Ruprecht von Eggenberg (1546 – 7 February 1611, Graz, Styria) 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: ...

colonel-general from the Duchy of Styria in

Inner Austria Inner Austria (german: Innerösterreich; sl, Notranja Avstrija; it, Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchi ...

, part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. He was a member of the Eggenberger family and cousin of Prince

Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg (156818 October 1634) was an Austrian statesman, a son of Seyfried von Eggenberg, Lord of Erbersdorf (1526-1594), and great-grandson of Balthasar Eggenberger (died 1493). He was a prominent member of the House of E ...

Military career

He chose a military career early on in his life. In 1572 he served as a captain with

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

forces and saw duty in

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

under the great general Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza. Ruprecht von Eggenberg benefited greatly from this experience and was ultimately appointed by Charles II, Archduke of Austria to the arch-ducal council and to captain of the guard at the main castle in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. Because of the growing threat from the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, he served as a commander beginning in 1592. Although outnumbered, Eggenberg vanquished the Ottoman forces under the command of

Hasan Pasha Predojević Hasan Predojević ( 1530 – 22 June 1593), also known as Telli Hasan Pasha ( tr, Telli Hasan Paşa), was the fifth Ottoman beylerbey ( vali) of Bosnia and a notable Ottoman Bosnian military commander, who led an invasion of the Habsburg Kingdo ...

at the

Battle of Sisak The Battle of Sisak was fought on 22 June 1593 between Ottoman Bosnian forces and a combined Christian army from the Habsburg lands, mainly Kingdom of Croatia and Inner Austria. The battle took place at Sisak, central Croatia, at the confluence o ...

on 22 June 1593. In 1594 Eggenberg received the command of the Austrian troops along the border to what is today

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and conquered the Ottoman fortress of

Petrinja Petrinja () is a town in central Croatia near Sisak in the historic region of Banovina. It is administratively located in Sisak-Moslavina County. On December 29, 2020, the town was hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 , causing ...

in 1595. As a hero of the

Ottoman wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

,Evans, R.J.W.. ''The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550-1700: An Interpretation''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. , in 1596 Eggenberg was appointed the ''Feldobristen'' (akin to a

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 of ...

in contemporary

military ranks Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

) in

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

and in 1597 he received his appointment as the ''General-Feld-Obrist-Feldzeugmeister'' (imperfect translation would be Field Colonel General of the Artillery, denoting the second highest rank as well as an artillery officer). In the end, due to his distinguished service, Ruprecht von Eggenberg was elevated by the emperor into the Barons estate as a ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

''. He retired from service in 1606 and moved to Graz in what was then the Duchy of Styria where he died in 1611. In his last will & testament of 1609 Ruprecht von Eggenberg had stipulated that he should be buried in the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

on the Schlossberg to

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 in ...

in Styria. In 1693, as per his final request, he was buried in the privileged mausoleum. Furthermore, Ruprecht von Eggenberg had mandated in his testament that only male,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

members of the family who had attained the rank of general or higher may be buried in his mausoleum. Wolff von Eggenberg also attained the rank of General and was interred in the mausoleum next to his uncle in 1615. The mausoleum was designed by the Graz court artist/architect Giovanni Pietro de Pomis who was also responsible for, most notably, the design of

Schloss Eggenberg Eggenberg Palace (german: link=no, Schloss Eggenberg) in Graz, is the most significant Baroque palace complex in the Austrian province of Styria. With its preserved accouterments, the extensive scenic gardens, as well as some special collec ...

, the Eggenberg sponsored Mariahilfer Kirche (church) and the mausoleum of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor in Graz.

Literature

* Karl Johann Casimir von Landmann. ''Eggenberg, Ruprecht Freiherr von''. In: ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB) Band 5. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1877, p. 666 f. * Walther Ernest Heydendorff. ''Die Fürsten und Freiherren zu Eggenberg und ihre Vorfahren''. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1965. * Barbara Kaiser. ''Schloss Eggenberg''. Graz: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2006. (English Edition) or (German Edition) (available through the Joanneum) * Kurt Woisetschläger, et al. ''Giovanni Pietro de Pomis''. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eggenberg, Ruprecht 1546 births 1611 deaths 16th-century Austrian people Ruprecht Barons of Austria Military personnel from Graz