Eltz
Encyclopedia
The House of Eltz is a noted German
noble family of the Uradel
. The Rhenish
dynasty has had close ties to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
since 1736.
in the late 7th century, the first recorded instance of the name occurred in 1157, when Rudolph zu Eltz was mentioned as witness to the donation of a property deed by Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa
. At that time, Eltz lived in a small manor on the banks of the River Elz
, a tributary of the Moselle, in what is now the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate
. The family members had been ministeriales
and loyal supporters of the Imperial Hohenstaufen dynasty. In the early 14th century they inherited the Vogt
ei over Rübenach near Koblenz
, a possession of Imperial Abbey of St Maximin
at Trier.
From 1331 until 1336 the Eltz were stuck in a fierce feud with mighty Baldwin of Luxembourg, then Elector and Prince-Archbishop of Trier enforcing his acknowledgement as their suzerain, whereafter the Eltz family remained vassals of the Trier archbishops. In 1324 Pope John XXII
had appointed Canon Arnold von Eltz Prince-Bishop of Cammin in Pomerania
against the resistance of King Louis IV
. Robin von Eltz served as Master of the Livonian Order
from 1385 until 1389. Canon Jakob zu Eltz was elected Prince-Archbishop of Trier in 1567; he was one of the strongest champions of the Counter-Reformation
and allied himself with the Jesuits in opposing Lutheran and Calvinist influence in the region.
In 1624, Hans Jakob zu Eltz was given the hereditary office of Field Marshal
for the Electorate of Trier. This made him the supreme military commander of the region in time of war, including leader of the vassals on this important region of the Holy Roman Empire
. The Eltz family, Imperial Knight
s since 1729, reached their greatest influence with Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich
, from 1732 Prince Elector and Archbishop of Mainz
and German Archchancellor
, making him the most noble and one of the most powerful Catholic
princes north of the Alps
. As a result of their service throughout the troubles of the Reformation
and during the wars against the Ottoman Empire
, the elder line of Eltz were awarded the title of Reichsgrafen
(Counts of the Empire) by the Habsburg Emperor Charles VI
in 1733 in Vienna
. The additional "Great Palatinate" privilege entitled the Eltz lords to knight others in the name of the Emperor, select notaries public, legitimate illegitimate children, confer coats of arms and crests, appoint judges and clerks, and release serfs from service.
In 1736 Archbishop Philipp Karl von Eltz had acquired the Lordship of Vukovar
in eastern Slavonia
(present-day Croatia
) affiliated with the Hungarian
nobility. From 1749 onwards his heirs had Eltz Manor
erected, the main residence of the Grafen von und zu Eltz until the family was expelled by the Yugoslav
communist regime in 1945. After Croatia declared independence
from Yugoslavia, Jakob Eltz
returned to Croatia and as a naturalized citizen became a member of the new Sabor
parliament, where he represented Vukovar. During the Battle of Vukovar
, the Eltz Manor in Vukovar was destroyed by intense shelling and the bodies in the Eltz tomb desecrated by Serbian
forces. Jakob Eltz, then in his 70s, personally took part in the defence of the city.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
noble family of the Uradel
Uradel
The German and Scandinavian term Uradel refers to nobility who can trace back their noble ancestry at least to the year 1400 and probably originates from leadership positions during the Migration Period.-Divisions of German nobility:Uradel : Nobility that originates from leadership positions held...
. The Rhenish
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
dynasty has had close ties to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia
The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia or Croatia Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was part of the Hungarian Kingdom within the dual Austro-Hungarian state, being within the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen or Transleithania...
since 1736.
History
Though older sources mentioned one Eberhard zu Eltz, a Frankish citizen of TrierTrier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
in the late 7th century, the first recorded instance of the name occurred in 1157, when Rudolph zu Eltz was mentioned as witness to the donation of a property deed by Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
. At that time, Eltz lived in a small manor on the banks of the River Elz
Elzbach
The Elzbach is a small river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel, near Kelberg. The Elz flows through Monreal and along the castle Burg Eltz. It flows into the Moselle in Moselkern, in the Verbandsgemeinde of Treis-Karden....
, a tributary of the Moselle, in what is now the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
. The family members had been ministeriales
Ministerialis
Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...
and loyal supporters of the Imperial Hohenstaufen dynasty. In the early 14th century they inherited the Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
ei over Rübenach near Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, a possession of Imperial Abbey of St Maximin
St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier
St. Maximin's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-History:The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been founded by Saint Maximin of Trier in the 4th century. Maximin St. Maximin's Abbey was a...
at Trier.
