Viktor zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen

Viktor August Graf zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen (* 1. January 1821 on Castle Ilbenstadt (today part of Niddatal ), Hesse-Darmstadt , † 19th February 1880 in Darmstadt , Hesse-Darmstadt) was imperial Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal Lieutenant and co-founder of " Mainzer Adelsverein ".

family

The only son Reinhard August, as a crusader on the Röhrbrunnen Grünstadt

Viktor was the youngest son of Count Friedrich I. Ludwig Christian zu Leiningen-Westerburg (1761–1839) from the noble family Leiningen and his second wife Eleonore Maria Magdalena Breitwieser , later after their marriage in 1813 ennobled to " von Brettwitz " (1781– 1841).

Count Viktor married his niece Countess Marie zu Leiningen-Westerburg (1831–1863), the daughter of his eldest brother Friedrich II. Eduard (1806–1868) and Freiin Henriette von und zu Eggloffstein (1805–1870) in 1862 . Countess Marie died three weeks after the birth of their only child, Reinhard August (1863–1929), whose relief in crusader clothing, created after a portrait by Guido Philipp Schmitt , adorns the so-called tube fountain in the Grünstadt pedestrian zone .

Life

Leiningen began his military training as a boy and at the age of 19 (1840) served as a lieutenant in an Austrian infantry regiment.

In April 1842 he was one of the co-founders of the “ Mainzer Adelsverein ” in Biebrich near Mainz , which set itself the goal of promoting emigration to Texas ( USA ). As early as May 1842, he was chosen to travel to Texas with Count Joseph von Boos zu Waldeck in order to purchase land for German emigrants (see below under Boos-Waldeck ).

In February 1843 he left Texas alone and after his return in May he reported in Mainz on his experiences and results in the USA. In contrast to Boos-Waldeck , who warned of an overly rapid wave of emigration before the necessary preparations were made in Texas, Leiningen seems to have advised to emigrate quickly without any worries.

Leiningen never traveled to Texas again and no longer played a major role in the “ aristocratic association ”. Instead, he continued his military career in the Austrian army . In 1865 he is mentioned as a colonel and commander of the 32nd Infantry Regiment "Archduke Franz Ferdinand" . When he was promoted to major general in 1866, he took part as commander of the " Leiningen " brigade in the 1st Army Corps in the Austro-Prussian War and the Battle of Königgrätz .

At his own request, he had himself retired in 1868 with the rank of field marshal lieutenant in order to take over the guardianship of his nephew Friedrich III until 1874 . Wiprecht to take over Franz Graf zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen .

As a registrar from 1870 to 1872 he was automatically a member of the 1st Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse . From 1874, Leiningen lived in Darmstadt, where he also died in 1880. With his son Reinhard August, the Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen line went out in 1929.

Orders and decorations

• Order of the Iron Crown
• Military Merit Cross (Austria)
• Knight's Cross of the Leopold Order
• In 1844 he was made an honorary member of the Nassau Association for Natural History .

literature

• Jochen Lengemann : MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , pp. 238-239.
• Klaus-Dieter Rack, Bernd Vielsmeier: Hessian MPs 1820–1933. Biographical evidence for the first and second chambers of the state estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse 1820–1918 and the state parliament of the People's State of Hesse 1919–1933 (= Political and parliamentary history of the State of Hesse. Vol. 19 = Work of the Hessian Historical Commission. NF Vol. 29) . Hessian Historical Commission, Darmstadt 2008, ISBN 978-3-88443-052-1 , No. 523.
• Constantin von Wurzbach : Alt-Leiningen-Westerburg, Victor Graf . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 14th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1865, p. 329 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

• Master list of the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg
• Biography in the Handbook of Texas
• Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen, Victor August Graf zu. Hessian biography. (As of February 19, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).