Wolfgang von Ysenburg-Ronneburg

Wolfgang von Ysenburg-Ronneburg (born June 12, 1533 at Ronneburg Castle near Ronneburg (Hesse) , † December 20, 1597 in Kelsterbach ) from the House of Isenburg was regent a. 1560 after the division of the Isenburg-Büdingen county . a. via the Langen office.

The father: Count Anton I of Ysenburg-Büdingen (1501–1560)

Wolfgang was born on June 12, 1533 as the seventh child of Anton I von Ysenburg-Ronneburg and Countess Elisabeth von Wied. Wolfgang received his education first at the court of Wilhelm the Rich in Dillenburg . Together with Wilhelm zu Nassau-Dillenburg , he came to the imperial court in Brussels , then Dutch , in 1544 , and both returned to Nassau in 1550 . Charles V personally and Maria of Hungary now directed their further training. From 1557 he fought with Duke Alba against France .

When Count Anton I von Ysenburg-Ronneburg died in 1560, Wolfgang returned to the Ronneburg again and became regent over one of the three Ysenburg-Ronneburg regions. Since the main focus of his areas was the Langen office , Wolfgang initially wanted to build his residential palace there (see also: Koberstadt ). For traffic-related reasons, however, he decided on Kelsterbach, where construction of the Wolfenburg began around 1566. Stones were u. a. on the Main from the Ysenburg core areas around Büdingen . Compulsory labor had to be performed from all villages in Wolfgang's territory. The construction work could only be completed after 21 years and Wolfgang moved the headquarters of the Langen office here to his own residence.

In 1573, during the construction of his palace, Wolfgang was part of the escort of the newly elected Polish King Heinrich von Valois and took part in his coronation in Cracow as the representative of Emperor Maximilian . From there he traveled to Constantinople , although the exact purpose of this trip is not clear. In 1576, at the funeral of Emperor Maximilian in Prague , Wolfgang carried the imperial flag. Ten years later he had another major mission when, as a representative of the Protestant German estates, he tried in vain to recruit the French King Henry III. to induce moderation in the religious struggles.

After that Wolfgang confessed to Calvinism for reasons that were not entirely clear, presumably under the influence of Count Palatine Johann Casimir , and withdrew from major politics. Within the house of Ysenburg he tried to find a balance between the representatives of the various faiths. After converting to Calvinism, Wolfgang began taking in Dutch religious refugees, whom he settled near Hain Castle in Dreieich , although Philipp von Ysenburg-Birstein and Philipp Ludwig II von Hanau-Münzenberg , who also had rights there, objected. In 1591, Wolfgang issued a new church order as the basis of religious and moral life.

Count Wolfgang was married three times, initially from 1562 to Johanette von Hanau-Lichtenberg , who bore him a son in November 1564, who died the following January. After the divorce in 1573, Wolfgang married Ursula von Solms-Braunfels in December 1577, who died in February 1585. In September of the same year, Wolfgang had his third marriage with Ursula von Gleichen-Rhemda, who continued to live in Kelsterbach Castle after his death on December 20, 1597. The last two marriages were childless. Wolfgang was buried in the castle chapel. Due to the construction of his lavish palace, he left debts of 74,709 guilders . Count Heinrich, his brother, who took over the inheritance, sold large parts of the estates, including the Langen office, in two steps for a total of 380,177 guilders to Hessen-Darmstadt and wanted to make a big profit on the one hand, and on the other hand he led the areas back to Lutheranism to. While the latter was successful, only 100,000 guilders of the purchase price were paid, which, according to a decision by the Reich Chamber of Commerce, had to be repaid after a centuries-long process between the two mansions.

Thus began and ended the short episode of Kelsterbach as the administrative seat of a small German state with Count Wolfgang.

literature

• Karl Laun (Ed.): The Wolfenburg. Origin and fall of the Kelsterbach Castle. Geiger-Verlag, Horb am Neckar 1991, ISBN 3-89264-568-X ( local history contributions to the history of Kelsterbach 15).