Andreas von Graben zu Sommeregg (also ''Andreas vom Graben''; 15th century – 12 July 1463) was a Carinthian

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

and nobleman residing at Sommeregg Castle. He served as a

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...

and

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

governor in the Ortenburg estates, held by the

Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County ...

until 1456. With the extinction of the Cillier family, Von Graben lost the post of captain of the County of Ortenburg under the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

, their successors as Ortenburg sovereign.

Life

Origin

Born at Kornberg Castle in the

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (; ; ) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution i ...

, Andreas von Graben was a descendant of the noble (''

edelfrei The term ''edelfrei'' or ''hochfrei'' ("free noble" or "free knight") was originally used to designate and distinguish those Germanic noblemen from the Second Estate (see Estates of the realm social hierarchy), who were legally entitled to atone ...

'') House of Graben family. He was the son of Friedrich I von Graben (d. 1422 at Kornberg Castle) and Katharina von Sumerau (Saurau); Burgrave Friedrich II von Graben was a brother of him. Andreas' nephew Ulrich III von Graben became a confidant of the Habsburg emperor Frederick III. Andreas` sister (?) Veronica von Graben (d. 1467) was married to Philipp Breuner (d. 1458), and Elisabeth von Graben married with Georg von Auersperg (d. 1488).

Marriage and issue

Andreas von Graben married Barbara von Hallegg, daughter of Jörg von Hallegg (Hallecker), imperial counsellor and

Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...

of the Duchy of Carinthia. The couple had at least eight children *Heinrich von Graben (d. 1507) *Ernst von Graben (d. 1513), nobleman, served the Archbishops of Salzburg *

Virgil von Graben Virgil von Graben (1430/1440 — 1507), also ''Virgil vom Graben'', was an Austrian nobility, noble, politician and diplomat. He was one of the most important noblemen and officials in the County of Gorizia and in the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg ...

(1430/1440-1507), succeeded his father as Burgrave of Sommeregg, administrator in the

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia (, , , ), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, the Counts of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'') ruled over several fiefs in the are ...

, served the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

emperors Frederick III and Maximilian I *Ruth von Graben *

Cosmas von Graben Cosmas or Kosmas is a Greek name (), from Ancient Greek Κοσμᾶς (Kosmâs), associated with the noun κόσμος (kósmos), meaning "universe", and the verb κοσμέω (to order, govern, adorn) linked to propriety. Alternate form: Κ ...

(d. 1479), nobleman, Burgrave of Sanneck (''Žovnek''), served the

and the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

*Wolfgang von Graben, priest *

Wolfgang Andreas von Graben Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

, knighted by King Maximilian I in 1486 at his coronation in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

*Barbara von Graben, married to

Ladislaus Prager Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * La ...

Coat of arms

Originally, the family of Andreas von Graben of Kornberg carried the coat of arms with the shovel (silver shovel on red), but adopted the oblique beam coat of arms (red, split by blue and silver) in Ortenburg services. Von Graben Wappen.jpg, Coat of arms Andreas von Graben Heraldische Stammtafel der Herren von Graben sowie deren Abstammungen.jpg, Heraldic family tree of the Graben and their descendants

Career

With the '' Sommeregg line'', Andreas von Graben founded the branch of the family based in the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...

and the

(in today's East Tyrol), which also had a different coat of arms; split by red and split three times by silver and blue (silver-white oblique bar equal to Graben's lineage at Graben Castle in Krain / Carniola). Andreas von Graben was in the service of the

Counts of Cilli The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County ...

for over four decades. In 1423 he was Burgrave of Landskron, and in a military conflict between Count Hermann III von Cilli with the Burgamt, the city of

Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...

, he also led the Cillian forces against the surrounding area, which was in fiefdom of the bishops of Bamberg. At the intervention of Prince-Bishop Friedrich III von Aufseß with Archduke Ernest "the Iron" of Austria, Von Graben had to withdraw from Bamberg areas on the orders of the Cillier. In 1433, Von Graben served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(''Hauptmann'', a sort of

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

) of the former Ortenburg Estate which belonged to the

. In 1436, Count Frederick II of Celje gave Andreas von Graben the

burgraviate Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgra ...

(a sort of viscount) and rulership of Sommeregg as a pledge. In 1442 the Cillier gave him and his legitimate sons Sommeregg with the usual castle hat for life, which he chose as his new family residence In 1445 he was involved in the fierce feud between Count Henry VI of Gorizia and his wife Catherine von Gara and later supported the military campaigns of his bellicose liege lord Count

Ulrich II of Celje Ulrich II, or Ulrich of Celje (; ; ; 16 February 14069 November 1456), was the last Princely Count of Celje. At the time of his death, he was captain general and '' de facto'' regent of Hungary, '' ban'' (governor) of Slavonia, Croatia and Dal ...

. On interventions and demands of the Emperor

Friedrich III Frederick III may refer to: * Frederick III, Duke of Upper Lorraine (died 1033) * Frederick III, Duke of Swabia (1122–1190) * Friedrich III, Burgrave of Nuremberg (1220–1297) * Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (1240–1302) * Frederick III o ...

to Count Heinrich II and Ulrich II von Cilli, Andreas von Graben had to return the conquests he had made for the Cilliers to the now reconciled Gorizia ruling couple. In 1450 he was also named as Burggraf of Sternberg, near

Wernberg Wernberg () is a municipality in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography Wernberg lies on the Drava River at the foot of the Ossiach Tauern range, east of Villach, and between Lake Ossiach on the north, Wörthe ...

. Upon the extinction of the Counts of Celje in 1456, their estates were seized by Emperor Frederick III of the Habsburg dynasty. He enforced a settlement with the Counts of Gorizia, whereupon Andreas von Graben had to renounce his conquests and also lost his office as stadtholder of the Ortenburg estates. Nevertheless, he still is documented as a liege lord around Vellach in 1458, and owner of Falkenstein Castle in 1462.Kärnthen's Adel bis zum Jahre 1300. Von A. Weiss
/ref> In addition to Sommeregg, Andreas von Graben also expanded the parish churches of Treffling (Seeboden municipality) and Lieseregg (in present-day Seeboden) near his Sommeregg residence rebuilt. A winged altar created by

Thomas von Villach Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

contains the coat of arms of Andreas von Graben, who died in 1463, in the image of the crowning with thorns. Various coats of arms of Andreas and his family can still be found in the area around

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of ''Pat ...

, Sommeregg and Ortenburg.

References

External links

*
Von Graben Forschung

(de) Burg Sommeregg
* Rudolf Granichstaedten-Czerva (1948): "Brixen - Reichsfürstentum und Hofstaat". {{DEFAULTSORT:Graben, Andreas Von 1463 deaths People from Carinthia Medieval Austrian knights Year of birth unknown 15th-century Austrian people