Wurmbrand-Stuppach
Encyclopedia
Wurmbrand-Stuppach is an old noble family of Austria
, and the name of the Count
y they ruled. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach gained notability in wars against the Turks
in the Balkans
, and Prince Eugene gained fame fighting against the French
in the Netherlands
. The Counts and Princes of Wurmbrand-Stuppach were highly decorated advisors to the Habsburg
Emperors
. Wurmbrand-Stuppach was temporarily raised to a Principality
in 1607, and was made an Imperial County in 1701. It was mediatised
to Austria
in 1806.
. The Count of Stuppach had disappeared seven years earlier fighting in the Holy Land
, and the knights were getting impatient on waiting for his wife and successor to remarry. A lindworm
(a mythological two-legged wyvern
-like creature) had entered the County and began to terrorise the land. The knights demanded she marry a brave nobleman to fight it.
The Countess asked for four weeks' delay, and when that time had passed she said to the knights "I asked God. He likes my husband to return to me, if he still lives. To my sadness he did not come. Give me still four weeks period." But the people would not have another four weeks delay due to the lindworm, so she instead announced that she would marry whoever slayed the beast.
Silently, the knights left. Those which went to slay the lindworm did not return. One day, a poor farmer was on the Burglach making fences when the lindworm appeared. It lunged at the farmer, which speared the lindworm in the mouth with a stake he was using to build the fences. Other farmers who were nearby saw it, and they carried him to the countess to be married. The wedding lasted a week.
.
in 1705, and it earned him the name "the Father of Austrian Genealogy". Later, Count John William reorganised the archives of Lower Austria, and established a system which continued even after a new repertory of nobility. In 1726, he gained a seat and voice in the Franconia
n Diet
in Rothenburg
. When the Wittelsbach
King Charles Albert
of Bavaria
gained the Imperial crown in 1742, Count John William retired from service in Bohemia
, and only emerged from retirement following Charles's death in 1745 and the restoration of the Habsburgs to the Imperial throne. Count John William died in 1750 and was buried in Vienna. He was married five times; only his third wife, Maria Domininca Gräfin von Starhemberg, mothered a son and heir, Count Gundacker Thomas.
Count Christian Siegmund : He became the treasurer of King Frederick Augustus
of Poland
and Saxony
. In 1704, he entered the service of the Austrian Habsburgs, and fought in the War of the Spanish Succession
. Captured and imprisoned in Ettlingen
in 1707, he gained special favour with Prince Eugene and fought the Turks for the Austrians. In 1716, he fought in the siege of Temesvar (Timişoara
) with Prince Eugene, and with the cities' fall that year he delivered the tidings of success to Vienna. During the War of the Polish Succession
he already had the rank of a Field Marshal Lieutenant, and he was an Interim Commandant of the Imperial Army in 1734 in the defence of Grevenberg
against the French led by Bellisle. In 1735, he was put in charge of the Imperial Cavalry. Christian Siegmund died without heirs in 1737, and in his will had his extensive fortune returned to Steyersberg.
Count Casimir Henry : Casimir Henry was the brother of Christian Siegmund. During the War of the Austrian Succession
, he was a cavalry general and served under Khevenhüller
. In 1741, he was promoted to a tactical advisor. In 1745, he was the governor of Ath an der Dender in the Netherlands, and vigorously defended it. He died heirless in 1749.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and the name of the Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
y they ruled. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach gained notability in wars against the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and Prince Eugene gained fame fighting against the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The Counts and Princes of Wurmbrand-Stuppach were highly decorated advisors to the 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...
Emperors
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. Wurmbrand-Stuppach was temporarily raised to a Principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
in 1607, and was made an Imperial County in 1701. It was mediatised
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
to Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
in 1806.
The Wurmbrand Saga
The founding of the house of Wurmbrand-Stuppach, and the origins of the name, occurred during the CrusadesCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. The Count of Stuppach had disappeared seven years earlier fighting in the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, and the knights were getting impatient on waiting for his wife and successor to remarry. A lindworm
Lindworm
Lindworm in British heraldry, is a technical term for a wingless bipedal dragon often with a venomous bite.-Etymology:In modern Scandinavian languages, the cognate lindorm can refer to any 'serpent' or monstrous...
(a mythological two-legged wyvern
Wyvern
A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
-like creature) had entered the County and began to terrorise the land. The knights demanded she marry a brave nobleman to fight it.
