Westernach (noble family)

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Coat of arms of those von Westernach from Scheibler's book of arms (around 1480)
Epitaph for Johann Egolf von Westernach in the parish church of St. Nikolaus (Gundelsheim)
Johannes Eustache Egolf von Westernach
(* 1642; † 1707)

Westernach is the name of an old Swabian noble family . The family belongs to the nobility of Upper Swabia .

history

origin

The family with Hainricus de Westernach is mentioned for the first time in a document dated May 6, 1257 in Ulm . The uninterrupted family line begins with the knight Rüdiger von Westernach , who is mentioned in documents from 1341 to 1399. The Lords of Westernach were originally ministerials to the Counts of Dillingen and have always established that they are able to hold a foundation .

Westernach , the original ancestral home of the family, is now part of the town of Mindelheim in the Swabian district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria . The place is first mentioned in a document in connection with Heinrich von Westernach in 1258.

Spread and personalities

Rüdiger von Westernach (also Rugero ), the progenitor of the family, married Anna von Hirrlingen in 1370 . Her grandson Johann von Westernach took part in the Council of Constance in 1414 . He was married to Anasthasia von Gravenegg. One of her descendants was the 1625 for high and German masters appointed John Eustace from Westernach (* 1545, † 1627).

Erhard von Westernach (* 1541) received the Hereditary Marshal's Office of the Hochstift Augsburg for the first time in 1574 . He married Catharina von Wiesenthau . In 1599 he had the so-called Westernachsche Kaplaneihaus rebuilt in Schelklingen. Wolf Christoph von Westernach, prince-bishop of Augsburg nurse of Zusmarshausen , was enfeoffed with the hereditary marshal's office in the bishopric Augsburg on January 10, 1616 . Erhard's great-grandson, Johann Leopold Freiherr von Westernach (* 1667) was the Electoral Palatinate treasurer and director of the imperial knights on the Danube . His son Marquard Eustach Freiherr von Westernach (* 1693) was an electorate treasurer, privy councilor , Vogt of Ellwangen and caretaker of Tannenburg. He married Maria Anna Freiin von Sickingen . His brother Johann Eustach Freiherr von Westernach († 1786) was married twice. In first marriage with Anna Ungelter vonhabenhausen and in second marriage with Theresia Freiin von Stotzingen . In addition to three daughters, of whom Theresia became a canoness in Lindau, he left two sons, Ignaz Johann and Anton Johann. Anton Johann Freiherr von Westernach (* 1779; † 1851), royal Bavarian major , married Friederike Freiin Spaeth von Zwiefalten zu Granheim in 1847 . His brother Ignaz Johann Freiherr von Westernach (* 1777, † 1849) was a royal Bavarian lieutenant colonel , district inspector of the Landwehr and former Prince-Bishop of Augsburg Hereditary Marshal and Lord of Kronburg and Illerbeuren . Theresia Maria (* 1819) came from his marriage with Josephe Maria Countess Leutrum von Ertingen (* 1791) in 1818. In 1844 she married the royal Bavarian chamberlain and lieutenant colonel and Knight of Honor of the Order of Malta Maximilian von Vequel auf Hohenkammer . On June 27, 1852 in Hohenschwangau he received a royal Bavarian name and coat of arms association with the barons of Westernach, now extinct in the male line, as barons of Vequel-Westernach , which still exist today.

In addition to the family estates, Kornburg was also owned by the family. This received on December 16, 1619 Wolf Christoph von Westernach and his uncle Johann Eustach von Westernach, Administrator zu Mergentheim , Commander of the Teutonic Order of Kapfenburg and later German Master, from Archduke Leopold zu Lehn.

As early as the 16th and early 17th centuries, the Lords of Westernach were members of the Imperial Knighthood in the Knightly Canton of Altmühl of the Franconian Knight Circle . In the 18th century the barons of Westernach were also registered in the knight canton of Hegau of the Swabian knight circle . With the Kronburg acquired in 1619 they belonged to the knightly canton of Danube and because of the possession or partial ownership of Bächingen from 1560 to 1576 to the knightly canton of Kocher . Members of the family were also temporarily matriculated in the knightly canton of Neckar .

Status surveys

The brothers Johann Eustach Egolph, auxiliary bishop (as titular bishop of Dioclea ) and later cathedral provost of Augsburg , Ferdinand Joseph Johann, canon of Augsburg and Ellwangen, Maximilian Rudolph, commander of the Teutonic Order of Regensburg , and Johann Carl von Westernach of Kronburg and Ottingen, hereditary marshal of the Hochstift Augsburg and Elector Palatine Chamberlain, received the imperial baron status in Vienna on January 26, 1693 with the salutation Well-born .

On September 12, 1814, Ignaz Freiherr von Westernach auf Kronburg, royal Bavarian chamberlain and former hereditary marshal of the Augsburg bishopric, was registered with his siblings in the baron class of nobility in the Kingdom of Bavaria.

coat of arms

Coat of arms of those von Westernach from Johann Siebmacher's coat of arms book (1605)

Family coat of arms

The family coat of arms shows a leaping, crowned, natural wolf in silver . The wolf sitting on the helmet with the black and silver helmet covers .

Baron coat of arms

The baronial coat of arms, awarded in 1693, is quartered and covered with a central shield . This shows a crowned wolf in black. 1 and 4 in red a silver ring, 2 and 3 in black six (3, 2, 1) silver lilies with a silver shield head . It is a coat of arms association of the Bettendorfschen (1 and 4) and Brömserschen (2 and 3) coat of arms.

Municipal coat of arms with the Westernach Wolf

Elements and colors from the coat of arms of the Westernach family still appear today in some Bavarian local and community coats of arms.

Name bearer

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Regesta Imperii . V 2, No. 4062
  2. ↑ a b c d e Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels , Adelslexikon Volume XVI, Volume 137 of the complete series, pages 131–132
  3. ^ A b c d New General German Adels Lexicon Volume 9, Pages 552–553
  4. ↑ www.mindelheim.de ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2009 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.mindelheim.de
  5. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels , Adelslexikon Volume XV, Volume 134 of the complete series, page 213; CA Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 2004, ISSN  0435-2408
  6. ^ Gerhard Köbler : Historical Lexicon of the German Lands. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 7th, completely revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1 . P. 441.

literature

Web links

Commons : Westernach  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files