Eitel Friedrich IV, Count of Hohenzollern

Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern (7 September 1545 in Sigmaringen – 16 January 1605 in Hechingen) was the founder and first Count of the line Hohenzollern-Hechingen as Eitel Friedrich I.

Ubi thesaurus meus, ibi cor meum, bronze grave plate in the monastery church of St. Luzen

Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern
Eitel Friedrich IV
Born	7 September 1545 Sigmaringen
Died	16 January 1605 (aged 59) Hechingen
Buried	Church of the St. Luzen monastery
Noble family	House of Hohenzollern
Spouse(s)	Veronica of Ortenburg Sibylle of Zimmern Johanna of Eberstein
Father	Karl I, Count of Hohenzollern
Mother	Anna of Baden-Durlach

Monastery Church St. Luzen in Hechingen

Life

Eitel Friedrich was the eldest surviving son of Count Karl I of Hohenzollern (1516–1576) from his marriage to Anna (1512–1579), daughter of the Margrave Ernst of Baden-Durlach.

After his father's death in 1576, Hohenzollern was divided. Eitel Friedrich became the founder of the Hohenzollern-Hechingen line; his brother Karl founded the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen line, and his brother Christoph founded the Hohenzollern-Haigerloch line. Hohenzollern-Hechingen included the original County of Zollern, with the town of Hechingen and monasteries at Rangendingen, St. Luzen and Stetten.[1]

Eitel Friedrich reorganized the administration of the county, which his predecessors had neglected. He issued strict hunting and forestry regulation, which led to several uprisings.

In Hechingen, he built a Renaissance style residence, from which the New Castle later evolved. In 1585, he and his wife founded the Franciscan monastery of St. Luke in Hechingen.[2] He initiated other construction project as well, including the St. Lucerne abbey church, the hospital and the lower tower. His residence became a center of culture and music, earning him the nickname the Magnificent.

He died in 1605 and was buried in the church of the St. Luzen monastery. In 1609 a bronze grave plate was added to his grave, covering his heart. It bears the inscription Ubi thesaurus meus, ibi cor meum, "Where my treasure lies, there lies my heart" (compare Luke 12).

Marriages and issue

Eitel Friedrich married three times. He married his first wife on 22 June 1568. She was Veronica († 1573), the daughter of Count Karl I of Ortenburg. The marriage remained childless.

He married his second wife on 14 November 1574 in Meßkirch. She was Sibylle (1558–1599), daughter of Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern. They had the following children:

• Ernst (born: 1575; died young)
• Johann Georg (1577–1623), Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen

married in 1598 Countess Franziska of Salm-Neufville, Wild- and Rhinegravine of Neufville (d. 1619)

• Maximilian (1580–1633)
• Johanna (1581–1634)

married in 1602 with Johann, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1578–1638)

He married his third wife on 1 March 1601. She was Johanna (d. 1633), the daughter of Count Philip of Eberstein. this marriage also remained childless

Footnotes

1. Gerhard Köbler: Historisches Lexikon der Deutschen Länder: die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart, C. H. Beck, 2007, p. 294
2. Archiv für die Geistlichkeit der Oberrheinischen Kirchenprovinz, [In der] Herder['schen Kunst- und Buchhandlung], 1838, p. 293 (Digitalisat)

References

• "Eitel Friedrich IV.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 9, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1972, pp. 501–502
• Allgemeine deutsche Real-encyklopädie für die gebildeten Stände, vol. 7, Brockhaus, 1845, p. 249, (Online)

External links

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