From 1331 until 1336 the Eltz were stuck in a fierce feud with mighty Baldwin of Luxembourg, then Elector and Prince-Archbishop of Trier enforcing his acknowledgement as their suzerain, whereafter the Eltz family remained vassals of the Trier archbishops. In 1324 Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
had appointed Canon Arnold von Eltz Prince-Bishop of Cammin in Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
against the resistance of King Louis IV
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
. Robin von Eltz served as Master of the Livonian Order
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...
from 1385 until 1389. Canon Jakob zu Eltz was elected Prince-Archbishop of Trier in 1567; he was one of the strongest champions of the Counter-Reformation
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...
and allied himself with the Jesuits in opposing Lutheran and Calvinist influence in the region.
In 1624, Hans Jakob zu Eltz was given the hereditary office of Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
for the Electorate of Trier. This made him the supreme military commander of the region in time of war, including leader of the vassals on this important region of the Holy Roman Empire
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...
. The Eltz family, Imperial Knight
Imperial Knight
The Free Imperial Knights, or the Knights of the Empire was an organisation of free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor, remnants of the medieval free nobility and the ministeriales...
s since 1729, reached their greatest influence with Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich
Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich
Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich was Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1732 to 1743.-Biography:Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich was born at Burg Eltz on October 26, 1665. In 1686, he enrolled in the Collegium Germanicum in Rome and received a substantial theological education...
, from 1732 Prince Elector and Archbishop of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
and German Archchancellor
Archchancellor
An archchancellor or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries....
, making him the most noble and one of the most powerful Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
princes north of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. As a result of their service throughout the troubles of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and during the wars against the Ottoman Empire
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...
, the elder line of Eltz were awarded the title of Reichsgrafen
Graf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
(Counts of the Empire) by the Habsburg Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
in 1733 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...
. The additional "Great Palatinate" privilege entitled the Eltz lords to knight others in the name of the Emperor, select notaries public, legitimate illegitimate children, confer coats of arms and crests, appoint judges and clerks, and release serfs from service.
In 1736 Archbishop Philipp Karl von Eltz had acquired the Lordship of Vukovar
Vukovar
Vukovar is a city in eastern Croatia, and the biggest river port in Croatia located at the confluence of the Vuka river and the Danube. Vukovar is the center of the Vukovar-Syrmia County...
in eastern Slavonia
Kingdom of Slavonia
The Kingdom of Slavonia was a province of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Austrian Empire that existed from 1699 to 1868. The province included northern parts of present-day regions of Slavonia and Syrmia...
(present-day Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
) affiliated with the Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
nobility. From 1749 onwards his heirs had Eltz Manor
Eltz Manor
Eltz Manor is a castle in Vukovar, Croatia. The 18th century manor is the location of the Vukovar City Museum.The manor was originally built between the period of 1749 to 1751 by the House of Eltz and was gradually extended over time...
erected, the main residence of the Grafen von und zu Eltz until the family was expelled by the Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
communist regime in 1945. After Croatia declared independence
Croatian War of Independence
The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...
from Yugoslavia, Jakob Eltz
Jakob Eltz
Jakob Graf und Edler Herr von und zu Eltz-Kempenich genannt Faust von Stromberg , known as Jakob von und zu Eltz, also referred to as Count Johann Jakob Eltz was a Knight of Malta, and a...
returned to Croatia and as a naturalized citizen became a member of the new Sabor
Parliament of Croatia
The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...
parliament, where he represented Vukovar. During the Battle of Vukovar
Battle of Vukovar
The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army , supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Baroque town was a prosperous, mixed community of Croats,...
, the Eltz Manor in Vukovar was destroyed by intense shelling and the bodies in the Eltz tomb desecrated by Serbian
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serb entity within Croatia. Established in 1991, it was not recognized internationally. It formally existed from 1991 to 1995, having been initiated a year earlier via smaller separatist regions. The name Krajina means "frontier"...
forces. Jakob Eltz, then in his 70s, personally took part in the defence of the city.
Notable members
- Jakob von Eltz-RübenachJakob von Eltz-RübenachJakob von Eltz-Rübenach was the Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1567 to 1581.-Biography:Jakob von Eltz-Rübenach was born in Burg Eltz in 1510, the second son of Johann von und zu Eltz and his wife Maria von Breitbach....
(1510-1581), Prince Elector and Archbishop of Trier from 1567 - Philipp Karl von Eltz-KempenichPhilipp Karl von Eltz-KempenichPhilipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich was Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1732 to 1743.-Biography:Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich was born at Burg Eltz on October 26, 1665. In 1686, he enrolled in the Collegium Germanicum in Rome and received a substantial theological education...
(1665-1743), Prince Elector and Archbishop of Mainz from 1732 - Paul Freiherr von Eltz-RübenachPaul Freiherr von Eltz-RübenachPeter Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach was Minister of Mail and Minister of Transport of Germany between 1932 and 1937....
(1875-1943), Reich Minister of Mail and Transport from 1932 until 1937