Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern (7 September 1545 in

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...

– 16 January 1605 in

Hechingen Hechingen ( Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of t ...

) was the founder and first Count of the line

Hohenzollern-Hechingen Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a small principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. History The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the Coun ...

as Eitel Friedrich I. Hechingen - Klosterkirche St

Life

Eitel Friedrich was the eldest surviving son of Count

Karl I Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

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

line; his brother

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

founded the

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen ( en, Nothing without God) , national_anthem = , common_languages = German , religion = Roman Catholic , currency = , title_leader = Prince , leader1 ...

line, and his brother

Christoph Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

founded the Hohenzollern-Haigerloch line. Hohenzollern-Hechingen included the original

County of Zollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

, with the town of

and monasteries at

Rangendingen Rangendingen is a municipality of the Zollernalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The Abbey of Saint Gall gained possession of Rangendingen around 800 AD. In the 16th century, the town became a possession of the Principalit ...

, St. Luzen and Stetten. 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 The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

style residence, from which the New Castle later evolved. In 1585, he and his wife founded the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery of St. Luke in Hechingen.''Archiv für die Geistlichkeit der Oberrheinischen Kirchenprovinz'', n derHerder schen Kunst- und Buchhandlung 1838, p. 293
Digitalisat
He initiated other construction projects 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 , "Where my treasure lies, there lies my heart" (compare ).

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 Meßkirch (; Swabian: ''Mässkirch'') is a town in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The town was the residence of the counts of Zimmern, widely known through Count Froben Christoph's '' Zimmern Chronicle'' (1559– ...

. She was Sibylle (1558–1599), daughter of Count

Froben Christoph of Zimmern Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern (19 February 1519 – 27 November 1566) was the author of the '' Zimmern Chronicle'' and a member of the von Zimmern family of Swabian nobility. This article is based primarily on Beat Rudolf Jenny's biograp ...

. They had the following children: * Ernst (born: 1575; died young) *

Johann Georg The German given name Johann Georg, or its variant spellings, may refer to: John George *John George, Elector of Brandenburg (1525–1598) *John George I, Elector of Saxony (1585–1656) *John George II, Elector of Saxony (1613–1680) *John Geor ...

(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 Prince Johann of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (17 August 1578 in Sigmaringen – 22 March 1638 in Munich), was the ruling Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen from 1606 to 1623. He was elevated to the rank of prince in 1623 and so was ''Prince'' o ...

(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

References

* * ''Allgemeine deutsche Real-encyklopädie für die gebildeten Stände'', vol. 7, Brockhaus, 1845, p. 249,
Online

External links

Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eitel Friedrich 04 Hohenzollern Counts of Hohenzollern House of Hohenzollern 1545 births 1605 deaths 16th-century German people