Wolfgang Kolberger

Kolberger's coat of arms from 1492

Wolfgang Kolberger , from 1492 Baron and Count zu Neukolberg , also Baron and Count zu Neuenkolberg (* around 1445 in Altötting ; † after April 16, 1519 , probably in Neuburg an der Donau ) was Chancellor and temporarily governor of Duke Georgs of Bavaria-Landshut . After a brilliant career, he fell from grace and spent seventeen years in prison until 1519.

Origin, early years, family

Wolfgang Kolberger was of simple origin. His parents were the schoolmaster of the Abbey School in Altötting , Paul Kolberger, who perhaps also acted as sacristan at the Abbey, and his wife Katharina. Wolfgang's brothers Georg and Johann were clergymen ; It can be assumed that he also studied theology himself , as he is referred to as a candidate for consecration in a document from the Archbishop of Salzburg , Burkhard von Weißpriach from 1464 with the addition "scolaris nostre diocesis" (pupil of our diocese). Neither a degree nor a priestly ordination is known, but from 1469 Kolberger is named as the holder of various spiritual benefices , most recently in 1495 as the parishioner of Pischelsdorf am Engelbach .

Kolberger was married to Elisabeth, called Els by him, and had a daughter Anna, engaged in 1497 to Wilhelm Taufkircher von Guttenberg. Kolberger described himself as having no heirs in 1506, so his daughter survived.

Rise and Political Influence

From 1475, still under the government of Duke Ludwig IX. of the rich , Kolberger is named as a clerk in the ducal chancellery of Bavaria-Landshut; it is believed that he worked there five years earlier. A role in Kolberger's appointment will have been played by the fact that the Altöttinger Stift was the benefice of the office. During his work in the ducal archive, Kolberger became familiar with the political realities and diplomatic processes. Under Georg the Rich, successor to his father Ludwig, Kolberger rose to the position of secretary in 1479 and, as such, took on tasks in diplomacy and negotiation. During his time as secretary, Kolberger expanded his property by purchasing real estate in Landshut.

After his predecessor as Chancellor, Friedrich Mauerkircher , died in 1485, Kolberger initially took over the office temporarily. He was not referred to as Chancellor until 1489, when he was appointed one of the Duke's governors, and 1487 was also assumed to be the inaugural year of the official office. It is unclear whether the long probationary period was due to a hesitation on the part of the duke or political resistance from among the courtiers.

Although the post of Chancellor was not associated with a management function in ducal politics, Kolberger, thanks to his knowledge, was a close confidante of Duke George and a member of the ducal council, had great influence on political decisions. There was also a good relationship with Emperor Friedrich III. He was able to ensure good negotiation results for the Duke, for example in disputes with the Swabian Federation . According to contemporary assessments, Kolberger was also cunning in representing the ducal interests, which has been confirmed by historians. Kolberger kept in touch with the ducal chancellery of the other part of divided Bavaria in Munich ; with his participation Ruprecht became bishop of Freising from the Palatinate line of the Wittelsbach in 1495 . In the same year Kolberger was again governor of Duke Georgs, who had to leave Landshut due to the plague.

Elevation to the nobility

Josefsburg (Kolbergschlössl) in Altötting

As early as 1489, Emperor Friedrich III. promised the bestowal of an imperial loan to Kolberger. On March 9, 1492, Friedrich Kolberger was promoted to imperial direct baron on Neukolberg , a castle in Altötting that Kolberger had built on the Kolberg estate he had previously acquired , the name of which is perhaps the place of his father's birth. The former Kolbergschlössl in Altötting is still preserved today, but now bears the name Josefsburg . Associated with Kolberger's elevation to the nobility were benefits for his brothers. For a property that reached west of the castle to shortly before Tüßling , south to Mörmoosen - which also passed into his possession including the castle located there - and north to the Inn , Kolberger were granted rights appropriate to an imperial baron by Duke Georg, for which Kolberger pledged to remain in his service for life. With the elevation of Kolberger to the empire count status by Emperor Friedrich on August 28 of the same year and his rule Kolberg to a county, Kolberger made an unprecedented career in the nobility for a man of simple origin. Reinhard Stauber suspects that a possible motive for the emperor for Kolberger's rapid rise in rank is his obligation to moderate the influence of Duke Georg's policy towards the empire.

Kolberger experienced a further increase in his already extensive property when Duke Georg conferred the rulership of Wildeneck in Mondseeland in 1494.

Fall and imprisonment

On Easter Sunday in 1502, Kolberger was arrested by order of Duke George, completely surprising. There was no trial and no conviction. One reason why Kolberger had fallen out of favor with the Duke after 17 years of support could not be given with certainty by contemporary chroniclers.

