Löwenstein-Wertheim

The Lowenstein -Wertheim, one to two royal lines existing today in high noble German family, which grew out of a split in 1460 morganatic side branch of the Palatine branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

• 2.3.1 Count of Löwenstein -Wertheim - Virneburg
• 2.3.2 Prince of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Freudenberg
• 2.3.3 Heads of the house Löwenstein -Wertheim -Freudenberg

• 2.4.1 Count of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort
• 2.4.2 Prince of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort
• 2.4.3 Prince of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg
• 2.4.4 Heads of the house Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg

• 3.1 Small coat of arms
• 3.2 Large Coat of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort

History

Today's Haus Löwenstein -Wertheim goes back to Ludwig of Bavaria, Count Ludwig I of Lowenstein called (1463-1524), a son of the Elector Palatine Frederick I of the house of Wittelsbach and the Munich court lady Clara Tott from Augsburg. Frederick I, called the Victorious, reigned after the death of his brother Louis IV 1449-1451 as guardian of his nephew Philipp year, adopted him in 1451 and headed out of this so-called " arrogation " its own law as Elector from. As Frederick I adopted his underage nephew and in its place adopted the Elector himself, he had to swear celibacy to bring the heir to the throne later no joint heirs who could make him his rightful inheritance may disputed.

From a 1459 beginning of the love affair between Elector Frederick I and the Munich court lady Clara Tott from Augsburg had two sons, for her father - except for an extinction of the legitimate line - renounced the succession. Both sons are acknowledged in a variety of documents as legitimate, but the time of his parents' marriage unclear; some sources mention the year 1462. Publik was the secret marriage until 1472, when Frederick, the firstborn son, the recording as a cleric sought in the Domstifte of Speyer and Worms, and therefore had to demonstrate an unambiguous marital descent. In the same year, and before 1470, the future Elector Philip had the Sincere his uncle, the Elector Frederick I., released a document from the stored in his favor promise of celibacy. For reasons of state but keeping the whole situation as secret as possible. Clara Tott was maintained even after the death of her husband by his successor Philip over the years in captivity, not only to let the actual family relationships penetrate to the general public. The early historian press usually unclear and very careful about the case, because they did not want to fall out of favor with the powerful Palatinate. Later historians took this obscurity in the wording of their predecessors, especially since the topic dynastic and historically lost by the progressive time in importance. Only the legally qualified historian Johann Ludwig Klüber and August Wilhelm Heffter have in this respect a sustainable research in the 19th century and very detailed essays about writing, the evidence on the basis of various sources a marital birth of both sons of Frederick I. and Clara Totts and provide strong evidence that Clara must be Tott already due to their high position in the Bavarian Fürstenhof noble origin have been.

The two sons of the Elector Frederick I. and Clara Tott were:

• Friedrich of Bavaria ( * 1460, † October 16, 1474 ); since 1472 canon of Speyer cathedral chapter, then at Worms Cathedral Chapter, died during the lifetime of his father and was - like him - buried in the Franciscan church in Heidelberg. His dortiger epitaph described him expressly as " legitimate son " of the elector. The grave, with portrait of Frederick clerics in clothes, yet in 1716 was in this church, however, severely damaged by the French.

• Ludwig of Bavaria ( * September 29, 1463 in Heidelberg, † March 28, 1523 in Lion's Arch ). He was raised on February 24, 1494 in the Imperial Count from the Roman-German King Maximilian I.. Ludwig of Bavaria, as he was called, was the founder of the royal house Löwenstein- Wertheim.

Ludwig of Bavaria and Count Ludwig I of Lowenstein received as personal adornment and in 1469 the small rule Scharfeneck with the castle Neuscharfeneck in the Rhenish Palatinate and in 1488 the Palatinate Office Löwenstein Castle Lowenstein, after he (and thus his family ) is now named, and 1492, the castle Wildeck. Due to the defeat in the Landshut War of Succession the county Lowenstein 1510 fell below Württemberg supremacy. Even the rule Scharfeneck was lost in 1622, but came back in 1634 to the family branch of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort and remained its only left-Rhine possession until the kingdom in 1803.

Castle Lowenstein

Castle Wildeck

Only the grandson of the first lion Steiner, Ludwig III. Lowenstein (1530-1611), succeeded thanks to the marriage of a daughter and heiress of the house of the Counts of Stolberg and the Counts of Wertheim to acquire the County of Wertheim am Main and other territories, and thus to establish his home in the ruling imperial counts.

The decision adopted by Ludwig in 1597 house contract Statutum gentilicium spoke all his sons the equal right of succession to. Thus, the soon throughout the Holy Roman Empire infamous Community Government of the County of Wertheim was launched. Because this house contract and a different denomination policy of the sons of Louis III. to split the noble house into two main lines: the Catholic Löwenstein -Wertheim -Roche Forter line stood the Lutheran Löwenstein -Wertheim - Virneburger line opposite. As a result of the House Treaty of 1597 these lines were divided into different branches, so that multiple counts were mitbeteiligt simultaneously on the government forever, which is not seldom the exercise of government business accounted for more than difficult.

The Catholic line succeeded in 1712 to rise to the rank of prince, thanks to their emperor practiced nearby. The Virneburger line could only achieve this in 1812 - but by the grace of Bavaria. In the meantime, however, were, inter alia, gone with Rochefort (Belgium) and Virneburg the possessions lost that were previously been eponymous for the two lines. To distinguish the two lines in the future, the Catholic line of name Löwenstein- Wertheim -Rosenberg Rosenberg (Baden), the Protestant line Löwenstein -Wertheim - Freudenberg to Freudenberg (Baden) was given.

Both lines exist to this day. The Rosenbergs line resides since 1720 in their castle in Klein Heubach, while the Freudenberger are located today in cross Wertheim.

Virneburg

Wertheim Castle

Burg Freudenberg

Castle Kleinheubach

Castle Cross Wertheim

On the eve of the French Revolution decreed the Princely House over possessions am Main, in the Odenwald, in Bohemia, the Palatinate, Eifel, in the Austrian Netherlands and in Alsace. However, these were all small units equipped with different legal titles. The Lowenstein - Wertheim were a classic example of the so-called less powerful states- who gained a greater political significance only in individual cases and only for a short time and were mostly confined to the region. In the realm in 1803 the Lowenstein - value Heimern for their lost left of the Rhine land compensation were awarded primarily on the lower Main. This enabled them to consolidate their territory. But time for internal and external consolidation did not exist. 1806, the house was mediated by the Confederation of the Rhine. His territories were under no fewer than six states split ( Grand Duchy of Baden, Württemberg Kingdom, Kingdom of Bavaria, Grand Duchy of Würzburg, Grand Duchy of Frankfurt, Grand Duchy of Hesse -Darmstadt ). The territorial reorganization in the wake of the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the Frankfurt Territorialrezesses 1819 reduced the number of the Löwenstein- Wertheim concerned sovereignty States turn to four ( Grand Duchy of Baden, the Kingdom of Bavaria, Grand Duchy of Hesse -Darmstadt, Kingdom of Württemberg). In addition to these possessions in the Old Reich Löwenstein -Wertheim - Rosenberg since the 18th century possessed extensive estates in Bohemia ( Castle Haid ) - and are not to be confused with the noble family Rosenberg / Rozmberk.

Master List of Lowenstein

Counts of Löwenstein

Count of Löwenstein -Wertheim

Acquisitions - through marriage and inheritance

• County of Wertheim
• County Virneburg ( -1801 )
• County Rochefort (Belgium) ( -1737 )
• Rule Chassepierre (Belgium )
• County Herbimont (Belgium )
• County Montaigu (Belgium )
• County Neufchâteau ( Belgium)
• Rule Breuberg in the Odenwald
• County Königstein im Taunus
• Rule Freudenberg in Baden

Acquisitions - by secularization

• Bronnbach Monastery (1802 )
• Castle Rock Roth (1803 )

Inheritance

The death of Count Ludwig von Löwenstein -Wertheim 1611 led to the division of the inheritance and creation of lines:

• Löwenstein -Wertheim - Virneburg
• Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort

Haus Löwenstein -Wertheim - Virneburg / later Freudenberg

Count of Löwenstein -Wertheim - Virneburg

Due to the lack of primogeniture in the house Löwenstein -Wertheim - Virneburg all his five sons had equal rights in the government after the death of Count Heinrich Friedrich. Get Ultimately remained Vollrathsche line:

Prince of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Freudenberg

Chiefs of the house Löwenstein -Wertheim -Freudenberg

Haus Löwenstein -Wertheim - Rochefort Rochefort / later Rosenberg

Count of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort

Prince of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort

Prince of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg

Chiefs of the house Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg

Coat of arms

Small coat of arms

The coat of arms is divided, split up, right in silver on four green mountains inward - border a gold -crowned red lion ( Lowenstein ), left of blue and silver right diagonally awakened ( Wittelsbach ) divided bottom, top in gold is a growing black eagle, below in blue three ( 2:1) silver roses with golden slugs ( Wertheim ). On the helmet with red and silver covers of the lion is in the mountains.

Great Seal of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort

• Field 1: Lowenstein, in silver on green three or viergespitztem green sign foot ( three - or viergespitzter natural rocks ) border a red lion, crowned.
• Field 2: Montaigu, in silver a red eagle
• Field 3: Wertheim, upper half: in gold a black out coming from the division eagle.
• Field 4: Rochefort, in a red oval silver buckle.
• Heart sign: Wittelsbach blue - silver oblique diamonds and Palatine Lion, gold reinforced in black, red. As marital descendants of the Elector Frederick the Victorious of the Palatinate, the Löwensteiner the root cause of the Wittelsbach family coat of arms and the Palatinate Lion. Black empty -curved peak.
• Field 6: Wertheim, lower half in blue 3 silver roses with golden slugs
• Field 7: Breuberg, in silver two red bars.
• Field 8: in gold a red lion, above a triple row silver - red geschachter bar. The origin of the coat of arms of Mark is the geschachte bar. The lion comes from the Arenberg.
• Field 9: Scharfeneck, in red a silver lion, crowned.

Other family members

• Johann Ernst von Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort (1667-1731), Bishop of Tournai
• Eleonore Maria Anna of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rochefort (1686-1753), wife of Landgrave Ernst Leopold II of Hesse- Rotenburg
• Konstantin zu Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg (1802-1838), publicist
• Adelaide of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg (1831-1909), in 1851 the wife of the ex- King Michael I of Portugal
• Princess Anne of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Freudenberg (1864-1927), aviation pioneer
• Maria Theresa of Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg (1870-1935), wife since 1893 of the Portuguese pretender to the throne, Duke of Braganza II Miguel
• Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein -Wertheim -Freudenberg (1906-1984), journalist, writer and politician
• Karl Prinz zu Löwenstein -Wertheim -Rosenberg ( b. 1952 ), chairman of the Malta Ambulance Corps eV