Barbara Blomberg (1527 – 18 December 1597) was the mother of Don John of Austria. Blomberg was born in Ratisbon (modern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), the eldest daughter of Wolfgang Plumberger or Blomberg, a

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

, and of his wife Sibilla Lohman. A singer, in 1546 she was for a short time the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

of the Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

, who was in Regensburg for the meeting of the Imperial Diet. On 24 February 1547 Blomberg gave birth to John of Austria, who was almost immediately taken from her and sent to be raised in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Shortly afterwards Blomberg married Hieronymus Kegel, an imperial official. In 1551 she moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

with her husband where Kegel was responsible for the equipment of the imperial mercenary army. They had three children. When Kegel died in 1569, Blomberg and her children were in reduced financial circumstances. At the request of the governor of the Netherlands, the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by ...

, she was granted a pension by King Philip II of Spain (her oldest son's agnate half-brother). In November 1576 Blomberg met her son John of Austria for the only time since his birth. Subsequently, she went into a Dominican

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

in Castile, 70 km south of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. After John of Austria died in 1578, Philip II allowed her to choose her own residence. She established herself first in the village of Colindres. In 1584 she purchased an estate in the village of Ambrosero in

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

. Blomberg died at the age of seventy at her estate in Ambrosero. She is buried in the Church of San Sebastian at the monastery of Montehano (also known as Convento San Sebastián de Hano), between Ambrosero and

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In literature

Blomberg has been the subject of a number of novels and plays: * In 1837 Patricio de la Escosura y Morrogh wrote the Spanish-language play ''Barbara Blomberg: drama en cuatro actos en verso''. * In 1897

Georg Ebers Georg Moritz Ebers (Berlin, 1 March 1837 – Tutzing, Bavaria, 7 August 1898) was a German Egyptologist and novelist. He is best known for his purchase of the Ebers Papyrus, one of the oldest Egyptian medical documents in the world. Life Geo ...

wrote the German-language novel ''Barbara Blomberg: ein historischer Roman''. * In 1934 Alice Goldberger Liebling wrote the English-language play ''An Emperor's Great Love (Barbara Blomberg)''. * In 1949

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...

wrote the German-language play ''Barbara Blomberg: ein Stück in drei Akten''. * In 1953 Heinz Schauwecker wrote the German-language novella ''Die Sternenstunde der Barbara Blomberg: Novelle um die Geburt des Don Juan d'Austria''. * In 1999 Teresa Alvarez wrote the Spanish-language novel ''La pasión última de Carlos V''.

Bibliography

* Panzer, Marita A. ''Barbara Blomberg, 1527-1597: Bürgerstochter und Kaisergeliebte''. Regensburg: F. Pustet, 1995. . * Böckl, Manfred. ''Die Geliebte des Kaisers: Kaiser Karl V. und Barbara Blomberg''. Augsburg: Weltbild, 2004. * Herre, Paul. ''Barbara Blomberg, die Geliebte Kaiser Karls V. und Mutter Don Juans de Austria: ein Kurtbild des 16. Jahrhunderts''. Leipzig: Quelle & Meyer, 1909. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blomberg, Barbara 1527 births 1597 deaths Blomberg Barbara 16th-century German people