Rotberg (noble family)

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Coat of arms of the Rotberg (Rietberg) in the Zurich coat of arms from around 1340

The von Rotberg family is a Swiss aristocratic family that belongs to the primeval nobility and, especially in the Basel area, produced important personalities between the 13th and 18th centuries.

ancestry

The family of von Rotberg is traced back to the family of noble free von Biederthan (from Biederthal , in Upper Alsace), documented in 1141 . The lords of Ratolsdorf ( Rodersdorf in the canton of Solothurn), documented since 1197, also descend from the Biederthan . In 1274 Werner and Johannes von Rapperch (Raperch, High German Rotberg) are named as cousins ​​of the Ratolsdorf family. The lineage of the von Biederthal, von Rodersdorf and von Rotberg families is also evidenced by the same coat of arms.

history

Rotberg Castle
Bischofshof am Münster in Basel, built by Bishop Arnold III. von Rotberg, with his coat of arms above the archway

From the 13th century the Rotbergers entered the service of the Basel bishop and the city of Basel . They provided canons of Basel and, from 1451, Arnold von Rotberg , a prince-bishop. This also renewed the bishop's court at Basel Minster . They also provided members of the city council and several mayors. In the Battle of Sempach in 1386, according to the list of fallen soldiers, five Rotbergs fell as knights in the Habsburg army.

The headquarters of Burg Rotberg , southwest of Basel in today's Canton of Solothurn, was first mentioned in a document in 1413. As lords of Rotberg reign (1408-1515) the Rotbergs were rich immediate Ritter, equipped with the low and high courts, and included as a free imperial knights of the imperial knights on.

As early as 1302, Fürstenstein Castle near Ettingen was named as an episcopal fiefdom to the Rotbergers. In 1410, the former mayor of Basel, Hans Ludmann von Rotberg , withdrew to the protection of Fürstenstein Castle. He allied himself with Catherine of Burgundy , who in turn allied with Basel in 1411. As a result of a feud of the Duchess, the castle was occupied by their opponents Heinrich zu Rhein and Rudolf von Neuenstein and then destroyed by the Baselers.

By the middle of the 15th century, the lords of Rotberg were able to expand their property, which consisted of fiefs from the empire , the dukes of Habsburg Austria , the prince-bishops of Basel and the bishopric of Strasbourg . These included the village of Rodersdorf and the Leuhausen farm in the Alsatian community of Biederthal, as well as the seven imperial-free villages on the Blauen : Blauen BL , Brislach , Dittingen , Hofstetten , Metzerlen , Nenzlingen and Witterswil . In 1459, after the Basel Knights Münch died out , the Rotbergers also acquired their former residence, the Münchsberg ruins , which were destroyed in the Basel earthquake in 1356; however, goods (e.g. Dinghof Aesch) and rights (e.g. tax collection, jurisdiction) were associated with their possession .

The Rotberghof in Basel's Rittergasse is now the home of the de la Roche family. The Schallerhof am Rhein was sold to the city of Basel shortly before 1460 for 850 guilders and is now part of the university's college.

In 1462, Bernhard von Rotberg left the villages of Blauen, Dittingen, Nenzlingen and Brislach to the Bishop of Basel, Johann V. von Venningen , and Arnold von Rotberg sold the rest of the Rotberg dominion to Solothurn on February 15, 1515 . The sale of the castles Fürstenstein and Münchsberg initially failed due to the resistance of the Prince-Bishop of Basel as liege lord, Christoph von Utenheim , who wanted to stop Solothurn's expansion policy. On May 22, 1555, however, these castles were also sold with the consent of Bishop Melchior von Lichtenfels .

The rule of Bamlach and Rheinweiler

Rheinweiler Castle

Already in 1417 Ludemann von Rotberg had acquired half of the imperial fiefdom of Bamlach and Rheinweiler (both of which now belong to the municipality of Bad Bellingen ) on the Upper Rhine between Basel and Freiburg from the Schaler family. In 1434 Bernhard von Rotberg was able to acquire the other half from Klaus Ulrich Schaler, which was approved by Emperor Sigismund . This began the reorientation of the sex in the Breisgau . The Lords of Rotberg were members of the Danube Canton of the Swabian Imperial Knighthood . Jakob von Rotberg moved the family seat to Rheinweiler in 1516. In 1747, the Rotbergs renounced their imperial-free status, as the Habsburgs, as rulers in the surrounding Front Austria from the 16th century onwards, “almost forcibly lowered them to the rural nobility” and became the Breisgau estate .

