Wolfgang ''Wolff'' von Eggenberg (born 1580 - died 1615) was an Austrian nobleman, landowner, military officer and ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

'' of the

House of Eggenberg The House of Eggenberg was the name of an influential Austrian nobility, Austrian noble family from Styria, who achieved Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, princely rank in the 17th century. The family's last male heir died in 1717, bringing an end ...

Biography

Wolfgang was born as the eldest child of Bartholomäus von Eggenberg-Ehrenhausen (1547–1585) and his wife, Justine von Breunner (1555–1592). After the death of his father, his mother remarried to Christoph Baron von Teuffenbach (1545–1598) and from this marriage he had one half-brother, Baron Friedrich von Teuffenbach-Mayrhofen (1585–1621), one of the leaders of the Protestant uprising in Moravia; executed in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, 1621. As Wolff only had one younger sister, Baroness Johanna Eleonore Galler von Schwamberg (1582–1649), he was the sole male heir of his uncle,

Ruprecht von Eggenberg Ruprecht Freiherr von Eggenberg (1546 – 7 February 1611, Graz, Styria) was a nobleman from the Holy Roman Empire, landowner and Colonel-general from the Duchy of Styria in Inner Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. Early life and a ...

. Like his uncle, Wolff von Eggenberg chose a military career and received the command of Imperial Forces as ''General-Obrist'' (imperfect translation is

Colonel-General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a rank above full , but be ...

) on the border to Croatia. He hasn't married and didn't have any known children. With his death in 1615, the Ehrenhausen cadet line of the family came to an end, while the princely line of the House of Eggenberg became extinct more than 100 years later, in 1717.

Death

He died in 1615, at the age of 45, in the fortress Karlstadt. His uncle, Ruprecht von Eggenberg had mandated in his testament that only male, Catholic members of the family who had attained the rank of general or higher may be buried in his family mausoleum in

Ehrenhausen Ehrenhausen is a former municipality in the district of Leibnitz in Styria, Austria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Ehrenhausen an der Weinstraße. Geography Ehrenhausen lies on the Mur river i ...

. As Wolfgang had fulfilled the criteria, he was interred beside his uncle in the family mausoleum.

Literature

*''Die Fürsten und Freiherren zu Eggenberg und ihre Vorfahren''. By Walther Ernest Heydendorff. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1965.

References

Austrian barons 17th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire 1615 deaths Year of birth unknown 1580 births {{Austria-mil-bio-stub