Leonhard Helfried von Meggau

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Leonhard Helfried von Meggau
Coat of arms of the Lords of Meggau, Castle Kreuzen
Greinburg Castle

Leonhard Helfried Freiherr von Meggau ( count since 1626 ) (* 1577 in Kreuzen ; † 1644 at Greinburg Castle ) was chief chamberlain and chief chamberlain at the head of the Viennese court at the time of Emperor Matthias and Ferdinand II.

family

The family was originally from Meissen and stood since the time of Maximilian I in the service of the Habsburgs . In contrast to the aristocrats in Lower Austria , who became mostly Protestant , the Meggau family remained Catholic. The father was Ferdinand Helfried von Meggau. Among other things, he was governor. The mother was Susanna von Harrach . His first marriage was to Anna Khuen von Belasy and his second marriage to Polyxena von Leiningen . From the marriages had four daughters.

Life

After completing his studies, some of which he completed abroad, he became a member of the court of Archduke Maximilian in 1595 . He accompanied him on the campaign to Hungary. A short time later he became archduke Matthias's chamberlain. In 1600 he became imperial councilor and Lower Austrian regimental councilor. In 1607 he became a Privy Councilor, Chief Chamberlain and administrator of the office of Chief Chamberlain in the service of Archduke Matthias. Meggau was one of Matthias' close confidants. He represented this at the Prague Princely Congress of 1610. In 1613 he temporarily lost the chief stewardship, but received it back in 1617. Until the emperor's death, he held the two highest court posts. He also held the first privy council position.

Under Ferdinand II he lost this prominent position. At first he only kept the position in the secret council. It was not until 1621 that he was appointed governor of Lower Austria. A year later he was accepted into the Order of the Golden Fleece . In the year 1624 or 1626 he was reappointed the chief steward. The emperor made him count in 1626. In addition, Meggau was appointed hereditary court master in Austria on the Enns . From Rudolf Sprinzenstein he acquired the rule and castle Greinburg in 1626 , which he had beautifully decorated. The most important testimonies from this renovation phase are the small and large knight's hall with magnificent stucco ceilings from the early Baroque period, the castle chapel with the multi-storey Christmas altar, and the fantastic Sala Terrena - an artificial grotto with illusionary architecture in pebble stone mosaic.

Around 1630, Count Meggau formed the center of one of four large networks at the Viennese court that vied for influence. He was one of Wallenstein's opponents . He was often used as an envoy.

He used his position to increase his possessions and benefited in particular from the confiscations after the suppression of the Bohemian uprising . He owned the lordships of Burg Kreuzen , Rabstein , Ruttenstein , Grein , Freistadt , Maidburg , Schwertberg , Windeck , Ponecken and Hart. He made various pious foundations from his fortune.

After the death of Ferdinand II, Meggau withdrew to his lands. Ferdinand III. temporarily brought him back to Vienna as “director” of the Empress and the children.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Genealogical references
  2. ↑ Graphic representation of political networks around 1630
  3. ↑ Golo Mann : Wallenstein. His life , Frankfurt am Main 2016 (first 1971), pp. 419, 658

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Meggau, Leonhard Helfried von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Meggau, Leonhard Helfried Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Imperial Chamberlain and Chief Chamberlain
DATE OF BIRTH 1577
PLACE OF BIRTH Cross
DATE OF DEATH 1644
Place of death Greinburg Castle