The family v. Until the 20th century, Rotberg had its headquarters at Rheinweiler Castle , which was built at the beginning of the 18th century in place of a previous building destroyed in 1676 and redesigned in neo-baroque style in 1908. In 1928 the family sold the castle, which is now a nursing home. The Bamlacher Schlossgut came into the possession of the von Herten asylum in 1925.

Professional recognition

The von Rotberg family belong to the primeval nobility. They bore the names and titles of Lord von, Noble von and Knight.

  • According to various sources, they have been calling themselves barons since around 1700 (the exact date of the ascension is unknown).
  • French recognition of the Baronate Compiégne August 6, 1773.
  • On April 19, 1842, the family was enrolled with Eduard Anselm (Anton) Freiherr von Rotberg, in the Kingdom of Bavaria in the baron class (for the entire sex).

The family was recognized as a baron in the Kingdom of Bavaria , Kingdom of Prussia , Kingdom / Empire of France, and Grand Duchy of Baden .

Personalities

Wilhelm von Rotberg (1718–1795), Gotha Privy Councilor

Trunk lines

Simplified family tree of the main lines of von Rotberg

The von Rotberg family had a ramified family tree with many side lines. The well-known lines included those to Hertingen (-Ötlingen), Rötteln, Wentweiler, Rheinweiler and Schlingen, which became the Bamlach line. Many of these lines have expired and some have been re-established after they have expired, resulting in a very confusing situation overall.

Main lines of those von Rotberg

The graphic shows a greatly simplified main line of the main lines Hertingen-Ötlingen, Rheinweiler and Schliengen or Bamlach. A very detailed family tree of these main lines on a total of 11 individual tables can be found in the literature.

"Clevesche sideline" Rodenberg

A Rudolph von Rotberg emigrated to Clevesche in the 16th century and established himself there. The line of the family called itself there "von Rodenberg" acquired some manors, such as Haus Klarenbeck and Haus Germenseel . Later family members made careers in politics and in the Prussian military and were finally confirmed on April 24, 1801 in Prussia as "Lords of Rodenberg" in the old nobility. The family continues to use the family coat of arms of the Rotberg family: a black crossbar in gold.

relationship

In the course of history, the nobles and free people of Rotberg were related to well-known families, some of which are still known today. So married z. B. an Arnold von Rotberg, Ritter, Herr zu Bamlach and Rheinweiler etc., a Kunigunde von Baden ; or a Sophia von Rotberg a Burkhard von Staufen. There were also relationships with the barons of Roggenbach (they also provided canons and two prince-bishops of Basel), the barons Münch von Münchenstein called von Löwenburg, the barons of Reich von Reichenstein (who also provided prince-bishops of Basel, at times owners of the Meersburg castle on Lake Constance ), Counts of Cronegg (zu Hohentrüdingen), Counts of Kageneck on Stegen, Count Jean Rapp on Wildenstein, Baron von Gemmingen-Guttenberg , Counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg- Rheda.

coat of arms

Family coat of arms

The family coat of arms of the Rotbergs, which has been in use since 1197, was already used by those of Ratolsdorf as a coat of arms.

Blazon: a black bar in gold; on the helmet with black and gold covers, 2 bull horns marked as the shield, connected by a red cord.

In the 16th century, the Basel coat of arms, part II, depicts the (trunk) coat of arms with five helmets. In the 18th century, the coat of arms carried in the Kingdom of Bavaria is depicted with an old barons crown and above it the crowned helmet with jewel, surrounded by the helmet covers in black and gold.

  • 16th century coat of arms

  • Coat of arms in Siebmacher's coat of arms book , 1605

  • 18th century coat of arms

  • Small coat of arms of the House of Rotberg-Rheinweiler today

  • Large coat of arms of the House of Rotberg-Rheinweiler today - Rotberg coat of arms with the coats of arms of four other families

The small coat of arms :

Shield: square with heart shield; Heart shield: family coat of arms; A black bar in gold; in 1: in gold at the slit half a black, red armored and tongued eagle; in 2: in silver an oblique left red bar accompanied by two green fruits; in 3: divided five times to the left, covered with red and silver, with a gold post with 3 black rafters; in 4: in black, turned away, a golden, red armored and tongued lion. Above a baron crown with silver pearls, a crowned helmet with black and gold covers and with gold, black and black and gold buffalo horns. Shield holder: Two gold lions with red armor and tongue

The great coat of arms :

Today's representation of the large increased coat of arms: The shield shows the coats of arms of five families, is square and bears a center shield with a heart shield (Rotberg family coat of arms), Field I: coat of arms of the barons Münch von Münchenstein, called von Löwenburg; Field II: Coat of arms of the Barons Reich von Reichenstein; Field III: coat of arms of the barons von Roggenbach; Field IV: Coat of arms of the Counts of Cronegg zu Hohentrüdingen.