Possible reason for arrest

Historians suspect that Kolberger's fall was due to his possible role in connection with Duke Georg's succession order. Contrary to the Wittelsbach house contract , according to which the other partial duchy would take over rule if one of the two Bavarian dukes died without a male heir, Duke Georg appointed his daughter Elisabeth as heiress in his will in 1496 , whereby - about the intended marriage of Elisabeth to Count Palatine Ruprecht - Bavaria-Landshut should fall to the Palatinate line of Wittelsbachers. For a long time historians assumed that Kolberger had betrayed the contents of the will to Duke Albrecht. It is more likely, however, as Reinhard Stauber explains, that Kolberger was a leading member of a court party that had tried to dissuade Georg from overriding the Munich claims in favor of the Palatinate Wittelsbachers and thus provoking a military conflict. To the disappointment of this break in his unconditional allegiance came with Georg in this version his fear of the Chancellor's political skill and wealth of tricks. Stauber suspects that the councilors tried to dissuade Georg from his course after he had confirmed his will in a handwritten document at the beginning of March 1502 - that is, without the involvement of his office. Georg then smashed this political group. In a justification that Kolberger wrote while in custody, he writes of his involvement in the marriage of the duke's daughter, of his refusal to draw up the duke's will, and of the fact that he, Kolberger, assumed that King Maximilian had agreed to the decree.

Detention history

Kolberger was initially imprisoned in Landshut, later in Burghausen. Invoices for locksmith work close a large amount of security work, and there is also talk of fellow prisoners. Bills for medicinal products have also been received, which suggest that Kolberger fell ill during his detention. In 1506 Kolberger renounced his extensive possessions. In 1507, Neukolberg Castle was handed over to Thomas Löffelholz, whose family was henceforth known asöffelholz von Kolberg . From around 1507 Kolberger was imprisoned in Neuburg an der Donau , the capital of the new principality Palatinate-Neuburg . During his detention, Kolberger repeatedly prepared reports on political events on behalf of the Palatinate-Neuburg law firm. Stauber suspects that the reason for the continued imprisonment was that Count Palatine Philipp needed his advice and wanted to prevent Kolberger's knowledge from reaching other parties, Kolberger's knowledge also as the reason for Maximilian's request for Kolberg's release and transfer from 1506.

Discharge

Kolberger was not released until 1519. On April 16, he obliged "Wolfgang, Graf and Freiherr zu Neuenkolberg, some chancellor" not to withdraw from Neuburg in a primal feud , not to reveal any political secrets, not to avenge himself for his imprisonment and not to revile Duke Georg posthumously ; in addition, he acknowledged that he had been imprisoned for "moving and indebted causes".

Post fame

Neither the date of his death nor his grave is known of Kolberger, and there is no portrait of him. Various chroniclers of the 16th century highlight Kolberger's negative qualities, citing greed, pride and cunning, as well as his small body size and simple origins.

Neither in his place of work Landshut nor in his place of detention in Neuburg is a street named after Kolberger; the street in his home town of Altötting named after the former Kolberg estate is signposted with a reference to the Chancellor. Only in Munich, the capital of the second Bavarian part of the state alongside Bayern-Landshut, has a street in the Herzogpark there been named since 1906 .

literature

• Johann Dorner: Wolfgang Kolberger from Altötting, Chancellor of Lower Bavaria . (Oettinger Heimatblätter No. 3, published by the Oettinger Heimatbund), Altötting 2001, ISBN 3-920191-30-7
• Max Moessmang: Wolfgang Kolberger and the Reichsgrafschaft Neukolberg , In: Altöttinger Liebfrauenkalender 1915 , pp. 1–7
• Reinhard Stauber: The last Chancellor of the Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut. A biographical sketch of Wolfgang Kolberger. In: Journal for Bavarian State History, Vol. 54 (1991), pp. 325–367.
• Reinhard Stauber: Neuburg's first state prisoner. On the career and fall of Wolfgang Kolberger, Chancellor of the Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut . In: Jan Hirschbiegel and Werner Paravicini (eds.): The case of the favorite - court parties in Europe from the 13th to the 17th century. 8th Symposium of the Residences Commission of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen . Jan Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2004, ISBN 3-7995-4517-4 , pp. 319–328.

Web links

Commons : Wolfgang Kolberger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Wolfgang Kolberger in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ Regesta chronologico-diplomatica Friderici III, Romanorum Imperatoris , No. 8779, p. 790 digitized
2. ^ Regesta chronologico-diplomatica Friderici III, Romanorum Imperatoris , No. 8831, p. 793 digitized
3. ↑ ^{a b} quoted from Johann Dorner: Wolfgang Kolberger from Altötting, Chancellor of Lower Bavaria . (Oettinger Heimatblätter No. 3, published by the Oettinger Heimatbund), Altötting 2001, ISBN 3-920191-30-7 , p. 28
4. ^ Hans Dollinger: The Munich street names . Südwest, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-517-06115-8 , p. 162