Questenberg (noble family)

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Coat of arms of the Cologne Questenbergs
Questenberg Castle ruins

The Questenberg are a branch of the old Thuringian ministerial family von dem Rode (also: vom Rode, lat. De Novali ), which was named after the Questenberg castle above the village of Questenberg .

history

The first mention of a name support was carried out on 24 February 1275, as of the castle team owned the castle Questenberg squire of Count Friedrich of Beichlingen , Fridericus de Questenberg occurs as a witness. Friedrich, who was presumably Vogt at the castle after which he named himself, appears several times until 1303.

A knight Heinricus de Questenberg is mentioned between 1346 and 1386. This Heinrich von Questenberg came from the family von dem Rode and was a son of the knight Wedigo von dem Rode , who in 1349, after the Beichling counts had ceded the castle and office of Questenberg to the Counts of Hohnstein , together with his two brothers, the squire Heinrich d. Ä. and the knight Heinrich d. J. von dem Rode , with which " hus zcuo Questinberg" and some surrounding villages were hereditary. However, the Questenberg was already in lien before 1349, perhaps even in the fiefdom of those from the Rode / von Questenberg. A family connection between the Burgmann Friedrich von Questenberg and the Lehnsmannen von dem Rode / von Questenberg is neither verifiable nor likely. On the other hand, it is considered certain that the headquarters of the von dem Rode is located near Auleben .

The oldest known representative of those from the Rode is Hugo de Novali , who is mentioned in a document from the Walkenried monastery from 1239. Since this document describes in great detail the family relationships of a family related to von dem Rode over several generations, the context clearly shows that Hugo von dem Rode was born around or before the year 1150.

In 1383 the Counts of Hohnstein sold the property to Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia , who pledged them to various families one after the other. At this point at the latest, the last Questenbergs / Rodes had left the castle. Some members of the family continued to sit as pawnbrokers at Falkenstein Castle (verifiable until 1388, but perhaps until 1423), while others had now settled as citizens, sometimes as patricians in Hanseatic cities such as Braunschweig , Danzig or Cologne , but also in London . Heneke (Heinrich) Questenberg appears between 1374 and 1399 among the citizens of Braunschweig. Among his sons, the Hanseatic merchants Tilmann (Tyle) Questenberg (* around 1380; † 1446 in Cologne) and Hermann Questenberg (* around 1400; † 1485 in Danzig) appear. While the Braunschweiger Linie acquired real estate in the area around Braunschweig from the beginning of the 15th century and later settled there, the Cologne Questenbergs were initially very successful in long-distance trading.

At the beginning of the 17th century, they also spread to Austria and Bohemia , where they achieved dignity and wealth. They were in 1661 Bohemia and Moravia the knighthood confirmed. Johann became war secretary and registrar under Emperor Matthias .

Kaspar , Gerhard and Hermann von Questenberg

Gerhard was raised by his grandchildren to a privy councilor under Emperor Ferdinand II and, together with his brother, the Reichshofrat Hermann, to a baron on March 17, 1627. Another brother, Kaspar , became abbot of the Strachow monastery in Prague.

Gerhard acquired the lordships of Jarmeritz in Moravia (1623) and Bečov in West Bohemia (1624), which had been confiscated by opponents of the emperor ; he was Wallenstein's liaison in Vienna and represented his interests there. In the phase of growing tensions between the emperor (or his powerful advisors) and his generalissimo, Gerhard von Questenberg tried to mediate between him and the emperor, but could not prevent his murder.

Jarmeritz Castle

In the possession of the lordship of Jarmeritz and Beschau, Gerhard succeeded Johann Anton from 1661 and Johann Adam von Questenberg from 1686, who had Jarmeritz redesigned in a baroque style. Both lordships remained in the family until 1752. Emperor Leopold I elevated Gerhard Freiherrn von Questenberg to the rank of count by means of a diploma dated January 25, 1696 . The Count's line in Bohemia and Moravia expired with Johann Adam Graf von Questenberg († 1752). In 1761, Dominik Andreas Prince von Kaunitz-Rietberg , who was appointed heir by his aunt Maria Antonia von Questenberg, was given the name " Kaunitz - Rietberg -Questenberg". In 1813 the Kaunitz sold Beeches. After the male line of Kaunitz died out in 1898, Rudolf Christian Graf von Wrbna and Freudenthal († 1927) acquired a name and coat of arms as "Wrbna-Kaunitz-Rietberg-Questenberg and Freudenthal" for himself and his successors as the owner of the Kaunitz Fideikommiss . This family owned, among other things, Jarmeritz until the expropriation in 1945.

coat of arms

The coat of arms, under which Heinrich von Questenberg still seals in 1386, shows a tree on a mountain of three. The coat of arms of the patrician Questenbergs from Cologne, which is completely different from this, is quartered in blue and gold. Above it is a black crowned lion. On the crowned helmet with blue and gold covers, six ostrich feathers, which are quartered like the shield Bau and gold.

Well-known representatives

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gall, p. 274.
  2. ^ Gall, p. 359.