The Countess asked for four weeks' delay, and when that time had passed she said to the knights "I asked God. He likes my husband to return to me, if he still lives. To my sadness he did not come. Give me still four weeks period." But the people would not have another four weeks delay due to the lindworm, so she instead announced that she would marry whoever slayed the beast.
Silently, the knights left. Those which went to slay the lindworm did not return. One day, a poor farmer was on the Burglach making fences when the lindworm appeared. It lunged at the farmer, which speared the lindworm in the mouth with a stake he was using to build the fences. Other farmers who were nearby saw it, and they carried him to the countess to be married. The wedding lasted a week.
Rulers of Wurmbrand-Stuppach
- ... (1701–?)
- Casimir Henry (1680–1749) with...
- Christian Siegmund (1673–1737) with...
- John Joseph (?–1750)
- Gundacker Thomas (1750–91)
- Gundacker Henry (1791–1806) with...
- Joseph (1791–96)
Heads of the mediatised house
In 1806 the count of Wurmbrand-Stuppach was mediatisedGerman Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
.
- Gundaccar (born 1762; died 1847)
- Ferdinand Gundaccar (born 1835; succeeded 1847; died 1896), Gundaccar's grandson
- Wilhelm (born 1862; succeeded 1896; died 1927), Ferdinand Gundaccar's son
- Degenhart (born 1893; succeeded 1927; died 1965), Wilhelm's son
- Ernst Gundaccar (born 1946; succeeded 1965), Gundaccar's great-great-grandson
Notable members of the house
Count John William (1670–1750) : After studying at the University of Utrecht, John William was appointed an advisor in 1697. He reorganised the royal advisory, and was responsible for much genealogical work in Austria (). His work first appeared in ViennaVienna
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...
in 1705, and it earned him the name "the Father of Austrian Genealogy". Later, Count John William reorganised the archives of Lower Austria, and established a system which continued even after a new repertory of nobility. In 1726, he gained a seat and voice in the Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n Diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
in Rothenburg
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken , the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City...
. When the Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
King Charles Albert
Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VII Albert a member of the Wittelsbach family, was Prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 until his death in 1745...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
gained the Imperial crown in 1742, Count John William retired from service in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, and only emerged from retirement following Charles's death in 1745 and the restoration of the Habsburgs to the Imperial throne. Count John William died in 1750 and was buried in Vienna. He was married five times; only his third wife, Maria Domininca Gräfin von Starhemberg, mothered a son and heir, Count Gundacker Thomas.
Count Christian Siegmund : He became the treasurer of King Frederick Augustus
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. In 1704, he entered the service of the Austrian Habsburgs, and fought in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. Captured and imprisoned in Ettlingen
Ettlingen
Ettlingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe. Ettlingen is the second largest town in the district of Karlsruhe, after Bruchsal.-Geography:...
in 1707, he gained special favour with Prince Eugene and fought the Turks for the Austrians. In 1716, he fought in the siege of Temesvar (Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
) with Prince Eugene, and with the cities' fall that year he delivered the tidings of success to Vienna. During the War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
he already had the rank of a Field Marshal Lieutenant, and he was an Interim Commandant of the Imperial Army in 1734 in the defence of Grevenberg
Grevenberg
Grevenberg is a village in the Netherlands and it is part of the Coevorden municipality in Drenthe. Grevenberg has an altitude of 11 meters . North of Grevenberg lies Oosterhesselen and south lies Wachtum....
against the French led by Bellisle. In 1735, he was put in charge of the Imperial Cavalry. Christian Siegmund died without heirs in 1737, and in his will had his extensive fortune returned to Steyersberg.
Count Casimir Henry : Casimir Henry was the brother of Christian Siegmund. During the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, he was a cavalry general and served under Khevenhüller
Khevenhüller
Khevenhüller is the name of a Carinthian noble family documented there since 1356 which originally came from the Upper Palatinate in Franconia and which later had their prinicipal seat on Landskron Castle. In the 16th century the family split into the two branches of ...
. In 1741, he was promoted to a tactical advisor. In 1745, he was the governor of Ath an der Dender in the Netherlands, and vigorously defended it. He died heirless in 1749.
External links
- Official website of the House of Wurmbrand-Stuppach
- Genealogy / Decendants of Leopold Wurmbrand
- Wurmbrand-Stuppach on WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
's History Wiki