Lords of Mentzingen

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Coat of arms of those of Mentzingen

The barons von und zu Mentzingen are a noble family from Kraichgau , which is said to go back to a common progenitor with the Göler von Ravensburg and the lords von Helmstatt and which is named after its medieval ancestral seat Menzingen (today part of the Kraichtal ). The lineage of the family that still exists today dates back to 1253.

history

Raven de Wimpina zu Rappenau (Raban von Wimpfen * 1157 ?; † after 1220), first mentioned in a document in 1190, an important Staufer Reichsministeriale in Wimpfen , built the Ravensburg in Sulzfeld around 1220 . Rabans Aue (today's Bad Rappenau ) is said to have belonged to his possessions at that time . He is considered the earliest established ancestor and had four sons who are said to have founded the tribes of the Göler von Ravensburg , the lords of Helmstatt and the lords of Mentzingen. The three families "with the raven coat of arms" belonged to the core of the Kraichgau knighthood and shaped the history of the Kraichgau from the High Middle Ages to the mediatization in 1806 .

Menzingen moated castle around 1905 (destroyed in 1945)
Schwanenburg Menzingen (today's family seat)

The safe lineage of today's Mentzingen begins with Raban von Mentzingen , mentioned as a witness in a document of the Speyer bishop Heinrich von Leiningen dated May 10, 1253. After the extinction of a noble family in Menzingen, last mentioned in 1216, the knights with the raven coat of arms were probably Resident in Menzingen from 1220, at the latest from 1253. Possibly the property was married to the previous family and the line of raven knights based in Menzingen named themselves after the place. The place Menzingen , which, after changing spellings since the 19th century, has only been spelled with z differently from the family , was a former Lorsch property , which passed to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in the High Middle Ages . From these and after their extinction in the 15th century by the Landgraves of Hesse, the Mentzingen town and castle Menzingen had a fief. The oldest known loan letter in this regard is from 1359 and is also the oldest document in the Mentzingen family archive. There were already two castles in Menzingen in the 14th century, probably the predecessors of the moated castle Menzingen and Schwanenburg , and this is where the family mostly had their headquarters.

After the Hohenstaufen dynasty died out, the Mentzingen were in the service of several ecclesiastical and secular princes in the vicinity in the 14th and 15th centuries. Particularly noteworthy is the orientation towards the Heidelberg court of the Count Palatine near Rhine , who also provided a king with Rupprecht I. Eberhard the Elder (proven from 1353 to 1387) was an electoral Palatinate councilor and an important lender of the Count Palatinate. He received u. a. the castle Streichenberg as a Palatinate fief. Eberhard the Younger von Mentzingen (proven 1381 to 1426) held the office of marshal at the Palatine-Royal Court, was envoy to the Pope and later a member of the Palatinate Regency Council. His brother Raban and other family members were the governors of Germersheim, one of the largest administrative districts in the Electoral Palatinate. In the 15th century, the Mentzingen were among the founders of a tournament society Society with the Donkey , an amalgamation of the Hessian and southwest German knightly nobility, which later went up in the knightly canton of Kraichgau .

Other members of the family were canons in Würzburg , Speyer , Worms and Mainz. Eberhard von Mentzingen was a knight of the Teutonic Order, high master companion in Königsberg and in 1478 took part in embassies with Emperor Friedrich III. and Matthias Corvinus. As close relatives of Bishop Raban von Helmstatt , the Mentzingen were able to acquire some Speyer fiefs. Ulrich von Mentzingen accompanied Bishop Raban to Trier when he became archbishop there, and founded a line with services and possessions on the Lower Rhine, with the dukes of Berg and the counts of Moers.

In the course of the 15th century, the family lost a large part of their originally extensive property in the Palatinate and Kraichgau and concentrated on the Stammlehen, castle and place Menzingen, as well as a Baden fiefdom with goods in Gochsheim and railway bridges .

Under Philipp von Mentzingen (1460–1525) and especially under his sons Erasmus (1493–1535) and Peter (1498–1565), the financial situation recovered and a new upswing succeeded.

Peter von Mentzingen had distinguished himself in numerous campaigns, including the first siege of Vienna by the Turks (1529), and rebuilt his family's castles in Menzingen, which had been destroyed in the Peasants' War. He and his brother introduced the Reformation in Menzingen around 1525 and were a special supporter of the reformer David Chyträus and his brother Nathan. A document for the self-confidence and the legislative power of the imperial knights in their domain is his Menzing village regulation, issued in 1546 .

Peter's son Bernhard (1553–1628), as director of the Kraichgau knight canton, was instrumental in ensuring independence from the neighboring princes and was a participant in numerous embassies. His son Johann Bernhard (1587–1659) was also director of the Kraichgau knighthood and was involved in the so-called Heilbronner Bund on the Swedish side . Under his aegis, the village and rulership of Menzingen suffered severe destruction and losses during the Thirty Years' War.

Maximilian von Menzingen (1635–1708), field marshal of Württemberg
Dorthea Sybilla von Mentzingen, abbess of the Kraichgau noble ladies' monastery (1733–1770)

From the end of the 17th century to the late 18th century, the family headquarters was at Gondelsheim Castle . Relatives served at several evangelical courts and had there z. T. important offices. Maximilian von Mentzingen (1635–1708) was Württemberg Field Marshal and President of the Privy Council, his brother Gustav Ferdinand (1637–1701) was a Privy Councilor and Court Marshal in Baden-Durlach and the youngest brother Benjamin (1648–1723) was Hofmeister and Privy Councilor in Stuttgart . To Benjamin and his wife Sophia Charlotte Klenke von Renckhausen. the current family line goes back. Johann Reinhard (1683–1735) and Bernhard Friedrich (1706–1752) were directors of the Kraichgau knighthood. Gottfried von Mentzingen and his wife Amalie Elisabeth, b. Baroness von Bettendorf , founded the Kraichgauer Noble Ladies' Foundation , which still exists today, in 1718 for the unmarried daughters of evangelical noble families with the Hofgut in Bockschaft .

Through marriages and acquisitions, goods and lordships (including Gondelsheim, Bonartshausen, Bodelshofen (1680–1740), Sulzburg Castle (Lautertal) and in Westphalia Gut Renkhausen and Lübbecke ) came into the family's possession, but through the marriage of daughters and financial crises later lost again. After losing the temporary headquarters in Gondelsheim, Menzingen became the headquarters again. In 1806, the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden became mediatized and thus lost its imperial immediacy. The members of the family served as officers and diplomats in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Peter von Mentzingen (1854–1939) was a member of the Baden state parliament.

In addition to the living descendants, the Menzing castles are a particular reminder of the long family history. The moated castle Menzingen, once one of the best preserved late medieval castles, was ruined by an air raid in April 1945. The main building of the upper castle, the Schwanenburg , still stands, which has served as a residence since 1945.

Today, Burg Castle is also owned by the family.

  • Coat of arms from 1707 on Menzingen moated castle

  • Tombs of the barons of Mentzingen in the Menzing cemetery

  • Staufen Castle , owned by the family until 1896

coat of arms

The family coat of arms shows a black raven ready to fly in silver. On the helmet with black and silver blankets a growing silver swan with a golden beak and raised golden wings, whose black flight feathers are sprinkled with silver linden leaves.

literature

Web links

Commons : Herren von Mentzingen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files