Blazon : shield: square, in I: square of blue and silver; in 1 and 4: facing a golden, red armored and tongued lion; in 2 and 3: facing a black clad praying monk with red shoes; in II: in gold a black throwing iron (booze pen) placed at an angle to the left; in III: half split and divided by red, black and silver; in IV: quartered with gold and red; in 1 and 4: on a green three-mountain a soaring black, red-tongued and golden-crowned eagle; in 2 and 3: facing a silver ibex trunk; the shield covered with a golden shield crowned with a baron's crown with a heart shield; Heart shield: family coat of arms; A black bar in gold; Shield: quartered; in 1: in gold at the slit half a black, red armored and tongued eagle; in 2: in silver an oblique left red bar accompanied by two green fruits; in 3: divided five times to the left, covered with red and silver, with a gold post with 3 black rafters; in 4: in black, turned away, a golden, red armored and tongued lion.

Helmets: Five helmets with a gold tournament chain; 1: on the crowned helmet with black and gold covers, two buffalo horns, divided by gold and black and black and gold, connected with an intertwined red ribbon; 2: on the helmet with black and silver blankets a black clad praying monk with a silver choir shirt; 3: on the helmet with black and gold covers a golden, red tongued and golden crowned lion stump; 4: on the crowned helmet with red and silver covers, two bull horns divided by red and silver and black and silver; 5: on the crowned helmet with red-silver covers on a green three-mountain a soaring black, red-tongued and gold-crowned eagle.

Shield holder: Two gold lions with red armor and tongue.

Coat of arms

Some regional coats of arms in the former ancestral lands south of Basel still show the former ownership or influence of the Rotberg through their composition. (Local coats of arms in their current design often refer to the coat of arms of the respective local nobility.)

Here is a selection of municipal coats of arms that have the Rotberg coat of arms up their sleeves, or even use the Rotberg family coat of arms alone:

  • Metzerlen-Mariastein community, Dorneck district, Solothurn canton

  • Witterswil community, Dorneck district, Solothurn canton

  • Blauen commune, Laufen district, Canton Basel-La

  • Municipality of Boezen, District of Brugg, Canton of Aargau

  • Coat of arms of the Bamlach community, Bad Bellingen

literature

Noble lexicons

Entries Rotberg

Entries Rodenberg

Web links

Commons : Rotberg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see Julius Kindler von Knobloch : The old nobility in Upper Alsace . Berlin 1882, pp. 12-13 online at the Göttingen University Library
  2. ↑ see Julius Kindler von Knobloch : The old nobility in Upper Alsace . Berlin 1882, pp. 69-70 online at the Göttingen University Library
  3. ↑ The Lords of Blauenstein are also a branch of the noble free von Biederthal; s. Werner Meyer: Blauenstein, from. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  4. ↑ see Veronika Feller-Vest: Rotberg, von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  5. ↑ see Veronika Feller-Vest: Rotberg, von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  6. ↑ s. Eggenschwiler p. 172
  7. ↑ Regesta Imperii No. 10647
  8. ↑ s. Bader p. 55
  9. ↑ s. Bader p. 57
  10. ↑ see Adolf Maximilian Gritzner : Status surveys and acts of grace of German sovereigns during the last three centuries. Volume 1, Starke, Görlitz 1881, p. 456 online at Düsseldorf University Library
  11. ↑ Family table of the Bavarians. Rotberg-Rheinweiler
  12. ↑ Julius Kindler von Knobloch : Upper Baden gender book. Volume 3: M-R. Heidelberg 1919, pp. 636-647. (online at: diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de ) ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de
  13. ↑ see Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : Rodenberg, the Lords of . In: New Prussian Adelslexicon. 1. Supplement-Band, 1839, p. 382. online in the Google book search