Joseph von Laßberg

Joseph Maria Christoph Freiherr von Laßberg ( born April 10, 1770 in Donaueschingen, † March 15, 1855 in Meersburg ) was a German forester, German scholar and writer.

Life and work

Laßberg came of an old Austrian noble family, which was based in southern Germany since about 1665. His father Joseph Maria von Laßberg († 1813) was a prince prince bergischer privy councilor and chief hunter. His mother, Anna, Baroness of Malt tooth also came from an old noble family. Laßberg was by his second marriage, the brother of writer Annette von Droste- Hulshoff.

After Laßberg had completed his schooling in the convent Salem and the Fürstenberg -Gymnasium Donaueschingen, he studied in Strasbourg and Freiburg im Breisgau law and policy. During his school days he was sixteen years old ( St. John's Eve 1786 in the chapel on the Trifels ), in his opinion, was the last in the old kingdom, the accolade. He was a member of the Order of Malta.

Principality of Fürstenberg

After completing his studies, he joined the Forestry and Kameralverwaltung of the Principality of Fürstenberg and 1792 Fürstl. Chief forester. In 1804 he was appointed successor to his father and named as such in 1807 the country's chief forester. From 1813 headed Laßberg the Chief Directorate of the entire forest and hunting management Von Furstenberg. In these years Laßberg was with Princess Elisabeth zu Fürstenberg, born Thurn and Taxis (1767-1822), dating and had with her ​​a son, who grew up in a foster family in Lucerne as Hermann von Liebenau (1807-1874) and physician and historian was. He claimed that the princess was married to him " on the left hand " and pilgrimage - as Annette von Droste- Hulshoff portrays - every year at her death to Schloss Heiligenberg, where he had lived with her. Using the royal house he has built up his extensive collections.

Castle Helmsdorf Immenstaad

Previously, he was married to Mary Anna Ursula Ebinger from the castle (1771-1814) since 1795, and had with her four sons. He and his family inhabited castle Helmsdorf Immenstaad. He bought the castle in 1798 and thus became a member of the Swabian imperial knights. As such Laßberg 1815 tried in vain to the Congress of Vienna to obtain the sovereignty again for Fürstenberg.

Founded in 1815 members of the imperial knights during the congress in Vienna, in which he supported the Princess Elizabeth, the Adelsverein the chain. Until its dissolution in 1817 was Laßberg initiator and driving force of this association. Their political goal was the restoration of the old kingdom aristocracy with all its rights. At the same time belonged to the wool Laßberg Zeiler Society in Vienna, the Jacob Grimm had, the restaurant "The Strobel head " in the streets " woolen line", established on 4 January 1815 in Vienna. From this time his friendship with Joseph Albrecht of Ittner comes.

Castle Eppishausen

1817 took over Prince Karl Egon II of Fürstenberg, the government and Laßberg retired to his castle in 1813 acquired possession Eppishausen in Erlen in Thurgau back. At this time Laßberg was a widower for three years. After his Thurgau possession he chose his pseudonym: Master of Sepp Eppishusen. In addition to the management of his estate Laßberg now began to collect literature in a big way. So he acquired, among other important works that derives from the palace Hohenems manuscript C of the Nibelungenlied, which her ​​whereabouts was secured in Germany. A close friend was in this period, the Swiss historian and Protestant clergyman Johann Adam Pupikofer. From his years Thurgau also extensive correspondence with Jacob Grimm, Ludwig Uhland, Gustav Schwab, Johann Caspar Zellweger and Karl Lachmann is obtained.

The July Revolution of 1830 caused the population Eppishauser the property of meadows, fields and woods of Castle Eppishausen no longer respected, but took himself. 1834 married Laßberg Maria Anna Baroness von Droste zu Hulshoff (gen. Jenny, * 1795 † 1859), the sister of writer Annette von Droste- Hulshoff, which he by his friend Werner von Haxthausen, also a founding member of the nobility Association " The Chain " and Uncle the two sisters Droste, had met. Although Laßberg and Annette in " different worlds " lived, they estimated, after the poet had for about a year lived in Eppishausen mutually very. With his second wife he had twin daughters, Hildegard (1836-1914) and Hildegunde (1836-1909), who were born in Eppishausen. In a car accident after the birth of the twins on May 9, 1836 was one of his legs paralyzed. Since the political development in Switzerland ran towards his conservative attitude, feeling of Laßberg no longer comfortable at Castle Eppishausen and wanted change.

