I. The election was decided on October 21, 1885 and accepted by the prince on October 24, 1885. On November 2, 1885, the regent couple moved into Braunschweig .

The time of the reign lasted after the death of Count von Görtz-Wrisberg. The second regent was Duke Johann Albrecht zu Mecklenburg , who ruled the Duchy until the reconciliation of the Hohenzollern and the Guelphs became apparent in 1913 and the last Duke from the House of the Guelphs, Ernst August , was able to ascend the throne in Braunschweig.

Historians today assess the performance of Count von Görtz-Wrisberg to the effect that through his pragmatic policy the statehood of Braunschweig as a country within the German Empire could be preserved. That was still the case after the end of the monarchy in 1918. The Free State of Braunschweig only became part of Lower Saxony in 1947 . It can be assumed that an all too legitimist policy in 1885, i.e. adhering to the Guelph line of succession, would have resulted in the annexation of Braunschweig by Prussia, as happened with the Guelph Kingdom of Hanover in 1866.

literature

predecessor Office successor
Duke Wilhelm Regent of Braunschweig
1884 - 1885
Albrecht of Prussia