Johann Georg (Ortenburg)

Epitaph of Count Johann Georg in the Marktkirche Ortenburg

Imperial Count Johann Georg von Ortenburg (born November 14, 1686 in Ortenburg ; † November 4, 1725 ibid) was the eldest son of Count Georg Philipp von Ortenburg and Countess Amalia Regina von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf and the only one who grew up to adulthood. He came from the Lower Bavarian noble house of Ortenburg . After the death of his father in 1702, Johann Georg took over the regency, but under the tutelage of his mother until he came of age in 1706. His reign was overshadowed by the War of the Spanish Succession .

Live and act

youth

Johann Georg was born on November 14th, 1686 in Ortenburg, the immediate imperial county. He had a younger brother named Albrecht Friedrich, who died at the age of 4 months and 2 days. Thus Johann Georg was the only living male descendant of an Ortenburg count and thus became the lineage holder of the family.

When his father died on May 5, 1702 at Alt-Ortenburg Castle , Johann Georg became the official heir. However, since he was still a minor at 15½ years of age, he was not yet capable of governing. His mother, Countess Amalia Regina, managed to get guardianship over him from the emperor.

Amalia Regina tried to manage and protect her son's paternal inheritance as well as she could. This was no easy task, especially given the furious War of the Spanish Succession between Bavaria and France against Austria. Johann Georg's mother is still considered to be the benefactress of Ortenburg. During her brief guardianship, she succeeded in settling the dispute that had been going on between the counts and the county's subjects since 1698. In 1703 she also introduced compulsory schooling and confirmation. Furthermore, Amalia Regina had the school house renovated from 1573 and the church redesigned in 1706.

The Countess deserves credit for the fact that Ortenburg was regarded as neutral in the War of Succession that lasted until 1714. There was only one act of war at the beginning of the war, in which Ortenburg was involved. In 1703, imperial and Saxon troops invaded Lower Bavaria from Passau . They were led by the imperial general Graf von Schlick and the Saxon general von Schulenberg. On April 2, both of them advanced with three columns through the Neuburg Forest into the small county. The 40 electoral Bavarian men on the market square of Ortenburg immediately surrendered to the enemy superiority and were taken prisoner. Alt-Ortenburg Castle was also quickly captured by the imperial army. After a day's rest in the county, the army moved on towards Vilshofen. The small county, in contrast to the Bavarian region, was spared from further war events.

In order to protect young Johann Georg from military service for the emperor and crown, the caring mother Amalia Regina sent him to the United Kingdom for educational purposes .

Reign

On his 20th birthday, Johann Georg was declared of legal age by Emperor Joseph I. Two days earlier, on November 12, 1706, he had already taken over the business from his mother. The official enfeoffment with the imperial county and the associated blood jurisdiction took place on August 3, 1707 at Alt-Ortenburg Castle.

Johann Georg continued the inheritance claims on the counties of Kriechingen in Luxembourg and Püttingen in Lorraine . The male count lines of Kriechingen and Püttingen died out in 1681 and 1697, respectively. Count Georg Philipp then raised inheritance claims based on his mother, Johann Georg's grandmother. This, Countess Dorothea, was born Countess von Kriechingen and Püttingen and wife of Count Georg Reinhard . In order to further clarify his claims, in 1713 Johann Georg added the suffix “ Graf zu Criechingen and Püttingen ” to the previously used title “ Count of the Holy Roman Empire of Orttenburg of the older generation ”. He also expanded the Ortenburgers claim crest for Great claim crest for the counties of Ortenburg and Sternberg in Carinthia, on the Ortenburgers since 1467 hereditary claims presented, and the counties Kriechingen and chain plates and the Ortenburgers coat of arms in the middle placed. According to Heinz Pellender, the official title increase did not take place until October 16, 1741, but Johann Georg already had the increased coat of arms and the title in official documents and letters. However, the efforts of the Bavarian Counts to take possession of the rich Luxembourg and Lorraine counties were in vain. These were awarded to the Counts of East Friesland after decades of dispute .

Johann Georg died on December 4, 1725 at the age of only 39 in Ortenburg. His successor was his not yet of legal age, Charles III. The guardianship of the young count was taken over by Johann Georg's widow Marie Albertine, a princess of Nassau-Usingen . She tried to strengthen the Ortenburg population in their isolated position between the electorate of Bavaria and the bishopric of Passau, and tried first with elector Karl Albrecht and later with the government in Landshut to gain citizenship for their subjects. The Vizedom of Landshut advocated this, but the citizens of Ortenburg were never granted citizenship.

