Wolfgang (Palatinate-Neumarkt)

Portrait of the Count Palatine (around 1525/1530)

Wolfgang von der Pfalz , called the Elder (born October 31, 1494 in Heidelberg , † April 2, 1558 in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz ) from the Wittelsbach family was a Count Palatine of Neumarkt and governor of the Upper Palatinate .

Life

Wolfgang was a son of Elector Philipp von der Pfalz (1448–1508) from his marriage to Margarete (1456–1501), daughter of Duke Ludwig IX. from Bavaria-Landshut . Wolfgang was intended for a spiritual career and was first educated by Oekolampad at his father's court in Heidelberg, then at the University of Mainz . Here he learned the ancient languages ​​and found an enthusiasm for antiquity. Before 1515 he received canon positions in Augsburg, Würzburg and Speyer in preparation for a spiritual career to be embarked on. At the University of Paris, which he then moved to, he got to know and appreciate Aleander . On March 14, 1515 he enrolled at the University of Wittenberg , where he was rector magnificentissimus . His acquaintance with Luther was decisive for the warm welcome that the reformer received at the Heidelberg court in 1518. In 1524 Wolfgang resigned to the lay profession.

Wolfgang, a Teutonic Knight since 1522 , received the Neumarkt deputate in 1524 and became governor of the Upper Palatinate in Amberg in 1544 . He was considered a friend and promoter of science and died unmarried and childless. He was buried in the Heiliggeistkirche in Heidelberg.

literature

• Michael Masson: The royal house of Bavaria: edited genealogically and explained with historical-biographical notes, publisher of the publisher, 1854, p. 102
• Bavarian Numismatic Society: Communications of the Bavarian Numismatic Society , Volume 7-10, published by the Society, 1888, p. 149
• Maximilian Weigel: Count Palatine Wolfgang the Elder 1494–1558 . In: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins 94 (NF 44), 1942. pp. 358–381