Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern (7 September 1545 in 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 th ...

) 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 House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern dynasty. History The County of Hohenzollern- ...

as Eitel Friedrich I. Hechingen - Klosterkirche St

Early life

Eitel Friedrich was the eldest surviving son of Count Karl I of Hohenzollern (1516–1576) from his marriage to Princess Anna of Baden-Durlach (1512–1579), daughter of the

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Ernst of Baden-Durlach.

Biography

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 of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...

founded the

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen () was a principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the junior House of Hohenzollern#Swabian branch, Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. The Swabian Hohenzollerns were elevated to princes in 162 ...

line, and his brother Christoph founded the Hohenzollern-Haigerloch line. Hohenzollern-Hechingen included the original County of Zollern, with the town of

and monasteries at Rangendingen, 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 ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

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

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

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: 1. He married firstly on 22 June 1568 to Countess Veronika of Ortenburg († 1573), the daughter of Count Karl I of Ortenburg (1501–1552) and his wife, Maximiliana von Fraunberg-Haag (d. 1559). The marriage remained childless. 2. On 14 November 1574 in Meßkirch, he married secondly Countess Sibylle von Zimmern (1558–1599), daughter of Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern and his wife, Countess Kunigunde of Eberstein (1528–1585). They had the following children: * Ernst (born: 1575; died young) * Johann Georg (1577–1623), Prince of

: married in 1598 Countess Franziska of Salm, Wild- and Rhinegravine of Neufville (d. 1619) * Maximiliane (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'' ...

(1578–1638) 3. On 1 March 1601 he was married for the third time, to Countess Johanna of Eberstein (1570–1633), the daughter of Count Otto of Eberstein-Boldrungen (1533–1576) and his wife, Baroness Felicitas Colonna von Völs (b. 1535). This marriage also remained childless. After Eitel Friedrich's death Johanna married

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Johann Friedrich of Königsegg-Aulendorf (d. 1622).

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 nobility