Old castle in Meersburg

As of June 1837 sought by Laßberg, the Old Castle in Meersburg to buy, which was only used poor since 1802 after the secularization. At first he was a purchase offer over 10,000 guilders (fl), which was 2,000 guilders under the Estimate, from the Badische domain management in Meersburg. Then the Hofdomänenkammer in Karlsruhe offered the building on November 20, 1837 at a public auction. From Laßberg gave as the sole interested party in turn, a bid of 10,000 guilders and received slammed the castle on 1 February 1838. The purchase agreement was entered on March 2, 1838 in the " guarantee the city of Meersburg ." Laßberg moved with his family on September 7, 1838 in the Old Castle Meersburg on Lake Constance, and saved it as from decay. He was the domed bright hall to the library for the data collected by him books and manuscripts, the adjoining chamber round to his studies and writing room. His sister in law chose this castle in 1846, including for health reasons, to their permanent residence and died there in 1848, medically supervised by Laßbergs son Hermann von Liebenau.

Also from here is attested a lively correspondence; among others with Ildefonso von Arx, Georg Friedrich Benecke, Sulpiz Boisserée and Justinus Kerner. Justinus Kerner attended by Laßberg on the Meersburg mid July 1854 for two to three weeks and was encouraged by him in his research on Franz Anton Mesmer and supported, so Kerner wrote a book about Mesmer, which was released in 1856.

1845 Laßberg was approved by the University of Tübingen with the title Dr. phil. h c. honored. In 1849 he was made an honorary member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.

Joseph of Laßberg died at the age of 85 years on March 15, 1855 at ten to twelve minutes to eleven clock in the morning, supported his head on his left hand, to Meersburg on Lake Constance. Previously, he taught the words to his daughters. " God give you the strength to defend the virtue and courage and pride to attack evil " He is at the cemetery in Meersburg in the reasoned through him family tomb Laßberg Droste Huelshoff buried. The Meersburg he inherited his daughters.

Laßbergs library

Laßbergs private library, which he had brokered his sister Annette by their literary friend Levin Schücking can catalog, comprised of well over 10,000 books, manuscripts and manuscripts, including the manuscript of the Nibelungenlied, as he sold the Fürstenberg Court Library. It also includes documents from the time of the prince-bishops of Constance and the Bishopric of Constance, who saved from Laßberg from the archive rooms of the Old and New Castle in Meersburg.

Marriages and descendants

Laßberg 1795 married Anna Maria Ebinger from the castle ( † 1814) with whom he had four sons:

• Karl; Austrian officer
• Friedrich ( * May 13, 1798, † June 30, 1838 ); Court and Government of the Principality of Hohenzollern -Sigmaringen
• Leonhard
• Erasmus

With Elisabeth zu Fürstenberg, née von Thurn und Taxis (* November 30, 1767; † July 21, 1822 ), the widow of Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg, Laßberg was romantically involved from 1805 to 1822 and had an illegitimate son:

• Hermann von Liebenau (* October 3, 1807; † July 28, 1874 ), physician and historian

1834 Laßberg married Anna Maria, called Jenny von Droste zu Hulshoff, sister of Annette von Droste-

• Hildegard (* 1836, † 1909)
• Hildegunde (* 1836, † 1914)

Commemoration

On the occasion of his (last) birthday on April 10, 1854 invited by Laßberg the dignitaries and officials from Meersburg to his castle to wine and dinner and worshiped every goodbye a lithograph with his portrait ( elongated nose, pensive look, bushy eyebrows, shoulder length hair split- beard, black velvet cap, hunting-coat with two rows of buttons ). This portrait was drawn, the artist Lauchert on 30 October 1853. There was stabbed in Stuttgart by C. Deis and printed by litographer Niederbühl.

From Laßberg rests in the cemetery of Meersburg. In the fenced area of ​​his twin daughters, her friend Amalie Hassenpflug, his sister Annette von Droste- Hulshoff and their nephew Carl Caspar are buried by Droste zu Hulshoff with his second wife.

The artist Peter Lenk created him in a figure its magic column in Meersburg a monument. Laßberg rides here in armor on a hobby horse - an allusion to the expression Nibelungen Steckenreiter with which his sister him and his comrades like dubbed. About the Laßberg statue floats a figure of Cupid, a reference to Laßbergs women.

Works

• Eggen Song ( 1832)
• Songs Hall (1820-1825)
• Littower (1826 )
• Sigenot ( 1830)
• The Nibelung song. Leipzig:. Wigand, 1840 Digitized edition of the University and State Library Dusseldorf