Wettberg (noble family)

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Coat of arms of those of Wettberg

The noble family of the Lords of Wettberg resided in the south-west of Lower Saxony on the Upper Weser and Middle Leine until the 17th century . The parent company of the same name near Hanover was destroyed in 1338. One branch emigrated to the Baltic States in the 15th century , where members of the family appear as Livonian canon bailiffs and envoy of the Prussian master of the order. The form of the name changed between Watbergen, Wetberghe, Wet (d) berch, Weddeberch, Wedberg and Wettberg.

origin

The first documented mention of the brothers Wulfhard and Ludolf von Watbergen in 1220 and that of a Lambert von Wettberg come from the year 1224. The eponymous seat of the family was southwest of Hanover , in the now incorporated district of Wettbergen . Presumably the family came from a ministerial line of the bishops of Minden and was knighted to help secure the eastern border of the district.

history

The regaining strength of the Welfs soon pushed back the influence of the Minden bishop and in turn became feudal lords of the Knights of Wettberg. During the 14th century they increasingly shifted their activities to the southwest towards the Weser, at a greater distance from the self-confident citizens of Hanover, who had ravaged their seat in Wettbergen in a feud. Instead, feuds ensued with the city of Hildesheim, which expanded when two members of the von Wettberg family acquired Freden an der Leine Castle in 1385 as a pledge (until 1400) and attacked merchants and travelers from here.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the Wettbergs' feudal ties to the Counts of Schaumburg were strengthened, and at the same time a branch of the family settled in the small town (today: Bad) Münder, where, as the owner of a castle courtyard, he was obliged to participate in the town's defense.

In the last quarter of the 15th century a Herr von Wettberg was active in a diplomatic mission in East Frisia and was a captain in the war service of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

Wettbergscher Adelshof in Bad Münder

From 1478 to 1560 Oldendorf (today: Hessisch-Oldendorf) on the Weser was an important seat of the family, after which it was replaced by Münder, where the male line died out in 1644. A scion from a branch line in the Münster monastery could not assert itself under inheritance law.

The Renaissance manor house of the von Wettberg family in Münder in the basement is now a museum for city and regional history.

On July 30, 1648, Fromhold Wettberg was enrolled in the Courland Knighthood , which in 1841 was expanded to include the entire family.

Well-known namesake

  • Tönnies von Wettberg (approx. 1500–1562), married in 1st marriage to Katharina von Münchhausen, in 2nd marriage with Jutta von Lenthe. In 1526 he attacked an embassy in Bremen, whereupon the town's syndic was slain. In 1541 he mortally wounded his relative Levin von Zerssen. In 1543 he took part in the Burgundian War as Rittmeister. His only son Heinrich was captured by the Turks in 1553, whereupon the father pledged a large part of his property in vain in order to obtain his release. The dispute over his inheritance led to disputes lasting for decades.
  • Christoffer von Wettberg (–1583). Had the manor house built in Münder. On January 16, 1583, he was killed by a tree above Nettelrede while doing forest work. His descendants put a memorial stone ("Junkerstein" or "Wettbergstein") on the spot, which is still there today. The inscription on the front reads: "Anno Dni 1583, January 16 de noble and erndtvert Christoffer van wetberg dorch ein bohm hirsülvest dodtgevallen. Siner selen got gnedich sy." The inscription on the back: "De ungluckliche bohm".
  • Jobst Asche von Wettberg (1578–1644), married in 1st marriage to Katharina von Alten, in 2nd marriage to Anna Maria von Berkefeld. In 1601, as one of three brothers, the manor house in Münder fell to him by lot, which he saved from bankruptcy at the beginning of the Thirty Years War . In 1624 he sat as ducal commissioner at the fortress Stolzenau on the Weser and in the following year was entrusted with the defense of the fortress Calenberg against the troops of the imperial general Tilly . The inadequate supply of men and ammunition forced him to surrender after three weeks. In the last years of his life, Jobst Asche, increasingly suffering from gout, had to experience the death of all of his sons who were active in the war, from plague and other "heated diseases", before he died at the age of 66 and was buried in the family's hereditary funeral in front of Münder .

coat of arms

Coat of arms of the barons of Wettberg

In the earliest times, three different coats of arms were used by different branches of the family: three inclined beams, a flying dragon (wolf?) And an open pair of wings.

In the 15th century at the latest, however, a new motif emerged with the ox head, while the open pair of wings moved upwards as a crest ornament. This change of coat of arms may be related to a marriage with another knightly gender in the Upper Weser area.

literature

  • Maximilian Gritzner , The nobility of the Russian Baltic provinces, J. Siebmacher's large and general book of arms, III. Volume, 11th section, 1st part; Nuremberg: Bauer & Raspe, 1898, pp. 214–215, plate 62
  • Nicolai von Essen, Genealogical Handbook of the Oesel Knighthood, Tartu, 1935, pp. 627-636 (digitized version)
  • Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels , Adelslexikon Volume XVI, Volume 137 of the complete series, pp. 138-139, CA Starke Verlag , Limburg (Lahn) 2005, ISSN  0435-2408
  • Kai Witthinrich: Von Wettberg, studies on the history of a noble family on Oberweser and Mitteler Leine (1224- approx. 1655) and their noble free court in Münder (series of publications by the Museum Bad Münder Volume 12), Bad Münder 2016

Individual evidence

  1. Documents from the Counts of Hallermund
  2. Post on suehnekreuz.de
  3. Coat of arms on wiki-commons.genealogy.net