Lazarus of Schwendi

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Lazarus von Schwendi (portrait miniature, Oettingen Castle )

Lazarus von Schwendi, Imperial Baron von Hohenlandsberg (* 1522 in Mittelbiberach ; † May 28, 1583 in Kirchhofen Castle , Ehrenkirchen municipality , Breisgau ) was a diplomat , statesman, imperial field captain and general in the service of Emperors Karl V , Maximilian II and Ferdinand I.

Origin and youth

Coat of arms of Lazarus von Schwendis

The Schwendi family was a nobility from Upper Swabia . The eponymous place Schwendi belonged to the front of Austria at that time . The Lords of Schwendi are mentioned for the first time in 1128 in a document from the Ochsenhausen monastery .

In 1522 Lazarus von Schwendi was born to Ruland von Schwendi and the servant Apollonia Wenk. His father died as early as 1524. The council of the neighboring Free Imperial City of Memmingen , where the boy also grew up, was appointed guardian . He sent the young noblewoman to the University of Basel , which was shaped by the reformer Johannes Oekolampadius , for training , where he studied at the artist faculty from the winter semester 1536/37 . The most important of his teachers was the highly respected Latinist Simon Grynäus . So Schwendi acquired a thorough humanistic education. Around 1538 he went to the University of Strasbourg , also a stronghold of the Reformation and humanism , to study law there. From here he also traveled to France and learned French, an important prerequisite for his later work as a diplomat for Charles V.

Life

In 1546 Lazarus von Schwendi entered the imperial service in Regensburg . Charles V entrusted him with diplomatic and military tasks and recognized his efficiency. For example, Schwendi was diplomatically and militarily active during the Schmalkaldic War . In 1547 he was responsible for the razing of Grimmenstein Castle in Gotha . In 1548 he took the mercenary leader Sebastian Vogelsberger prisoner at the request of the emperor . When he was sentenced to death, he publicly attacked Schwendi on the execution site and described him as an insidious "arch-villain". The accusation of having acted in a chivalrous manner remained with Schwendi for a long time, despite his reply.

After Charles V abdicated in 1556, he entered the service of Philip II of Spain and fought against France in the Dutch army. Among other things, he was the first commander of the newly built fortress Philippeville (today Belgium , province of Namur ) and took part in the battles of Saint-Quentin in 1557 and Gravelines (today France) in 1558. There he made friends with Count Lamoral von Egmond and Wilhelm von Orange , but also got to know Cardinal Granvelle and the Duke of Alba . Probably out of opposition to Spanish politics, he took leave in 1562 and entered the service of the German Habsburgs and the Empire in 1564 .

The
Fontaine Schwendi fountain, built in Colmar in honor of Lazarus von Schwendi in 1898 , designed by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi

Under Emperor Maximilian II, he fought as captain general of the German troops in Hungary in the Turkish wars against the Turks from 1564 and later became the highest imperial field captain . He was able to achieve great military successes against the Ottoman army and Johann Sigismund Zápolya . In 1565 he occupied considerable areas in Hungary, including around Satu Mare (now Romania ) and in the cultivation area of ​​the Tokaj vine. His victories and organizational skills earned him a high reputation. In 1567 he captured the Mukachevo fortress (now Ukraine ). According to legend, he is said to have recognized the walnut vine as the basis for the excellent Tokaj wine and brought it to Germany to his possessions at the Kaiserstuhl and in Alsace . In 1568 he was followed by Hans Rueber zu Pixendorf (around 1529–1584) as chief captain for Upper Hungary.

After 1568, Schwendi, as one of the most important advisers to Emperor Maximilian II, developed fundamental ideas about the end of denominational disputes in the empire. He himself remained a Catholic and in the first half of the 1570s campaigned in various memoranda on the one hand for mutual tolerance among denominational groups, on the other hand for a military constitution based on imperial circles under the supreme command of the emperor, and thirdly for strengthening the imperial one Power and a suppression of estates- princely rights. A parallelism to the doctrines of sovereignty emerging in France at the same time is obvious. However, his ideas failed because of the political reality in the empire, especially the princes' insistence on their rights vis-à-vis the emperor and the empire.

