Martin Wilhelm von Waldthausen
Martin William of Waldthausen (* 30th November 1875 in Essen , † 21st September 1928 in Wiesbaden ) was a Prussian lieutenant , who from 1908 to 1910 in Lennebergwald between Mainz and Budenheim the castle Waldthausen built.
Life
origin
Martin Wilhelm von Waldthausen came from the respected Essen patrician and industrial family Waldthausen . He was the only child of the banker Albert von Waldthausen (1834-1924) and his wife Henriette, née Bährens (1835-1918).
Officer career
Little is known about Waldthausen's first two decades of life. Apparently he did not want to be a banker like his father and only decided to become an officer in the Prussian army in his mid- twenties . In 1901 or 1902 he joined the hussar regiment "King Humbert of Italy" (1st Kurhessisches) No. 13 , which at that time was stationed in the Golden Ross barracks in the fortress of Mainz in the Grand Duchy of Hesse . He had the rank of lieutenant there .
During a military maneuver with an imperial parade in the Mainzer Sand exercise area , an incident occurred (presumably in 1904) that made Waldthausen feel offended by Kaiser Wilhelm II . In return, he is said to have made a derogatory remark about the emperor (the so-called idol quote ). This would have constituted an offense against majesty , but was evidently not prosecuted. Waldthausen retired from military service after the incident.
Waldthausen Castle
After leaving the military, Waldthausen lived in Mainz as a private citizen . On February 21, 1905, at the age of 29, he married Klara Elise Theodore Korte (1871–1940), who was more than four years his senior, in Essen. He had three children with her: Irene (1906–1911), Horst (1907–1933) and Elisabeth (1909–1910), all of whom were born in Mainz. The Waldthausen had Waldthausen Castle built as a residence for himself and his family from 1908 to 1910 in the Lenneberg Forest between Mainz and Budenheim, which they moved into in January 1910.
The sumptuous villa with several outbuildings as well as a spacious park and a large terraced castle garden with fish pond is said to have cost the very high sum of 18 million marks for the time. One motive for the splendid execution of the palace villa could have been the urge to gain recognition for Kaiser Wilhelm II. He is said to have instructed his architect to build the villa based on the model of the residential palace in Poznan , which the emperor had built from 1905 to 1913.
Waldthausen had a huge relief of the family coat of arms affixed to the entrance facade , which bears the year 1569. He attached great importance to not belonging to the nouveau riche money nobility and referred to his ancestor Justus von Waldthausen, who was ennobled in 1569. His father Albert von Waldthausen had received confirmation of the Prussian nobility on December 31, 1900.
Waldthausen Castle brought no luck to the family: shortly after moving in, their younger daughter Elisabeth died in March 1910 - the baby was only ten weeks old. And in November 1911, the older daughter Maria died at the age of only five.
emigration
At the beginning of World War I , Waldthausen, his wife and son Horst left Germany in 1914 and from then on lived in Switzerland and Liechtenstein . The family acquired Swiss citizenship and never returned to Waldthausen Castle.
Martin Wilhelm von Waldthausen died on September 21, 1928 at the age of 52 while staying in Wiesbaden. He did not live to see his son Horst having a fatal accident in a car race in August 1933 at the age of 26 .
In the Mainz district of Finthen there is a Waldthausenstrasse which is named after the baron.
literature
- Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Briefadeligen houses. 1917. Eleventh year, Justus Perthes, Gotha 1916, p. 910.
- Jürgen Strickstrock: “Coal Baron” wanted to annoy Kaiser. Allgemeine Zeitung (Mainz) of December 31, 2009, p. 20 ( last accessed on March 31, 2010 )
Web links
- Waldthausen Castle, regionalgeschichte.net
- further website about Martin Wilhelm von Waldthausen and his castle Waldthausen
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Waldthausen, Martin Wilhelm von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prussian lieutenant |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 30, 1875 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | eat |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 21, 1928 |
| Place of death | Wiesbaden |