Valentin Echter from Mespelbrunn
Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn (born May 21, 1550 in Mespelbrunn , † September 24, 1624 in Öttershausen ) was a younger brother of the Würzburg prince-bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn . He was a bailiff in Aschach , Kissingen and Volkach . In addition, Valentin Echter was also active as a Princely Würzburg Councilor and Reichshof Councilor . In 1623 he was raised to the baron status.
Live and act
Valentin Echter was born on May 21, 1550 as the fourth child of Peter Echter von Mespelbrunn and his wife Gertraud, née von Adelsheim, in the family's official residence in Mespelbrunn, Lower Franconia. The father was active as a Kurmainzischer councilor and bailiff in Stadtprozelten and Dieburg and thus already a man of the upper class. Among his brothers were the future Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, and Adolf, who succeeded his father as a councilor in the service of the Archbishop of Mainz.
Little is known about Valentine's youth and education. What is certain is that he initially began a church career, but the sources are silent about Valentin Echter's place of training. The resignation of the budding theologian in 1576 is certain, but the reasons for this are again unclear. As a result, Valentin married Ottilia Rau von Holzhausen on February 26, 1577 , with whom he was to have twelve children.
Valentin Echter and his wife acquired the village of Gaibach from the Zollner von der Hallburg in 1579 . In the same year he also became a bailiff in the prince-bishop's office in Aschach. This post is probably due to his brother, who has meanwhile been elected bishop. Soon afterwards, Valentin was also installed as the highest civil servant in the offices of Kissingen and Volkach; the accumulation of offices continued with his role as councilor in Würzburg and Reichshofrat in Vienna.
In 1588 the bailiff began building a church in Gaibach. The previous building of Balthasar Neumann's Dreifaltigkeitskirche was planned as a parish church, so that Gaibach could be parish off from Volkach in 1596. Also in 1588 the villages of Schwarzenau and Breitensee, as well as the estate in Öttershausen, were brought into the possession of the von Mespelbrunn family. Schwarzenau received its own parish under Valentine's protection in 1609, and the Laurentius Church was rebuilt at the same time .
However, the largest construction project by Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn was the Gaibach Castle , which was built between 1590 and 1608 in place of a medieval castle by the Volkach master builder Jobst Pfaff. At the same time, Valentin was also involved in imperial politics. An assassination attempt on Count Johann Dietrich von Löwenstein and Wertheim is recorded for 1602. However, the high point of his life was the elevation to the baron and banner rulership by Emperor Ferdinand II on March 17, 1623.
From then on, the real von Mespelbrunn belonged to the gentry in the titled nobility. A year later, on September 24, 1624, Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn died on his estate in Öttershausen near Gaibach and was buried a few days later in the Gaibach church that he had donated. The epitaph of the nobleman, made by the artist Julius Emes, is now in the Museum for Franconia in Würzburg .
coat of arms
Valentin Echter came from the family of the Echter von Mespelbrunn. Your family coat of arms has been preserved to this day in the entire diocese of Würzburg, especially as an element of the coat of arms of Prince-Bishop Julius Echter. Description : In blue a silver diagonal right bar, covered with three blue rings; on the helmet with blue-silver covers two blue buffalo horns marked like the shield. For Valentin, the coat of arms has been preserved on a relief on the Schwarzenau church. It can also be found on the epitaph of the nobleman.
literature
- Kathrin Brandmair: "Your parting breaks my heart ...". The epitaph of Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn . Wuerzburg 2013.
- Hans-Joachim Raab: Notes on Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn . In: Ute Feuerbach (Ed.): Volkach. 906-2006 . Volkach 2006.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ While Raab (p. 59) mentions this year, other authors assume the year 1623.
- ^ Raab, Hans-Joachim: Notes on Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn . P. 59.
- ^ Historical lexicon of Bavaria: Echter von Mespelbrunn, noble family , accessed on July 4, 2014.
- ^ Raab, Hans-Joachim: Notes on Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn . P. 60.
- ↑ See: Brandmair, Kathrin: The epitaph of Valentin Echter von Mespelbrunn .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Real von Mespelbrunn, Valentin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Real, Valentin II. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Reichshofrat, canon, bailiff |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 21, 1550 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mespelbrunn |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 24, 1624 |
| Place of death | Öttershausen |