Stefan of Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken

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Count Palatine Stefan von Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken, ideal portrait

Stefan von Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken (* June 23, 1385 ; † February 14, 1459 in Simmern ) was Count Palatine and Duke of Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken . His father was the Elector of the Palatinate and Roman-German King Ruprecht , his mother Elisabeth of Nuremberg .

Live and act

After Ruprecht's death, the Palatinate County near Rhine was divided up among the four living sons on October 3rd, 1410. Ludwig became the main heir with the electoral dignity, Johann received Pfalz-Neumarkt , Stefan Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken and Otto Pfalz-Mosbach .

In June 1410, Stefan had married Anna von Veldenz , daughter of Count Friedrich III. von Veldenz , with whom Stefan remained politically close throughout his life. Anna died on November 18, 1439 at Wachenheim Castle . After the death of Friedrich III. in 1444 Stefan's sons inherited the county of Veldenz as successors to their mother (the female succession was contested by the Electoral Palatinate, which subsequently led to armed conflicts) and shares in the county of Sponheim . In the same year, the future division of the dominion into Pfalz-Simmern -Sponheim (to Friedrich ) and Pfalz-Zweibrücken -Veldenz (to Ludwig ) was decided by a contract . Stefan inherited part of Pfalz-Neumarkt in 1448, but sold it to his brother Otto. In other respects, too, Stefan tried to ensure stable conditions by paying off debts and buying and selling territories.

In 1431, Stefan had King Sigismund confirm his right to mint and used this to mint gold coins and larger silver coins in his mints in Simmern and Wachenheim .

In 1453, Stefan only handed over the business of government to his two sons, Friedrich and Ludwig, who remained in the secular class, and retired to Meisenheim . He died on a trip from there to Simmern. Stefan was buried in the former Teutonic Order Church in Meisenheim.

Stefan became the progenitor of the Electors of the Palatinate from 1559 through his son Friedrich and through his son Ludwig to the progenitor of their successors in the Kurlinie from 1685 as well as the progenitor of the Bavarian kings . Thus all Wittelsbachers living today descend from Stefan.

reception

Stefan's biographers Philipp Casimir Heintz and Ludwig Molitor counted Stefan as the "first Duke of Pfalz-Zweibrücken" and accordingly dated the foundation of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken state back to 1410. On the other hand, older and more recent historians only let the history of Pfalz-Zweibrücken begin with the division of the country in 1444 and accordingly count Ludwig I as the first duke.

Heintz and Molitor, following him, claimed that Stefan resided in Zweibrücken , and gave detailed reasons for this: Stefan first took up residence in Meisenheim, with his father-in-law. After he had the old Count's castle built in Zweibrücken, he moved his residence to Zweibrücken in the same year. During his lifetime he was nicknamed Der Zweibrücker . Stefan's choice of the city as the main residence provided considerable impetus for the development of the urban community in Zweibrücken. He was also concerned with strengthening the church system in the royal seat, which did not yet have its own parish and which belonged to Ixheim . In 1415 he traveled to the Council of Constance , where he obtained approval to move the Magdalen convent outside the city to the walled city area. Through an exchange of letters with the antipope Felix V , Stefan finally managed to move the Ixheim parish to Zweibrücken, so that on April 20, 1448 the first pastor from Zweibrücken took office.

Offspring from the marriage with Anna

⚭ 1435 Count Vincenz of Moers and Saar Werden († 1499)
⚭ 1454 Princess Margaret of Geldern (1436–1486)
  • Ruprecht (1420–1478), Bishop of Strasbourg
  • Stephan (1421–1485), Provost of Cologne, Speyer, Mainz, Liège and others
  • Ludwig I (1424–1489), Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken
⚭ Countess Johanna von Croy (1435–1504)

literature

  • Philipp Casimir Heintz : The former principality of Pfaltz-Zweibrücken and its dukes , 1st part, Munich 1833, pp. 117-214. On-line
  • Johann Georg Lehmann : Complete history of the Duchy of Zweibrücken and its princes , Munich 1867, pp. 7–88. On-line
  • Ludwig Molitor : Complete history of the former Palatinate-Bavarian royal seat of Zweibrücken , Zweibrücken 1885, pp. 91–111.
  • Willi Wagner: The Wittelsbachers of the Pfalz-Simmern line. Their ancestors, their families and their grave monuments. Simmern 2003.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ludwig Molitor: Complete history of the former Palatinate-Bavarian residence city Zweibrücken , Zweibrücken 1885, here pp. 93, 93, 94, 94, 106, 107.
predecessor Office successor
Ruprecht III. Duke of Palatinate-Simmern
1410–1453 		Friedrich I.
Ruprecht III. Duke of Pfalz-Zweibrücken
1410–1453 		Ludwig I.
Friedrich III. from Veldenz Count of Veldenz
(de iure uxoris )
1444–1459 		Ludwig I.
personal data
SURNAME Stefan of Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count Palatine and Duke of Palatinate-Simmern and Palatinate-Zweibrücken, Count of Veldenz
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1385
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 1459
Place of death Simmer