Donat John, Count Heissler of Heitersheim

Last updated
Donat John Count Heissler of Heitersheim
Donat Johann Graf Heissler von Heitersheim.JPG
Born1648
Died1 September 1696
Nationality Hungarian

Donat John Count Heissler of Heitersheim was an Imperial and Royal Marshal of the Habsburg empire. He was deeply involved in the conflict between the Austrian and Turkish empires. He was born in 1648 and died at Szeged on 1 September 1696.

Contents

The coat of arms Count Heissler of Heitersheim Armoiries des Comte Heissler de Heitersheim.jpg
The coat of arms Count Heissler of Heitersheim

Biography

Donat John Heissler was born in the Holy Roman Empire in about 1648, at the end of the Thirty Years' War. He enlisted in the service of the Habsburgs at a very young age, and as a cavalry captain, Heissler obtained the rank of knight on 15 September 1678. His courage and exemplary behaviour led to his promotion to colonel and command over a regiment of dragoons, which is named after him.

He fought bravely in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and continued to distinguish himself in battle over the following years. In 1684 he defeated rebels commanded by Imre Thököly, followed by a victory over a Turkish regiment at Székesfehérvár. In 1684 he relieved Vác, subjugated Arad and defeated Turkish forces, which were defending Oradea and Gyula.

On 16 September 1685, he was promoted to the rank of general and in his first expedition prevented the conquering of Munkács and Ofen, and defeated the Turks at Szeged. In 1688 he crushed Imre Thökölu at Körös, seized Požarevac (Passarowitz) and distinguished himself at Belgrade.

Having been appointed Lieutenant-general on 4 January 1689, his luck ran out in 1690. His imperial troops and the supporting Transylvanian army were defeated by troops of Imre Thököly at the battle of Zernest (Zărneşti-Tohani) on 21 August 1690. His ally, count Mihály Teleki was killed in action. Heissler was captured by Thököly, and offered to the Emperor in exchange for countess Ilona Zrínyi, the wife of Imre Thököly, who was being kept in an imperial prison. It took two years to negotiate the exchange. In 1692, the deal was closed: Heissler was released, and the countess joined her husband in Turkey.

On 9 February 1692, immediately after his release, he was promoted to the rank of General of the Cavalry and proved that his courage had not been affected by his imprisonment, by seizing the town of Oradea on 5 June. From 1694 until 1695 he took command of the main Hungarian forces on an interim basis. On 12 May 1696, he obtained the supreme rank of Marshal.

Although it is unknown when he was awarded the title of Baron, it is known that he used it in official documents in which he bought the Písečné property and Uherčice castle.

He was elevated to the rank of Count, a title he kept until he died on 1 September 1696 from the consequences of a wound he received 5 days before in the Battle of Ulaş near Timișoara. The "Register of Generals of the Imperial and Royal Army died on the Field of Honor" lists him as "Donat John Count Heissler of Heitersheim, Marhsal Imperial and Royal".

A lover of castles

Uherčice

Uhercice castel GuentherZ 2009-08-15 0857 Uhercice u Znojma Statni zamek Uhercice.jpg
Uherčice castel

Heissler of Heitersheim acquired the castle of Uherčice and added to its embellishment. His modifications gave a more baroque aspect to the castle, thanks to the involvement of the architect Francesco Martinelli. Under the aegis of the Count, Baldassarre Fontana created the very beautiful decoration in stucco in the chapel and several rooms.

Písečné

He also acquired the Písečné Castle at the same time.

Descent

Donat John, Count Heissler of Heitersheim married [1] Barbara Maria Countess of Rotthal (becoming Barbara Maria Countess Heissler of Heitersheim). They had two sons together:

Francis Joseph Count Heissler of Heitersheim

He married May 29, 1713 in Prague, Maria Anna Countess of Mittrowitz, Member of the Order of the Starry Cross. They had four daughters:

Francis Joseph Count Heissler of Heitersheimacquires Qualkowitz in 1702 which he resells in 1718. He also sells the Píesling property to Count Anton von Hartig. Francis Joseph had also a brilliant career as a member of the Geheimrat then as royal judge of the Land from 1732, to finally become governor of Moravia in 1740.

Bernard of Heissler

second son of the count, led from 1705 the Regiment founded by Donat John.

Sources

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustus II the Strong</span> Elector of Saxony (r. 1694–1733); Ruler of Poland-Lithuania (r. 1697–1706, 1709–33)

Augustus II the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emeric Thököly</span> Prince of Upper Hungary

Emeric Thököly de Késmárk was a Hungarian nobleman, leader of anti-Habsburg uprisings like his father, Count István Thököly, before him. Emeric was Prince of Upper Hungary, an Ottoman vassal state, from 1682 to 1685, and briefly Prince of Transylvania during the year 1690. Having formed an alliance with the Turks, Thököly assisted the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 and led the Turkish cavalry at the Battle of Zenta. Refusing to surrender to Habsburg Emperor Leopold I, Thököly lost his principality of Upper Hungary and finally retired to Galata, near Constantinople, with large estates granted him by Mustafa II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian Ulysses Browne</span> Austrian field marshal

Maximilian Ulysses, Reichsgraf von Browne, Baron de Camus and Mountany was an Austrian military officer, one of the highest-ranking officers serving the Habsburg Emperor during the middle of the 18th century. An Irish refugee, he was a scion of the Wild Geese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nesselrode</span> Surname list

The House of Nesselrode is a noble family originating in the Duchy of Berg. Over the centuries, the family expanded their possessions through marriage with the most powerful families of the region. As a former ruling family they belonged to the small circle of Uradel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wurmbrand-Stuppach</span> Austrian noble family