In 1560 he received the pledge of the castle, town and rule of Burkheim am Kaiserstuhl with Oberrotweil, Oberbergen, Vogtsburg (today all town of Vogtsburg in the Kaiserstuhl ) and Jechtingen , and before that he had obtained the castle bailiff over Breisach . On the site of a castle ruin , he built Burkheim Castle , today the only ruin of a Renaissance castle in southern Baden. The castle was destroyed by French troops in 1673.

Alliance coat of arms from Schwendi and from Zimmer at the entrance to Burkheim Castle
Schwendis tomb in Kientzheim (center)
Coat of arms of the Lazarus-von-Schwendi-Städtebund at the town hall in Ehrenkirchen

In 1563 Schwendi bought the Alsatian estate of Hohlandsberg from the heirs of the Counts of Lupfen . In 1568 he was made Imperial Baron of Landsberg by Emperor Maximilian II - the title was changed to Imperial Baron von Hohenlandsberg in 1572. Schwendi was the reign exemplary order and promoted in Alsace and Breisgau to viticulture . However , it is legend that the introduction of the Tokay grape can be traced back to an export he initiated from the Hungarian Tokaj wine-growing region , where he had won an important military victory, as the fountain monument in front of the department store in Colmar shows. The Schwendisches Amt Hohlandsberg included the places Kientzheim , Sigolsheim , Ammerschwihr , Ingersheim and Wintzenheim as well as income from wine in Turckheim and other places in the area. The possessions of Lazarus von Schwendi also included Triberg in the Black Forest and Kirchhofen (today Ehrenkirchen ) in Breisgau.

Schwendi died on May 27, 1583 in Kirchhofen Castle and was buried in the parish church of Kientzheim , where his epitaph and a statue are still preserved today. During his life he was married twice, first (1553–1561) to Anna Böcklin von Böcklinsau ; After the separation in 1561 he married Eleonora von Zimmer (* 1554) in 1573 , who, with his tolerant attitude, adhered to Protestantism with his approval of the new doctrine.

Hans Wilhelm († 1609), his son from his first marriage, is buried in the church in Kientzheim like his father, but did not achieve the format of his father, even if his epitaph evokes old knightly virtues.

Lazarus von Schwendi Association of Cities

Congregations from Germany, France and Belgium, which have or had a connection to Lazarus von Schwendi, joined together in 1986 in Kientzheim to form the Lazarus-von-Schwendi-Städtebund , in order to pass on and promote the humanistic ethos, clarity and tolerance he practiced. Later Kaysersberg also joined the city union. Representatives of the congregations meet annually alternately in one of the member locations to meet and exchange ideas.

The member parishes are

Works

Portrait in Dominicus Custos ' portrait work Atrium heroicum Caesarum , 1600–1602
  • My Lazarus vonn Schwendis etc. Reliable and irrefutable report of what I did and did concerning the rejection and fengknuß, concerning Weyland Sebastian Vogelsperger , Augsburg 1548.
  • Mr. Lazari von Schwendi, Freyherrn zu Hohen Landsberg ... War Discurs, From the order of the whole war system, and from the same Aembtern: Increased and improved with useful, war rights from many warring potentates and republics, also from reinforced Authoribus, extracted annotation bus, ...; Darbey over ... the new Käyserliche and a Churfl. Saxon. Articulsbrieff annectirt / by ... Christophorum Lobrinum . Dresden In laying of Martin Gabriel Huebner ... Printed by Melchior Bergens blessed widow and heirs, 1676
  • A nice admonition and warning to the pious Germans, made not long before his death, from the strict, tried and pugnacious hero and colonel of the war, Mr. Lazari von Schwendy, to the pious Germans .

reception

Through the imperial resolution of Franz Joseph I on February 28, 1863, Lazarus von Schwendi was included in the list of the "most famous warlords and generals of Austria worthy of perpetual emulation" , in whose honor and memory there was also a life-size statue in the general hall of that time The newly established Imperial and Royal Court Weapons Museum (today: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien ) was built. The statue was created in 1867 by the sculptor Peter Lutt (1828–1907) from Carrara marble and was dedicated by Emperor Franz Joseph himself.