Remarkable

From the two marriages of Johann Georg eleven children arose. This is a remarkable number, also because of his very early death. Only his ancestor Sebastian I at 13 and his son Karl III. with 14 children exceeded Johann Georg's child blessing in the Ortenburg house. Despite his large number of children, only one of his four sons reached adulthood, Charles III.

progeny

Johann Georg was married twice.

The first marriage with Susanne Louise Countess von Zinzendorf and Pottendorf (1690–1709) had a child:

• Georg Ludwig (born March 4, 1708 in Ortenburg, † April 2, 1709 ibid)

The second marriage to Maria Albertina Princess of Nassau-Usingen (1686–1768) had the following children:

• Charlotta Wilhelmina (born January 5, 1711 in Ortenburg, † March 29, 1778 ibid)
• Friderica (born February 1, 1712 in Ortenburg, † May 23, 1758 in Remlingen), ∞ Wolfgang Georg II. (* November 20, 1689 in Remlingen, † October 22, 1735 ibid) Count and Lord zu Castell zu Remlingen
• Georg (born January 12, 1713 in Ortenburg, † March 25, 1715 ibid)
• Sophia Augusta (born January 8, 1714 in Ortenburg, † March 15, 1714 ibid)
• Charles III (* February 2, 1715 in Ortenburg, † March 1, 1776 ibid) Count von Ortenburg (1725-1776) , ∞ Louisa Sophia (* April 2, 1719 at Grehweiler Castle, † November 27, 1756 in Ortenburg) Countess of the Wild and Rhine to stone
• Henriette Albertina (born January 21, 1716 in Ortenburg, † April 25, 1784 ibid)
• Sophia Maria (born May 11, 1717 in Ortenburg, † November 30, 1790 ibid)
• Heinrich (born April 20, 1719 in Ortenburg, † April 4, 1720 there)
• Francisca Dorothea (* May 16, 1720 in Ortenburg, † May 29, 1777 ibid)
• Augusta Johannetta (born August 27, 1721 in Ortenburg, † March 25, 1755 ibid)

literature

• Stefan Wild: The most important events after Count Joachim's death up to the year 1787. In: Ortenburg - Reichsgrafschaft and 450 years Reformation (1563-2013) , Ortenburg 2013 (pp. 202–207).
• Friedrich Hausmann : The Counts of Ortenburg and their male ancestors, the Spanheimers in Carinthia, Saxony and Bavaria, as well as their subsidiary lines , published in: Ostbairische Grenzmarken - Passauer Jahrbuch für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde, No. 36, Passau 1994 (p. 9 -62).
• Heinz Pellender: Tambach. From the Langheim monastery to the Ortenburg county. History of the Count's House of Ortenburg, the monastery office and Tambach Castle. 2nd edition revised and expanded in terms of title, text, illustration and design. Graflich Ortenburg headquarters - Tambach Castle, Weitramsdorf-Tambach 1990.
• Heinz Hans Konrad Schuster: Ortenburg after the death of Count Joachim. In: Hans Schellnhuber (Hrsg.): 400 years Evang.-Luth. Kirchengemeinde Ortenburg 1563–1963 , Ortenburg 1963 (pp. 43–48).
• Carl Mehrmann: History of the Evangelical Lutheran community of Ortenburg in Lower Bavaria - memorandum for the anniversary celebration of the 300th anniversary of the introduction of the Reformation there on October 17 and 18, 1863 , Landshut 1863 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Johann Georg von Ortenburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Family tree of the entire Ortenburg house

Individual evidence

1. ^ Carl Mehrmann: History of the Evangelical Lutheran Community of Ortenburg in Lower Bavaria - memorandum for the anniversary celebration of the 300th anniversary of the introduction of the Reformation there on October 17 and 18, 1863 , p. 87 f.
2. ↑ Friedrich Hausmann: The Counts of Ortenburg and their male ancestors, the Spanheimers in Carinthia, Saxony and Bavaria, and their subsidiary lines , p. 37 f.
3. ^ Friedrich Hausmann: The Counts of Ortenburg and their ancestors in the male line, the Spanheimers in Carinthia, Saxony and Bavaria, and their subsidiary lines , p. 21.

predecessor	Office	successor
Georg Philipp	Count of Ortenburg 1702–1725	Charles III