Johann Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Johann Leopold Wilhelm Albert Ferdinand Viktor Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (born August 2, 1906 at Callenberg Castle , Coburg , † May 4, 1972 in Grein , Austria ) was a German nobleman. As the firstborn he was the Hereditary Prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , but renounced this status in favor of the inappropriate marriage to Feodora Freiin von der Horst.
Life
Johann Leopold was the first child of Duke Carl Eduard of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Viktoria Adelheid of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg on August 2, 1906 at Callenberg Castle. As the first-born he was the Hereditary Prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and his birth was celebrated with great celebrations. For example, there is an oak tree in the Callenberg Forest that was planted for this occasion on his birthday; a memorial plaque attached to the tree bears the following inscription:
- This oak was planted as an 8-year-old tree on the day of the birth of His Highness the Hereditary Prince Johann Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 2nd August 1906.
At the same time, 136 cannon shots from the Veste Coburg heralded his birth and an amnesty was issued for prisoners. On September 18, 1906, Kaiser Wilhelm II came to Coburg with Empress Auguste to attend the christening of the young Hereditary Prince in the Ehrenburg as godfather the next day .
In 1926 Johann Leopold passed the Abitur at the high school of the Knight Academy in Brandenburg Cathedral . This was followed by a degree in economics, art history and constitutional law at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn until 1930 , which ended without an exam. In 1927 he became a member of the Corps Borussia Bonn . In 1928 he became a member of the Stahlhelmbund . In the following years he came into increasing conflict with his father Carl Eduard because of his lifestyle. In the summer of 1931 he filed an application for incapacitation due to waste at the Coburg District Court , which was granted. Johann Leopold came under provisional guardianship. Carl Eduard also disagreed with the choice of bride and refused to agree. It was only when Johann Leopold lied to his father that his chosen one, Feodora Freiin von der Horst , who was married to Wolf Sigismund Pergler von Perglas from 1924 to 1931 , would expect a child from him, did he get approval. The incapacitation was withdrawn and on February 27, 1932, Johann Leopold renounced membership of the entire house, the special house and the group of families entitled to a foundation at the family foundation, which applied to him, his future wives and all their descendants.
The renunciation in favor of his inappropriate marriage was necessary because according to the house law of March 1, 1855, members of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were only allowed to marry on an equal footing, i.e. with members from hereditary or imperial houses. However, he kept his name Johann Leopold Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; to compensate for his claims he received Guteneck estate and castle east of Nabburg in the Upper Palatinate .
Johann Leopold and Feodora Freiin von der Horst (* July 7, 1905 in Wolka near Rastenburg , East Prussia; † October 23, 1991 in Schrobenhausen ) married on March 9, 1932 in Niedersedlitz near Dresden and shortly afterwards, on March 14, in church in Dresden .
On April 1, 1932, Johann Leopold joined the NSDAP (membership number 1037966). In 1937 he was threatened with exclusion because of lack of interest. During the Second World War he served as a sergeant in a flak regiment and was discharged from the Wehrmacht in 1943 due to political unreliability. Arbitration proceedings against him were closed on February 20, 1947.
Johann Leopold made headlines on September 7, 1948, when he was sentenced to two years in prison by the large criminal chamber of the Amberg District Court for a continued crime of incest in unity with continued fornication with children and with addicts . Then the connection with his family in Coburg broke off. He was absent at his father's funeral on March 10, 1954 in Coburg.
On February 27, 1962, his marriage was divorced after 30 years. A year later, on May 3, 1963, Johann Leopold married the also divorced middle-class Maria Theresia Reindl (born March 13, 1908 in Bad Reichenhall , † April 7, 1996 in Grein). The two lived in Karlstein near Bad Reichenhall . Johann Leopold's last residence was in Grein, where he died of cancer on May 4, 1972. In Bad Reichenhall, his urn was buried in the local church of St. Zeno in the Max Reindl family grave, the family grave of his second wife.
children
From the marriage with Feodora Freiin von der Horst there were three children:
- Marianne (born April 5, 1933 in Hirschberg, Silesia)
- Ernst Leopold (born January 14, 1935 in Hirschberg, Silesia, † June 27, 1996 in Bad Wiessee)
Without his father's declaration of renunciation, Ernst Leopold would have become head of the entire house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He tried, sometimes in court, to gain a share in the family assets, but he did not succeed. Ernst Leopold was married three times and had five children: Hubertus, Victoria, Ernst Josias, Carl Eduard and Ferdinand Christian. He committed in 1996 with his third wife suicide .
- Peter (born June 12, 1939 in Dresden)
The oak planted in the Callenberg Forest when Johann Leopold was born
The memorial plaque attached to the tree
literature
- Harald Sandner: The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . 1826 to 2001. Neue Presse Coburg, ISBN 3-00-008525-4 , p. 219-226 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Coburger Zeitung, issue No. 220 of September 20, 1906
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Harald Sandner: Hitler's Duke - Carl Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha - The biography . Shaker Media, Aachen 2011, ISBN 978-3-86858-598-8 . P. 207, p. 210, p. 211, p. 223, p. 227, p. 231, p. 234, p. 439, p. 396.
- ↑ [1]
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Johann Leopold von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German nobleman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd August 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Callenberg Castle , Coburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 4th 1972 |
| Place of death | Grein , Austria |