Otto Ludwig von Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen

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Otto Ludwig Graf von Salm, Wild and Rhine Count of Kyrburg and Mörchingen, copper engraving by Matthaeus Merian

Otto Ludwig Graf von Salm, Wild and Rhine Count of Kyrburg and Mörchingen (born October 13, 1597 , † October 6, July / October 16,  1634 greg. In Speyer ) was a Swedish general in the Thirty Years War . He was governor in Alsace and commander of the Swedish troops on the Upper Rhine.

Life

Otto Ludwig von Salm was the second surviving son of Johann IX, Wild and Rhine Count of Kyrburg-Mörchingen (1575–1623) and Anna Katharina, Baroness of Criechingen († 1638).

During the Thirty Years' War he initially served as a military leader under the Danish King Christian IV . At the Battle of Lutter on August 27, 1626 against Tilly , he led the third meeting. The defeat led to the occupation of Jutland by imperial troops. After another defeat against Wallenstein together with Bernhard von Sachsen-Weimar , he had to flee to Funen . In August 1628 the Danes were again subject to Wallenstein at Wolgast . King Christian IV fled to Copenhagen. Thereupon Otto von Salm left the Danish services. His personal relationship with the king was also more than tense, because he had entered into a relationship with Kirsten Munk , whose wife on the left hand side . Christian IV did not recognize Kirsten Munk's last child and banished her from the court.

In the same year Otto von Salm entered the service of the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf and was given command of his German cavalry. At first he put the king's life in danger through unauthorized recklessness, but was later involved in the capture of Frankfurt on the Oder and Landshut and the victorious battle of Breitenfeld on September 17, 1631. From the end of 1631 to 1634 Otto von Salm achieved numerous victories against Spanish and French troops between the Rhine, Moselle and Alsace , making him one of the most successful commanders of the Thirty Years' War. Shortly after Gustav Adolf's death, Gustaf Horn gave him supreme command in Alsace, which was occupied by the Swedes. Otto von Salm took tough action against the rebellious population who defended themselves against the looting of the Swedes and had 1,600 farmers in Dammerkirch slaughtered at the beginning of 1633 . Before Breisach he defeated an imperial army under Ernesto Montecuccoli in June and on July 20, 1633 ordered the destruction of Hohenstoffeln Castle . At the beginning of 1634 he succeeded in conquering Sulz , Gebweiler , Thann , Belfort , Altkirch , Neubourg and Freiburg .

From April to the end of August 1634 Otto von Salm was busy with the recapture of Freiburg and the month-long siege of Rheinfelden , which was defended by Franz von Mercy . When Rheinfelden finally capitulated on August 29th after being completely starved, Otto Ludwig followed Horn's order only hesitantly to join the Swedish army that was gathering for the battle of Nördlingen . That is why his army only reached the battlefield after the devastating defeat of the Swedes and was only able to provide assistance to the fleeing Swedish troops against the pursuing Croatians .

However, back in Alsace, he suffered several defeats. While fleeing, he had to swim across the Rhine near Kehl on September 27th . On October 9th, he and the Swedish resident Friedrich Richard Mockhel signed a treaty with the French King Louis XIII. , in which he ceded several places to him in the hope of initiating an alliance between Sweden and France against Emperor Ferdinand II .

Appointed to Worms by Axel Oxenstierna , Otto von Salm died on the 6th / 16th. October in Speyer at the plague and was buried on March 25, 1635 in the Strasbourg cathedral . The Christian funeral sermon / About the deadly and blessed farewell / Deß hochwohlgebornen Graven vnd Herren / Herren Ott-Ludwigen / Wild vnd Rheingraven / Graven zu Salm and Herren zu Vinstingen / [et] c. The Royal Cron Sweden and Vnirter Evangelical Estates highly deserved generals and colonels on horse and foot: Which in the next deviated 1634 year / October 6th. in deß Heil. The imperial city of Speyer fell asleep gently and blissfully in Christ Iesu , said the theology professor Johann Schmidt .

family

Otto Ludwig was married to Anna Magdalene von Hanau from August 1633 . She was the daughter of Count Johann Reinhard I von Hanau-Lichtenberg (* 1569; † 1625) and Countess Maria Elisabeth von Hohenlohe-Neuenstein (* 1576; † 1605). She was also the widow of Lothar von Criechingen († 1629) with whom she already had the son (Count Franz Ernst III. † 1677). She also had a son, Otto Ludwig, who was only born after his father's death. This, the Wild and Rhine Count Johann XI. (* April 17, 1635) married the Countess Palatine Elisabeth Johanna von Veldenz (* February 22, 1653 - † February 5, 1718) on December 27, 1669 . Since they had no children, the Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen line went out on his death on November 16, 1688 in Flonheim . Johann XI. is buried in the town church of Kirn .

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personal data
SURNAME Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen, Otto Ludwig von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Otto Ludwig Graf von Salm, Wild and Rhine Count of Kyrburg and Mörchingen
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish general in the Thirty Years War
DATE OF BIRTH October 13, 1597
DATE OF DEATH October 16, 1634
Place of death Speyer