The House of Wurmbrand-Stuppach is an old noble family of Austria. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach gained notability in wars against the Turks in the Balkans. The Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach were highly decorated advisors to the Habsburg Emperors. During the 18th century the family had immediate status as ruling counts of a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire and as such, the family belonged to high nobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">András Hadik</span> Hungarian nobleman, military officer and government official

Count András Hadik de Futak was a Hungarian nobleman and Field Marshal of the Imperial Army. He was Governor of Galicia and Lodomeria from January 1774 to June 1774, and is the father of Karl Joseph Hadik von Futak. He is famous for capturing the Prussian capital Berlin during the Seven Years' War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg</span> Austrian soldier and statesman (1791–1848)

Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg was an Austrian soldier, statesman, journalist and writer, who held the military rank of field marshal. He had a short but important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilona Zrínyi</span> Countess

Countess Ilona Zrínyi was a noblewoman and heroine. She was one of the last surviving members of the Croatian-Hungarian Zrinski/Zrínyi noble family. She was the daughter of Petar Zrinski, Ban (viceroy) of Croatia, the niece of both Miklós Zrínyi and Fran Krsto Frankopan and the wife of Francis Rákóczi I and Imre Thököly, as well as the mother of Francis Rákóczi II. She is remembered in history for her Defense of Palanok Castle against the Imperial army in 1685-1688, an act for which she was regarded a heroine in Hungary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Párkány</span>

The Battle of Párkány was fought between October 7–9, 1683 in the town of Párkány, in the Ottoman Empire, and the area surrounding it as part of the Polish-Ottoman War and the Great Turkish War. The battle was fought in two stages. In the first stage Polish troops under John III Sobieski were defeated by the Ottoman army under Kara Mehmed Pasha on October 7, 1683. In the second stage Sobieski, supported by Austrian forces under Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, defeated the Ottoman forces, which were supported by the troops of Imre Thököly, and gained control of Párkány on October 9, 1683. After the Ottoman defeat, the Austrians would besiege Esztergom and captured it at the end of 1683.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khevenhüller family</span>

The House of Khevenhüller is the name of an old and important Carinthian noble family, documented there since 1356, with its ancestral seat at Landskron Castle. In the 16th century, the family split into the two branches of Khevenhüller-Frankenburg, Imperial Counts from 1593, and Khevenhüller-Hochosterwitz, raised to Imperial Counts in 1725 and, as Khevenhüller-Metsch, to princely rank (Fürsten) in 1763. The family belongs to high nobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maximilian von und zu Trauttmansdorff</span> Austrian politician and diplomat

Maximilian Freiherr von und zu Trauttmansdorff, was an Austrian politician and diplomat of the Thirty Years' War era. His other titles included Freiherr von Gleichenberg, Neuenstadt am Kocher, Negau, Burgau und Totzenbach, Herr zu Teinitz. He was a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece, Geheimer Rat, Chancellor and Obersthofmeister.

The Battle of Zernest was fought on 11 August 1690, near the town of Zernest in southeastern Transylvania, between the allied forces of Transylvania and the Holy Roman Empire, and the allied forces of the Ottoman Empire, Tatar allies, Wallachians, and Hungarian Kurucs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Charles, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen</span>

John Charles, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld at Gelnhausen, was a German prince and ancestor of the cadet branch of the royal family of Bavaria known, from the early 19th century, as Dukes in Bavaria. He took Gelnhausen as the name of his branch of the family after acquiring that estate in 1669.

Heissler is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krisztina Nyáry</span>

Baroness Krisztina Nyáry de Bedegh was the daughter of Baron Pál Nyáry and Katalin Várday de Kisvárda. She was the second wife of Palatine Nikolaus, Count Esterházy. Her son, among others, was Paul I, Prince Esterházy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diploma Leopoldinum</span>

The Diploma Leopoldinum was a legal document which determined the basic principles of the government of the Principality of Transylvania within the Habsburg Empire. The diploma was drafted by Miklós Bethlen, Chancellor of Transylvania. The Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, sanctioned it in Vienna on 16 October 1690. The diploma announced on 4 December 1691. The diploma restored civil administration in the principality, and confirmed the traditional liberties of the Three Nations of Transylvania, including the freedom of the four "received" religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann</span> 17th, 18th century Viennese Court lady

Countess Eleonore Batthyány-Strattmann was a Viennese court lady. The daughter of Imperial Court Chancellor Count Theodor Heinrich von Strattmann und Peuerbach, she was married to Hungarian nobleman and Ban of Croatia Ádám II Batthyány until his early death in 1703. For more than twenty years after becoming a widow she was Prince Eugene of Savoy confidante, companion and some have suggested Éminence grise. One of the most respected women in 18th century Viennese society, she was known as 'Beautiful Lori'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam II. Batthyány</span> Hungarian general

CountAdam II. Batthyány was a Hungarian general and nobleman. He served as ban (viceroy) of Croatia from 1693 to 1703.

Mihály Teleki, was Chancellor of Transylvania and adviser to Prince Michael I Apafi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countess Éva Thököly of Késmárk</span> Hungarian noblewoman (1659–1716)

Countess Éva Thököly de Késmárk, was the second wife of Paul I, Prince Esterházy. Éva was the youngest daughter of Count István Thököly and Mária Gyulaffy. She is the sister of Imre Thököly, Prince of Transylvania. Through her marriage, she became the first Princess Esterházy of Galantha in 1687.

References

  1. "Barbara Maria Gräfin von Rotthal, vh. Heissler von Heitersheim: Genealogie Liko-Kralik". Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  2. "Vil?m z Vald?tejna". Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2011-12-22.

- page 44 of http://www.historie.hranet.cz/heraldika/pdf/kadich-blazek1899-041-050.pdf
- http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00008369/images/index.html?seite=673