Literature (selection)

  • Wilhelm Edler von Janko : Lazarus Freiherr von Schwendi, supreme field captain and councilor of Emperor Maximilian II based on original files from the KK House, Court and State Archives, the archives of the KK Ministries of the Interior, Finance and War . Vienna: Braumüller 1871. Full text in the Google book search (Reprint: Freiburg / Brsg .: Echo-Verlag 2000)
  • Adolf Warnecke: Youth and diplomatic activity in the service of Charles V (using archival material) . Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1890
  • Adolf Warnecke: Life and Work of Lazarus ...; Part 1 ; Youth and diplomatic activity in the service of Charles V (using archival material). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1890
  • Adolf Eiermann: Lazarus von Schwendi, Freiherr von Hohenlandsberg, a German colonel and statesman of the XVI. Century: new studies by Adolf Eiermann . Freiburg i. Br .: Fehsenfeld, 1904
  • Eugen Dollmann: The Problems of Reich Policy in the Times of the Counter Reformation a. the political memoranda of Lazarus von Schwendi . Dissertation Munich 1926. Ansbach 1927.
  • Johann Koenig: Lazarus von Schwendi: Röm. Kaiserl. Majesty Councilor and Colonel, 1522–1583. Contribution to the history of the Counter Reformation . Schwendi (Württ.): G. Schmid, 1934.
  • Eugen von Frauenholz : Des Lazarus von Schwendi memorandum on the political situation of the German Empire from 1574 (concerns about the Roman imperial majesty Maximilian the Other von Latzaro Freiherr von Schwendi, imperial majt. Rath) . Munich: Beck, 1939. (Munich Historical Treatises, Series 2: War and Army History, Vol. 10)
  • On the 400th anniversary of the death of Lazarus von Schwendi and on the 350th anniversary of the death of the 300 farmers from Kirchhofen, Ehrenstetten and Pfaffenweiler in 1583; 1633. Edited on May 27, 1983. from D. Ehrenkirchen community . Ehrenkirchen: Ehrenkirchen parish 1983.
  • Hugo Ott : Lazarus von Schwendi: (1522–1583); Lectures on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Lazarus von Schwendi (May 27, 1983) and on the occasion of the 1st meeting of the Lazarus von Schwendi City Association on May 23, 1987 in Ehrenkirchen .
  • Roman Schnur: Lazarus von Schwendi . In: Journal for Historical Research 14 (1987), pages 27-46.
  • Thomas Nicklas: About power and unity of the empire. Conception and reality of politics with Lazarus von Schwendi (1522–1583). Husum: Matthiesen 1995 (dissertation). ISBN 3-7868-1442-2
  • Ingrid Hepperle: Lazarus von Schwendi: how a Swabian made his fortune on the Upper Rhine . Ulm / Donau: Hess 1997. ISBN 3-87336-247-3
  • Howard Louthan: The quest for compromise: peace-makers in counter-Reformation Vienna . Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1997. ISBN 0-521-58082-X
  • Kaspar von Greyerz: Un moyenneur solitaire: Lazarus von Schwendi et la politique religieuse de l'Empire au XVIe siècle tardif. In: Matthieu Arnold and Rolf Decot (eds.): Piety and Spirituality. Effects of the Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. Mainz 2002 (= publications of the Institute for European History Mainz, Dept. for Occidental Religious History, Supplement 54), pp. 147–160.

Entries in biographical reference works:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Hugo Ott: Lazarus von Schwendi: (1522–1583); Lectures on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Lazarus von Schwendi (May 27, 1983) and on the occasion of the 1st meeting of the Lazarus von Schwendi city association on May 23, 1987 in Ehrenkirchen ; P. 17f.
  2. Documenta Rudolphina : Schwendi, Anna von , accessed on June 15, 2009
  3. "Mei Büchle" by Franz-Karl
  4. Family tree of the Counts of Zimmer, written down in 1776, with the help of the chronicle, by the Fürstenberg archivist Döpser
  5. ^ H. Witt: Outline of the history of Burkheim in: Stadtverwaltung Burkheim and Winzergenossenschaft Burkheim: 1200 years Burkheim , Burkheim, 1963, p. 28.
  6. Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. The museum and its representative rooms . Kiesel Verlag, Salzburg 1981, ISBN 3-7023-0113-5 , p. 31

Web links

Commons : Lazarus von Schwendi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files