Leonhard of Gorizia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leonhard von Görz (* 1444 in Lienz ; † April 12, 1500 ibid) was the last prince of the Meinhardin family . As Count von Görz tried all his life to regain the lost territories in Carinthia . At his side was the extremely capable Meinhardin bastard Virgil von Graben , who as imperial administrator and captain led the affairs of state for Count Leonhard, and finally initiated and completed the transition of the Görzer Grafschaft to the Habsburg Empire .

Life

As the son of Heinrich VI. and Catharina von Gara , Leonhard appeared as the last Count of Gorizia. In 1448, together with his two brothers Johann and Ludwig, he succeeded his father in the Gorizia rule. Johann had died in 1456, his other brother Ludwig died in 1462; from this point on, Leonhard was solely responsible for the government. He was married first to a daughter of the Bosnian King Nicholas and then to Paola Gonzaga , the daughter of Margrave Luigi III. Gonzaga . Both marriages remained childless.

Leonhard von Görz and Paola Gonzaga
Paola Gonzaga

In the dispute over the inheritance of the Counts of Cilli with Emperor Friedrich III. In 1460, the Counts of Gorizia suffered a defeat with the subsequent dictated peace of Pusarnitz, in which they lost all Carinthian lordships including the city of Lienz and their residence at Schloss Bruck . Leonhard's brother, Count Johann von Görz , now moved into Heinfels Castle as his permanent seat, while the mint was established in Toblach . The dominions taken from the Görzern were passed on to his field captain Jan von Witowec according to the emperor's assurance . For unknown reasons, he lost interest in the rule of Lienz and sold it on March 4, 1462 to his comrade in arms, Andreas von Weißpriach, for 4,000 guilders. In the course of the military recovery of Bruck Castle and the city of Lienz under Count Leonhard, Weißpriach was captured, who was stuck on Heinfels until late winter 1467. He had to swear a primal feud to Count Leonhard and Virgil von Graben, who had played a key role in the arrest, and waived all legal claims against the Lienz District Court and Bruck Castle in writing. He was released from prison in the late winter of 1467.

From 1470 Leonhard von Görz again regularly held the title of imperial prince , which his family holds with the title of prince due to the imperial county of Gorizia.

Shortly before his death, Count Leonhard concluded an inheritance contract with Maximilian I over the county. When the childless Leonhard died, the county of the last Meinhardin was to be incorporated into the Habsburg Empire . The smooth takeover of the county was achieved through great promises made by Maximilian to Virgil von Graben, who now ended his hitherto secret collaboration with the Venetians and campaigned for the country to join the Habsburg Empire.

With the death of Count Leonhard, the Meinhardin dynasty became extinct in 1500. It was only established by the illegitimate Meinhardin (Görzischen) Lords Von Graben von Stein and the Counts of Eschenloch , descended from Count Meinhard II./IV. of Tyrol and Gorizia, Duke of Carinthia .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erich Zöllner: History of Austria. From the beginning to the present , Oldenbourg, 1990, p. 159.
  2. ↑ History of Heinfels Castle ( Memento from November 23, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  3. ↑ Osttiroler Heimatblätter; Two particularly noteworthy women in Bruck Castle (1982)
  4. ^ Hermann Wiesflecker: Austria in the age of Maximilian I. The unification of the countries to the early modern state. The rise to world power , Verlag für Geschichte und Politik, 1999, p.
  5. ^ Rudolf Granichstaedten-Czerva (1948): Brixen. Imperial Principality and Court , Vienna, 1948.
  6. ^ Collegium Res Nobilis Austriae: Digging from stone
predecessor Office successor
Johann II. Count of Gorizia
1448–1500 		Maximilian I.
Counts of Gorizia Governor of Lienz and East Tyrol
? –1500 		Virgil of Trench
personal data
SURNAME Leonhard of Gorizia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Görz, governor of Lienz and East Tyrol
DATE OF BIRTH 1444
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: Lienz
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 1500
Place of death Lienz