Jean Philippe Eugène de Merode-Westerloo

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Painting by Jacob van Schuppen , 1725

Johannes Philippus Eugenius, SRI comes de et in Merode, marchio de Westerloo ( Johannes Philipp Eugen, Reichsgraf von und zu Merode, Margrave of Westerlo ) (born June 22, 1674 in Brussels ; † September 12, 1732 at Merode Castle near Düren ) an officer in the service of various gentlemen. The Count , who the high noble family of Merode came was, since 1694 Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece , and was in 1717 the imperial Field Marshal appointed. In French he is called Jean Philippe Eugène, comte de Mérode, 5th marquis de Westerloo , in Dutch his name is Jan Philips Eugenius (Jan Filips Eugeen) van Merode with the full title Graaf van Merode en van het Heilig Rijk, 5de Markies van Westerlo , Graaf van Montfort , Olen en Batenburg , Baron van Pietersheim , Steyn en Quabeek , Heer van Geel , Herselt , Hulshout , Odenkirchen , en Ridderkirchen. Erfburggraaf van het Aartsbisdom Keulen , Grande van Spanje van eerste klasse, Lid van de raad van State en van Oorlog, Kapitein van de Brabantse lijfwacht van zijne Keizerlijke en Katholieke Majesteit, Ridder van het Gulden Vlies, en Kamerheer en Veldmaarschalk des Keizers.

Life

Johann Philipp Eugen was born in 1674 as Freiherr von Merode in Hoogstraeten-Hof , near the Koudenberg Palace in Brussels. His father was Maximilian Margrave von Westerlo, Freiherr von Merode (1627–75), the son of Floris von Merode and Anna Maria Sidonia van Bronckhorst-Batenburg-Steyn . Maximilian was a Spanish Habsburg officer and governor of Namur, who rented the Hoogstraetenschen Hof in 1674 to recover from the campaigns in the northern Netherlands. His wife was Isabella Margareta Franziska von Merode (1649–1701), a daughter of Maximilian's brother Ferdinand Philipp and thus Maximilian's niece. Because of this close family relationship, a papal dispensation had to be obtained for the marriage . The marriage arose from a desperate attempt to hold the family legacy together and thus save the family from bankruptcy. Johann Philipp Eugen was the only child from this marriage and the year after his birth his father died during a spa stay in Spa . As Johann Philipp Eugen later reported in his biography, his father should not have given him much chance of survival. After the father's death, the single mother married Duke Joachim Ernst von Holstein-Rethwisch (1637–1700). It was thanks to its influence that Johann Philipp Eugen von Merode embarked on a military career. However, due to the financially strained situation of his family at the time, he had little choice.

career

The Count of Merode-Westerloo served in the Spanish-Habsburg army in the Netherlands from 1692 to 1704, where he fought against the French. In 1694 he was accepted as a knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece . However, as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession , he had to change sides to keep his property together. In 1704 he therefore fought in the battle of Höchstädt / Blenheim on the side of the French and commanded a cavalry brigade in the army of Marshal Tallard . This battle, in which Merode narrowly escaped death, ended in defeat for the French. He then entered the imperial Habsburg service in 1705 and became imperial field marshal in 1717 .

Further work

After Johann Philipp Eugen retired from his military career, he used a large part of his time to expand and beautify his widely scattered possessions.

Under his direction, the once imposing north wing of his castle in Merode was built in the Italian Baroque style. This part of the palace was badly damaged in World War II and largely abandoned. He also initiated extensive structural changes in the rest of his rule.

A large painting of him, riding on a white horse, holding the marshal's baton in his hand and leading his army, his coat of arms carved on a stone, hangs today in the castle of Westerlo. A smaller copy in the entrance hall of the castle in Merode.

His memoirs, about the constitution of which he died in 1732 and which his great-grandson Henri Marie Ghislain, Count Merode-Westerloo published, are significant. They describe the battle near Höchstädt from the perspective of a participant and eyewitness.

progeny

Johann Philipp Eugen von Merode was married twice. First with Maria Theresia Pignatelli, Duchess of Monteleone (1682–1718), who soon died. Three children resulted from this marriage, including:

  • Isabella Johanna Maria von Merode (1703–1780), who married the Czech Count Czernin von Chudenitz.

He then married on September 29, 1721 in Petersheim Palace near Maastricht Charlotte Wilhelmine Amalie Alexandrina von Nassau-Hadamar (1703–1740), daughter of Prince Franz Alexander von Nassau-Hadamar. He had seven children with her, including:

  • Jean Guillaume (Jan Willem) von Merode (born June 16, 1722 - † January 7, 1763), the sixth Margrave of Westerlo, married Eléonore de Rohan, Princess of Rohan-Rochefort (* January 15, 1728 - † 1792). Their only child Luise von Merode married Hermann Friedrich Otto von Hohenzollern-Hechingen in Maastricht in November 1773 . However, Luise died in the following year 1774 after giving birth to the daughter Luise Juliane Konstantine (1774-1846).
  • Philippe Maximilien (Philips Maximilian) Werner Matthieu von Merode (* July 4, 1729 - † January 25, 1773), the seventh Margrave of Westerlo, married Marie Catherine von Merode-Montfoort (* April 10, 1743, † ) on March 31, 1759 March 26, 1794). Maria Catherine was the daughter of Maximilian Leopold van Merode and Catharine Orlemans. Maximilian Leopold was thrown into prison in Antwerp out of love for the middle-class Catharine Orlemans so that he could give up the relationship. Resembling his stubborn father, however, he was not ready for this and was finally released after a while. They had three children together. The son Guillaume Charles (Willem van Merode) finally became the eighth Margrave of Westerlo and also mayor of Brussels. Three of his four sons played an important role in the Belgian Revolution in 1830.

Works

  • Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Merode-Westerloo: Mémoires de Feld-Maréchal Comte de Merode-Westerloo, Chevalier de la Toison d'Or, Capitaine de Trabans de l'Empereur Charles VI . - 2 volumes, Brussels, 1840 digitized version (both volumes)

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In this form his name and his title are given on the auction catalog of his book collection from 1734, two years after his death: "Bibliotheca selectissima et ornatissima ... Joannis Philippi Eugenii, SRI comitis de et in Merode, marchionis de Westerloo "( Extremely splendid and selected book collection ... of Johannes Philipp Eugen, Count of the Holy Roman Empire von und zu Merode, Margrave of Westerloo )
  2. ↑ Document from November 11, 1675: archive.nrw.de archive.nrw.de
  3. ^ "Maximilian Margrave of Westerlo, Baron von Merode, Stein etc." in a process before the RKG of 1668: hki.uni-koeln.de
  4. ^ "Floris van Merode" , at genealogieonline.nl
  5. ↑ a b cf. genealogical information from Hans J. Domsta:  Merode, Johann Philipp Eugen Graf von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 17, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-428-00198-2 , p. 166 f. ( Digitized version ).
  6. ^ "Ferdinand Philipp von Merode", at geneanet.org
personal data
SURNAME Merode-Westerloo, Jean Philippe Eugène de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Merode-Westerloo, Jean-Philippe-Eugène de; Westerloo, Jean-Philippe-Eugène comte de Mérode 5th marquis de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION imperial field marshal
DATE OF BIRTH June 22, 1674
PLACE OF BIRTH Brussels
DATE OF DEATH September 12, 1732
Place of death Mérode Castle