Josias (Waldeck-Wildungen)

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Josias von Waldeck (born July 31, 1636 , † July 29, 1669 in Crete ) was the second son of Count Philip VII von Waldeck -Wildungen and his wife Anna Katharina von Sayn-Wittgenstein. He came from the Waldeck family . He became major general in Brunswick-Lüneburg and from 1660 was coregent in the Wildungen office , later also in the Wetterburg office and Landau office , his brother Christian Ludwig (1635-1706), the ruling Count of Waldeck-Wildungen.

Life

Josias von Waldeck was first in the service of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg , where he began his military career as a cornet in the cavalry regiment of his uncle Georg Friedrich , and in 1655 he became colonel of the infantry and in 1656 fought as major general in the battle of Warsaw . After that he was temporarily in the Swedish service. As an imperial field sergeant , he took part in the Turkish War of 1663/1664 , where he was wounded by an arrow in front of Fünfkirchen .

When Duke Georg Wilhelm took over the government of the Duchy of Lüneburg in the autumn of 1665 , Josias von Waldeck, as major general , assumed command of the Duke's troops, which consisted of four regiments of cavalry , two regiments of infantry and artillery and guard units . In late autumn 1668 he moved to Venice with 3300 men from Lüneburg troops to support the Republic of Venice in the defense of the island of Crete against the Ottomans . On March 28, 1669, he embarked in Venice, and on May 12, he landed in Crete. During the siege of Candia on July 6, 1669, Josias was so badly injured by shrapnel that he died on July 29 as a result of the wound. The body was first buried in the Katharinenkirche in Candia and then transferred to Wildungen . In 1962 he found his final resting place in a crypt in the western vault of the Marienthal zu Netze monastery .

Friedrichstein Castle

In 1663 Josias began to convert the Gothic castle built by Count Friedrich von Thuringia in 1200 on the castle hill of Altwildungen into Friedrichstein Castle according to the symmetrical, French- Baroque model . His design envisaged a large triangular building complex with two long, tapering wings and a small connecting wing. A monumental domed structure was planned at the intersection of the two longitudinal wings. When he died, the west wing and the main building were completed, as was the rusticated portal and the baroque staircase. After Josias' death, his widow Wilhelmine had an older wing of the castle that was still standing torn down and a new one, probably the gate wing, built. However, the Gothic round tower of the medieval castle with a hood and lantern was preserved. Josias' nephew, Count Friedrich Anton Ulrich von Waldeck, after whom the castle was finally named, had the castle building renovated and completed between 1707 and 1714 by building the south wing with the terrace in front and the two smaller side wings.

Marriage and offspring

Josias von Waldeck was married to Wilhelmine von Nassau-Siegen († 1707), daughter of Count Wilhelm von Nassau-Siegen (1592–1642), since 1659 . The couple had six children, of whom only Charlotte Johanna (December 13, 1664 - February 1, 1699) survived childhood. On December 2, 1690, she married Duke Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld (1658–1729).

Tomb

In the Evangelical City Church of Bad Wildungen there is his mighty tomb, created by Heinrich Papen in 1674 , over 10 m high and 6 m wide, with a multitude of figures made of alabaster and marble and lively representations. A relief above the lying figure of the dead count shows a very detailed battle scene between Christians and Muslims including the commanders on both sides. Four free-standing, life-size soldiers' figures surround the fallen count like a wake, two Turks, a German musketeer and a German equestrian officer.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Höhle: The Counts of Waldeck in the service of Brandenburg and the empire

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Josias
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Waldeck, Josias Graf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Brunswick major general and son of Count Philip VII.
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1636
DATE OF DEATH July 29, 1669
Place of death Crete