Schweikhard von Helfenstein

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Coat of arms of the von Helfenstein family

Schweikhard of Helfenstein (* 26 June 1539 on Castle Neufra , today Riedlingen ; † 23. October 1599 in Landsberg am Lech , also known as: Schwickart of Helfenstein) was a Count , Duke of Bavarian Pfleger , president of Reichskammergericht to Speyer imperial and Governor of Tyrol .

origin

He came from the Swabian noble family of Counts von Helfenstein and was the son of Count Georg II von Helfenstein and Freiherr von und zu Gundelfingen (1518–1573) and his first wife Marie de Bonnard, Dame de Gomignies (Maria von Borwart and Momignies ) ( 1520–1565), daughter of Klaudius von Borwart (Claude de Bonnard et de Gomignies) and Johanna von der Markt. Marie inherited Momignies and the Gundelfingen rule with Hayingen and Neufra (Riedlingen) . The father Count George II. Held the rank of imperial colonel and served as president of the Imperial Chamber, and from 1553 as chief bailiff in Alsace and 1557-70 as Tyrolean governor to Innsbruck . In his second marriage, he married Apollonia von Zimmer (1547-1604), heiress of the Messkirch rule and the castles Wildenstein and Falkenstein , daughter of Froben Christoph von Zimmer , author of the Zimmeric Chronicle .

Live and act

Title page of the "Works of St. Basilius" by Schweikhard von Helfenstein, 1591

Converted from Protestantism to the Catholic Church in 1565, Schweikhard von Helfenstein followed in his father's footsteps. He worked 1562–1564 as president of the Imperial Court of Justice, 1571–1575 as the imperial governor of Tyrol, and 1574–1599 as Bavarian councilor and curator of Landsberg. In addition, he was inherited the title of Freiherr von Gundelfingen .

Count von Helfenstein was very bibliophile and owned a large, valuable collection of books. In addition, he was active as a writer or journalist and gained importance for German literature by translating the Latin novel " Barlaam und Josaphat ", which was composed of Indian material and leading to Christianity, into German, which resulted in the first German printing in 1603. Helfenstein also published the works of St. Basil in German translation in 1591 .

The count was an activist and promoter of Catholic reform and worked closely with the Jesuits . At his instigation, the order settled in Landsberg am Lech. In cooperation with Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria , Helfenstein founded the Jesuit college there in 1575 with the associated Holy Cross Church and in 1576 laid the foundation stone for it himself. In 1578, at the opening, St. Peter Canisius , who was one of his friends , was also present.

As the former president of the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Speyer, Helfenstein knew that the now deceased Count Anton von Salm , one of his predecessors at the Court of Appeal and the last abbot of the abolished Hornbach Monastery , had moved the homeless relics of St. Pirminius from there for their protection in 1558 City. In order to reactivate the veneration of the saint and to provide his body with a dignified resting place, Schweikhard von Helfenstein transferred the remains to his governor's residence in Innsbruck in 1575 and left them to the Jesuits. They are still there today in the Innsbruck Jesuit Church . Helfenstein's friend, St. Petrus Canisius, who, like himself, had previously been in Speyer for a longer period, also seems to have been involved in the transfer of the relics.

Count Georg von Helfenstein was married to Countess Maria von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1544–1611), daughter of Count Karl I von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen . Her brother Karl II von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen had Elisabeth in 1591, the widow of Margrave Jakob III who was murdered in 1590 because of his conversion to the Catholic Church . von Baden , married.

The Helfenstein couple left no surviving children behind, had financed the Landsberg Jesuit branch from their own resources and after their death bequeathed all of their assets to the order. Both spouses therefore found their final resting place in the Landsberg Jesuit Church of the Holy Cross and the Fathers erected a representative Renaissance tomb for them there in 1602, which was transferred to the current Rococo church (1752/54) after it was rebuilt and placed on the inner north wall has been. In Landsberg there is Helfensteinstraße in her memory .

sister

Schweikhard's sister Johanna Barbara von Helfenstein (1550–1572) married Friedrich Truchsess von Waldburg-Trauchburg (1546–1570), the brother of the later Archbishop of Cologne, Gebhard I von Waldburg , who converted to Protestantism in 1582 and the Archbishopric of Cologne as his private principality wanted to secularize.

literature

  • Heinrich Friedrich Kerler: History of the counts of Helfenstein. Volume 1, Stettin 1840, p. 138 f. (Digitized version)
  • Sigfrid Hofmann, Gregor Peda: Landsberg am Lech . Schnell and Steiner Verlag, Regensburg 1983, p. 38 ( excerpt from Google Books )
  • St. Pirminius, the old and new patron of Innsbruck. In: Official Journal of the State Capital Innsbruck. 17th year, 1954, No. 11 (digitized version)
  • Karlfriedrich Gruber: Three Helfensteiner counts of the 16th century. In: The Counts of Helfenstein. Stations in their history. Booklet accompanying the exhibition in the old building Geislingen, Geislingen an der Steige 1994, pp. 67–82.
  • Josef Nolte: The Landsberger nurse and Bavarian councilor Schweickhart von Helfenstein (1539-1599) in the light of his books. A historical contribution to the Upper German aristocratic culture in the age of denominational formation. In: Rudolf W. Keck (Ed.): Literati - Clerics - Scholars . Cologne 1996, ISBN 3-412-07595-7 , pp. 221-244.
  • Paul Friedrich von Stälin :  Helfenstein, Count Georg von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1880, p. 686 f. (Article on the father with additional information on the son Schweikhard)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Family genealogical website
  2. ^ Yearbook of the Association for the History of the Augsburg Diocese e. V. Volume 30, Sankt-Ulrich-Verlag, Augsburg 1997, p. 139; Excerpt from the source
  3. ^ Website on the Lords of Gundelfingen, with mention of the title transition to the Counts of Helfenstein
  4. ^ Digital scan of Helfenstein's works of St. Basil, 1591
  5. ↑ Website for the establishment of the Jesuit College Landsberg with a mention of Count Helfenstein ( memento of the original of September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ammerseekurier.de
  6. ↑ Florian Riess: The blessed Petrus Canisius from the Society of Jesus. Herder Verlag, Freiburg 1865, pp. 468 and 469; Digital scan
  7. ↑ Franz Maier: Saint Pirmin and his memoria in the Palatinate. In: Klaus Herbers, Peter Rückert: Pilgrim saints and their memoria. 2012, ISBN 978-3-8233-6684-3 , p. 158; Digital scan
  8. ^ Website with information on the Pirminius relics and mention of the Count von Helfenstein
  9. ↑ Epitaph in Landsberg  in the German Digital Library
  10. ^ Genealogical page on the married couple
personal data
SURNAME Helfenstein, Schweikhard von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Helfenstein, Schweikhardt von; Helfenstein, Swikard from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Count, President of the Reich Chamber of Commerce, Imperial Governor
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1539
PLACE OF BIRTH Neufra , today in Riedlingen
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 1599
Place of death Landsberg am Lech