Franz Ludwig Baron von Welden (16 June 1780,

Laupheim Laupheim (; Swabian: ''Laoba'') is a major district town in southern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Laupheim was first mentioned in 778 and gained city rights in 1869. One of the main trading routes, from Ulm to Ravensburg and then ...

– 7 August 1853, Graz) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

army officer whose career culminated in becoming the commander-in-chief of the

artillery. Born in

, Ludwig von Welden joined the army of the Duchy of Württemberg in 1798, taking part in the war against revolutionary

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

1799–1800. In 1802, he took service with Austria and became a French prisoner of war in 1809. Following a prisoner exchange, he then took part in the

Battle of Aspern-Essling In the Battle of Aspern-Essling (21–22 May 1809), Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrians under Archduke Charles. It was the first time Napoleon ...

as a major in the Austrian army. In 1812, he became part of the general staff at the headquarters of Prince Schwarzenberg. Having been promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, Ludwig von Welden served with distinction as a staff officer in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1814, and, after the capture of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

, was given the task to repatriate the French army, which had capitulated there, to southern France. In 1815, Ludwig von Welden was an officer in the general staff in the army raised to confront

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

, the dethroned king of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. During this campaign, he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

and, in 1816, to that of

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

of the Austrian engineer corps. Following this, Ludwig von Welden became head of the army

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

office, and served during the campaign in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in 1821 as head of the general staff. He also supervised the topographical survey of the region. In 1824, he published a

monography A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograp ...

about the

Monte Rosa : , other_name = Monte Rosa massif , translation = Mount Rose , photo = Dufourspitze (Monte Rosa) and Monte Rosa Glacier as seen from Gornergrat, Wallis, Switzerland, 2012 August.jpg , photo_caption = Central Mon ...

. From 1832 until 1838, he was a delegate at the central military commission of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

in Frankfurt. Having been promoted to the rank of lieutenant field marshal, he took command of a

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

in Graz in 1838, and, in 1843, assumed the general command of

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. During the uprising of Lombardy in 1848, he managed to secure General Radetzky's lines of communication to Austria and was then put in charge of the confinement of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. In September 1848, Ludwig van Welden was appointed governor of Dalmatia, having military as well civil powers. He also served in the same capacity in Vienna after it was reconquered by imperial troops during the course of the

revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

. After the Prince of Windischgrätz's failure to suppress the revolutionary movements in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

, Ludwig van Welden was given the supreme command of the Austrian army in Hungary in April 1849. However, after the Hungarian conquest of

Ofen Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

in May, he was replaced by

Julius Jacob von Haynau Julius Jakob Freiherr von Haynau (14 October 1786 – 14 March 1853) was an Austrian general who suppressed insurrectionary movements in Italy and Hungary in 1848 and later. While a hugely effective military leader, he also gained renown as an agg ...

and returned to Vienna to resume his post as governor, having also been promoted to the second highest rank in the Austrian army, ''Feldzeugmeister''. Due to his failing health, Ludwig von Welden retired from active military service in 1851, and died in Graz in 1853. Ludwig von Welden was also a keen botanist and member of the

Regensburg Botanical Society The Regensburg Botanical Society (''Regensburgische Botanische Gesellschaft''), founded 1790 in the city of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany, is the oldest extant scientific society focused on botany. It was initially supported by the Prince-Archbis ...

. He bequeathed his herbarium of 20,000 specimens from Europe and Africa to the society.

External links

Pictures and texts of ''Der Monte-Rosa'' by Franz Ludwig von Welden can be found in the database VIATIMAGES

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welden, Ludwig Von 1780 births 1853 deaths Austrian soldiers Barons of Austria People of the Revolutions of 1848 People from Laupheim Austrian people of German descent Commanders Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)

See also

External links

References