Wolfgang II of Castell-Remlingen

The alliance coat of arms of Wolfgang II and his wife at the upper castle in Castell

Wolfgang II. Count and Lord of Castell-Remlingen (* July 20, 1558 in Rüdenhausen ; † April 30, 1631 in Remlingen ) was ruler of the Grafschaft Castell from 1597 to 1631 . He was the founder of the Castell-Remlingen line , while his brother Gottfried opened the Castell-Rüdenhausen line.

The county before Wolfgang II.

Several contrary developments shaped the county of Castell in the 16th century. For one thing, the county was exposed to two armed conflicts. The German Peasants' War of 1525 had many reasons. Among other things, the peasants took violent action against the rulers in order to free themselves from excessive taxes. The county was also exposed to the Margrave War . Both events resulted in some destruction.

The other event was the beginning of the Reformation , which was introduced by the Counts in Castell. The predecessors of Count Wolfgang II, the county had been divided between three brothers, initially held benefices in the Catholic dioceses in the area. In the course of time, however, they adopted the new faith and underpinned this attitude with the signing of the formula of the Concord in 1579.

Life

Wolfgang II was born on July 20, 1558 in Rüdenhausen. He was the first-born son of Count Georg II and his wife Sophia Schenkin zu Limpurg in Speckfeld . The young count had five siblings, but only three of them reached adulthood. Together with his youngest brother Gottfried, he would later take over government over the county. Because even under his father the county was divided into so-called state portions, which, however, only represented administrative districts. Wolfgang II studied in Tübingen (matriculated on September 21, 1568 and October 25, 1573) and Strasbourg and in 1577 was rector of the nobility at the University of Jena. He was a student of Nicodemus Frischlin .

After his father's death in 1597, Wolfgang took office. His father had committed him and his brother to a division of the country that would last into the 19th century. Wolfgang II took over 372 independent subjects. They were organized in 16 communities, and the count also received 2000 guilders annually from another 18 villages. In addition, Wolfgang II was responsible for the fiefdom . In 1605 he was director of the Franconian Imperial Counts College

He resided in the castles of Remlingen and the ancestral seat in Castell , while his brother lived in the castles in Wiesenbronn and Rüdenhausen. At the beginning of the 17th century, the renovation of the Casteller upper castle began. A new gatehouse was built in 1604 and the stair tower was rebuilt in 1614. To this day it is the last remaining element of the castle.

With the beginning of the Thirty Years' War in 1618, an eventful time began for the counts. Wolfgang escaped the frequent campaigns in Castell and lived mainly in the castle in Remlingen. In 1626 work began on building a defense structure for the castle in Castell. Wolfgang II. Count and Lord zu Castell died on April 30, 1631 in Remlingen.

Marriages and offspring

Count Wolfgang II married Countess Magdalene von Hohnstein in Lohra on June 2, 1581 . The marriage remained childless and Magdalene died on August 8, 1601. The count then married again. On December 1, 1605, he married Countess Juliana von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim in Weikersheim . The successor Wolfgang Georg emerged from the marriage.

• Wolfgang Georg (born January 27, 1610 in Remlingen; † May 4, 1668 ibid)

Works

• De Transitu Israelitarum Per Mare Rvbrvm , Et interitu Pharaonis, Caput 14, Exod. , è Virgilio reddendum, exercitij causa propositum à Nicodemo Frischlino. In: Nicodemus Frischlin: Oratio de praestantia ac dignitate P. Virgilii Maronis Aeneidos , habita Tubingae. Bernhard Jobin, Strasbourg 1574, pp. 106–111 ( digitized version of the University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt in Halle)

literature

• Wilhelm Engel: House u. Reign of Castell in Franconian history . In: Society for Franconian History (ed.): Castell. Contributions to the culture and history of home and dominion. New Year's Sheets XXIV . Würzburg 1952. pp. 1-19.
• Otto Meyer: The Castell house. State and class rule over the centuries . In: Otto Meyer, Hellmut Kunstmann (ed.): Castell. State rule - castles - status lordship . Castell 1979. pp. 9-53.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Engel, Wilhelm: Haus u. Reign of Castell . P. 9.
2. ↑ Meyer, Otto: The Castell House . P. 26.
3. ↑ Angelfire.com: Castell family tree , accessed March 27, 2015.

predecessor	Office	successor
Conrad Heinrich IV. George II.	Count of Castell-Remlingen 1597–1631	Wolfgang Georg I.