Johann Friedrich zu Castell-Rüdenhausen

Count Johann Friedrich zu Castell-Rüdenhausen

Johann Friedrich Graf und Herr zu Castell-Rüdenhausen (born February 6, 1675 in Rüdenhausen ; † June 23, 1749 ibid) was ruler of the Grafschaft Castell -Rüdenhausen from 1681 to 1749 . He was also in the service of the Margraviate of Ansbach . In 1732 he was appointed to the Imperial Privy Council.

The county before Johann Friedrich

The decisive event of the 16th century for the Grafschaft Castell was the adoption of the Lutheran faith, which enabled the counts to gain more sovereignty from the Würzburg prince-bishops . The following armed conflicts, the Peasants' War of 1525 and the Second Margrave War in the middle of the century, however, destroyed large parts of the territory of the counts.

Towards the end of the 16th century there was a split in lines. While the Castell-Remlingen line resided in the western part of the country and the headquarters of Castell, the Counts of Castell-Rüdenhausen were sitting in Rüdenhausen and their castle in Wiesenbronn . The rule was again affected by the Thirty Years War and had to be rebuilt again in the second half of the 17th century.

Life

The count's epitaph in the church in Rüdenhausen

Johann Friedrich was born on February 6, 1675 as the first-born son of Count Philipp Gottfried and his wife Anna Sybilla Florentina, born Wild and Rhine Countess zu Daun , in Rüdenhausen. Two sisters, Dorothea Sophie and Sophia Juliane, were born before him. Five other siblings followed, but only two of them reached adulthood.

After the early death of the father in 1681, the young count and his siblings were assigned a guardian . In the following years Johann Friedrich was educated by Count Albrecht Friedrich von Wolfstein in his castle in Pyrbaum. Here he was also taught by private tutors before he began to study at the universities of Leipzig and Halle. Then undertook Johann Friedrich time-usual grand tour through Europe that took him to Germany and the Netherlands.

In 1692 he returned to his future residence in Rüdenhausen. Emperor Leopold I then declared him of age, so that the count assumed rule over the county. As one of the most important official acts, he introduced the right of birthright in 1704 and thus ensured that the county would not be weakened by further divisions. In 1709 Johann Friedrich became senior of the entire Castell family.

At the same time, Johann Friedrich also took on offices in other dominions of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1721 he became the Landhofmeister of the Margrave of Ansbach , and from 1729 to 1731 he was chairman of the Franconian Counts College. In 1732 he was appointed Imperial Privy Councilor by Emperor Charles VI. These titles served representative purposes, although the count's main focus was on his own rule.

Above all, the reconstruction of the areas devastated after the Thirty Years War and the resettlement of the population demanded Count Johann Friedrich. So he re-founded the villages of Rehweiler , Seitenbuch and Herper in the Steigerwald. In 1709 the construction of the church of St. Peter and Paul in Rüdenhausen began, which was completed in 1712. At the same time he tried to revive the economy with the market uprising of the villages of Obereisenheim and the residence town of Rüdenhausen in 1747, which was also successful.

The baroque building euphoria also gripped Johann Friedrich. The Friedrichsberg hunting lodge was built near Abtswind from 1735 on the ridge of the Steigerwald. In addition, the count also beautified the castle in Rüdenhausen by having a fountain built here. On June 23, 1749, Johann Friedrich Graf und Herr zu Castell-Rüdenhausen died in his place of residence and was buried in the newly built church. An epitaph by the sculptor Johann Baptista Lauggas was also hung in the church.

Marriages and offspring

Count Johann Friedrich married a total of five times. First he married his cousin Countess Charlotte Juliane zu Castell-Remlingen in Castell, with whom he had a daughter.

• Dorothea Charlotte (born January 26, 1696 in Rüdenhausen; † December 1, 1729)

After her untimely death in 1696, he married Countess Charlotte Luise zu Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Oehringen on August 5th of the same year , and she too died after a short time in childbed.

• Friederike Charlotte (* May 22, 1697 - † December 5, 1698)

The third marriage was concluded on February 22, 1699 with Katharina Hedwig Countess zu Rantzau at Drage Castle . With her, the count had a total of five children, but only one daughter reached adulthood.

• Friederike Eleonore (born May 14, 1701 Rüdenhausen, † March 21, 1760 in Hamburg ) married from 1736 with her distant relative Karl Friedrich Gottlieb Castell-Remlingen and mother of Christian Adolf Friedrich Gottlieb Castell-Remlingen , which they Breitenburg inherited
• Wolfgang Christian (7 December 1702 - 16 February 1707)
• Sophia (April 9, 1704 - April 10, 1704)
• Wilhelmina Charlotte Luisa (April 12, 1705 - February 4, 1707)
• Philipp Friedrich (* July 31, 1706; † October 24, 1706)

After the death of Countess Katharina Hedwig on March 12, 1743, Count Johann Friedrich married a fourth time. The wedding with Eleonore Christiane zu Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Oehringen was celebrated on July 19, 1743. In 1746 she gave birth to the heir to the throne, Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian, but died in childbirth.

• Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian (born February 17, 1746 in Rüdenhausen; † February 7, 1803 there)

Count Magdalena Dorothea zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg-Ingelfingen married a fifth time on February 23, 1747.

literature

• Max Domarus: The portraits in Rüdenhausen Castle . In: Friends of Mainfränkischer Kunst und Geschichte eV (Hrsg.): Mainfränkische Hefte. Issue 46 . Volkach 1966.
• Wilhelm Engel: House u. Reign of Castell in Franconian history . In: Society for Franconian History (ed.): Castell. Contributions to the culture and history of home and dominion. New Year's Sheets XXIV . Würzburg 1952. pp. 1-19.
• Otto Meyer: The Castell house. State and class rule over the centuries . In: Otto Meyer, Hellmut Kunstmann (ed.): Castell. State rule - castles - status lordship . Castell 1979. pp. 9-53.

Web links

Commons : Johann Friedrich zu Castell-Rüdenhausen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Meyer, Otto: The Castell House . P. 26 f.
2. ↑ Meyer, Otto: The Castell House . P. 32.
3. ^ Domarus, Max: The portraits in the castle Rüdenhausen . P. 37.
4. ↑ Angelfire.com: Castell family tree , accessed March 7, 2015.

predecessor	Office	successor
Philipp Gottfried	Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen 1681–1749	Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian