Herbard VIII von Auersperg
Encyclopedia
Herbard VIII von Auersperg, Freiherr
from 1550, Slovene name: Hervard Turjaški
(b. 15 June 1528 in Vienna
; d. 22 September 1575 near Budačka on the Military Frontier
) was a governor of Carniola
supporting Protestantism, and an imperial Habsburg
general in the wars against the Ottoman Empire
.
was at its fastest, and the danger of the Turkish invasion into the Habsburg lands at its greatest.
Herbard's father was Trojan von Auersperg, his mother Anna a Freiin (i.e. baroness) von Egck. After attending the municipal school in Vienna
he was sent for several years to the court of Cleve
which was among the many European relations of the Auerspergs. 1546 he started on his successful military career under Ivan Lenković
at the "Windic" border (Upper Slavonian Krajina
) and after only two years, hardly 20 years old, was made Captain of the strategically important Uskok centre of Zengg/Senj
on the coast of Dalmatia
in 1548, and in March 1550 he was made a baron (“Freiherr”).
Owing to his bravery and highly successful performance in a battle near Bosnian Novi (1566) on the Una river he was appointed "Landeshauptmann" (lit. "state captain", i.e. governor) of the Duchy of Carniola (1566–75), with his home at Auersperg Castle
, in Slovene "Grad Turjak" or "Turjaški grad", which is why in Slovene the members of the Auersperg family are generally known as "Turjaški".
As a fervent follower of Luther's teaching Auersperg as governor favoured Protestant teaching in Carniola, befriended and was host to the great reformer Primož Trubar
and, through his son Christoph von Auersperg, offered sanctuary at Auersperg/Turjak castle to the first translator of the bible into the local language, Jurij Dalmatin
. As a renowned pillar of Protestantism Herbard von Auersperg thus opposed strongly the counter-reformatory
measures of the Inner-Austrian Court in Graz
and resisted the Catholic clerics in Carniola, who were mostly strangers to the land.
1560-63 Auersperg was charged with the responsibility for the defence of the Croat-Ottoman border and the Adriatic coastline, and 1565-69 for the Slovenian borderlands. Following the death of Lenković (1569) he rose to general in charge of all the Austrian Military Frontier
area in the south-east, but lost his life in September 1575 in a battle at the Croatian border near Budačka fighting greatly superior Turkish forces. Auersperg was beheaded and his cut-off head was jubilantly exhibited on a spear during the triumphal march of the victor Ferhat Beg
in Constantinople on 9 November 1575, but later was bought from the Turks by the Auersperg family. Tradition has it that, together with what Herbard's widow paid as ransom for the release of their son Wolf Engelbrecht (or Engelbert), who had been taken captive in the same battle, it made possible the erection of the grand Ferhat Pasha Mosque in Banja Luka
.
"In order to revenge Herbard von Auersperg's highly esteemed head, to which the Turks had done likewise", the decapitated heads of two Ottoman pashas who while fleeing had drowned in the Kupa
river – Hasan Pasha
, the Beylerbey
of Bosnia, and Mehmet, a nephew of the Sultan and the Pasha of Hercegovina – were also exhibited on spears after their crushing defeat in the Sisak
brought about by Herbard's cousin, Andreas von Auersperg
, so Valvasor reports.
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
from 1550, Slovene name: Hervard Turjaški
(b. 15 June 1528 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
; d. 22 September 1575 near Budačka on the Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
) was a governor of Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
supporting Protestantism, and an imperial Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
general in the wars against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
.
Life and career
Herbard von Auersperg was born into one of the oldest Austrian families at the time when the spreading of LutheranismLutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
was at its fastest, and the danger of the Turkish invasion into the Habsburg lands at its greatest.
Herbard's father was Trojan von Auersperg, his mother Anna a Freiin (i.e. baroness) von Egck. After attending the municipal school in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
he was sent for several years to the court of Cleve
Duchy of Cleves
The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
which was among the many European relations of the Auerspergs. 1546 he started on his successful military career under Ivan Lenković
Ivan Lenković
Ivan Lenković was a Croatian army general and the leader of the Uskoks. He is noted for the construction of Fortress Nehaj and as a captain of the Senj area. He also contributed in organizing the Military Frontier....
at the "Windic" border (Upper Slavonian Krajina
Slavonian Krajina
The Slavonian Military Frontier or Slavonian Krajina was part of the Habsburg Military Frontier. It was formed out of territories the Habsburgs conquered from the Ottoman Empire and included southern parts of Slavonia and Syrmia; today the area it covered is mostly in eastern Croatia, with its...
) and after only two years, hardly 20 years old, was made Captain of the strategically important Uskok centre of Zengg/Senj
Senj
Senj , German Zengg, Hungarian Zeng and Italian Segna) is the oldest town on the upper Adriatic, and it was founded in the time before the Romans some 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk. It was the center of the Illyrian tribe Iapydes. The current settlement is situated at the foot of the slopes Mala...
on the coast of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
in 1548, and in March 1550 he was made a baron (“Freiherr”).
Owing to his bravery and highly successful performance in a battle near Bosnian Novi (1566) on the Una river he was appointed "Landeshauptmann" (lit. "state captain", i.e. governor) of the Duchy of Carniola (1566–75), with his home at Auersperg Castle
Turjak Castle
Turjak Castle is a 13th century castle located above the settlement of Turjak, part of the municipality of Velike Lašče in the Lower Carniola region of Slovenia...
, in Slovene "Grad Turjak" or "Turjaški grad", which is why in Slovene the members of the Auersperg family are generally known as "Turjaški".
Primož Trubar
Primož Trubar or Primož Truber was a Slovene Protestant reformer, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Slovene Lands, a consolidator of the Slovene language and the author of the first Slovene-language printed book...
and, through his son Christoph von Auersperg, offered sanctuary at Auersperg/Turjak castle to the first translator of the bible into the local language, Jurij Dalmatin
Jurij Dalmatin
Jurij Dalmatin was a Slovene Lutheran minister, writer and translator.Born in Krško in around 1546, Dalmatin became a preacher in Ljubljana in 1572. He was the author of several religious books, such as Karšanske lepe molitve , Ta kratki würtemberški katekizmus , and Agenda...
. As a renowned pillar of Protestantism Herbard von Auersperg thus opposed strongly the counter-reformatory
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
measures of the Inner-Austrian Court in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
and resisted the Catholic clerics in Carniola, who were mostly strangers to the land.
1560-63 Auersperg was charged with the responsibility for the defence of the Croat-Ottoman border and the Adriatic coastline, and 1565-69 for the Slovenian borderlands. Following the death of Lenković (1569) he rose to general in charge of all the Austrian Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
area in the south-east, but lost his life in September 1575 in a battle at the Croatian border near Budačka fighting greatly superior Turkish forces. Auersperg was beheaded and his cut-off head was jubilantly exhibited on a spear during the triumphal march of the victor Ferhat Beg
Ferhat-paša Sokolovic
Ferhat-pasha Sokolović was an Ottoman general and statesman from Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Biography:Ferhat-pasha was born into the famous Bosnian family, which among others, also gave the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolović. Ferhat Pasha was governor of the sanjak of Klis between 1566 and...
in Constantinople on 9 November 1575, but later was bought from the Turks by the Auersperg family. Tradition has it that, together with what Herbard's widow paid as ransom for the release of their son Wolf Engelbrecht (or Engelbert), who had been taken captive in the same battle, it made possible the erection of the grand Ferhat Pasha Mosque in Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
.
"In order to revenge Herbard von Auersperg's highly esteemed head, to which the Turks had done likewise", the decapitated heads of two Ottoman pashas who while fleeing had drowned in the Kupa
Kupa
Kupa may refer to:*Kupa River, a river in Croatia and Slovenia*Kupa River , a river in Lithuania*Kupa River in Siberia, see Kuta River*Kupa Synagogue, a synagogue in Krakow*Kupa, Hungary, a village in Northern Hungary...
river – Hasan Pasha
Hasan Predojević
Hasan Predojević, Telli Hasan Paşa, Gazi Hasan-paša Predojević, was a military leader of the Ottoman army. Born Niko Predojević in Herzegovina, he was given the name Hasan after he converted to Islam.During the rule of Murat III he became Sandjakbey of the Sanjak of Segedin where he stayed until...
, the Beylerbey
Beylerbey
Beylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
of Bosnia, and Mehmet, a nephew of the Sultan and the Pasha of Hercegovina – were also exhibited on spears after their crushing defeat in the Sisak
Battle of Sisak
The Battle of Sisak was fought on June 22, 1593, between Ottoman forces of the Bosnian governor-general, or Beylerbeyi, Hasan-paša Predojević, and forces of the Holy Roman Empire under the supreme command of the Styrian general Ruprecht von Eggenberg...
brought about by Herbard's cousin, Andreas von Auersperg
Andreas von Auersperg
Andreas von Auersperg, Lord of Schönberg und Seisenberg was a Carniolan noble and leader of the defending forces at the Battle of Sisak in 1593....
, so Valvasor reports.