Taxation knew no bounds. Because of his extravagant lifestyle, Count Stephan of Blagay found himself in greater and greater financial difficulties by the end of the sixteenth century. To overcome these, he introduced a diabolical system of exploitation in 1599. He mortgaged the Gottscheer villages and demanded intolerable sums from his sub-lessees. He began with the villages Koflern, Schwarzenbach, and Prerigel. By 1613 thirty-five sub-lessees owed him taxes, in addition to Croatians and Slovenes, individual Gottscheers, women, and one clergyman. The peasants repeatedly sent complaints and written petitions to Laibach (Ljubljana) and Graz. Only in 1613 did a "commission" arrive from Laibach to investigate the denounced conditions. It caused another scandal. It was open to bribes and
delayed the report. Tired of all of these doings, the House of Hapsburg sold the dominion of Gottschee to Baron Hans Jakob von Khysel in 1618. How bad the conditions were in the plundered land is made clear by the Baron's statement that one had seen neither stag nor wild boar in the forests of Gottschee during the past ten years. Nothing is said about the arbitrariness of boundless taxation during the twenty-two years of his feudal rule. One not insignificant year should be noted: in 1623 Baron von Khysel was given the title of Count and henceforth the "dominion" of Gottschee could call itself a "countship."
Johann Jakob Khiesel, Graf von Gottschee, *1565 Laibach / +1638
Half of the time that fate had allotted the Gottscheers had expired. The Auersperg family finally arrived on the Gottscheer scene and remained exactly 300 years.
For centuries, the family of Auersperg had traditionally provided the chamberlains and marshals of the emperor's patrimonial dominions, several times also the governor and the administrator in Carniola. Understandably, these high offices gave them an overview of the entire region, and they also had not lost sight of the Ortenburgian settlement venture. Meinhart I of Onenburg had already seen to this at the beginning of the colonization. What had happened?
In 1641 Wolf Engelbrecht of Auersperg bought the Countship of Gottschee.
This most significant event since the beginning of the German colonization and the elevation to city status had been preceded by the following: Baron Johann Weikard of Auersperg had worked his way up at the Viennese court to the position of personal confidant of Emperor Ferdinand II (1619-1637) - a son of Archduke Karl in Graz. He was imperial advisor, cabinet minister, thus Prime Minister, and enjoyed the highest personal regard and favor of the monarch. He was given the title of Prince and later also received the title of Duke of Münsterberg in Austrian-Silesia. Wolf Engelbrecht was his older brother. Undoubtedly, Johann Weikard's influence at the court played a decisive role when Wolf received the countship in the calciferous region. Thus, he became Count of Gottschee.
Auersperg, Johann Weikard of
Like many Auerspergers before and after him, Count Wolf Engelbrecht had a decided talent for and inclination towards leadership. He immediately set about restoring peace and order - and creating work - in the "Ländchen." As energetic as he was, he must have drawn up the plans and immediately begun with the construction of the "Castle" in the same year in which he bought the countship. For years, he occupied a large number of craftsmen and laborers with the building of this structure which was out of proportion to the small city (see engraving, photo section). It has not been proven if he had it built at the site of the "townhouse" that is still mentioned in the register of 1574. Most likely he did, otherwise the townhouse would have been mentioned in the documents at some time during the following centuries.
Already in 1642, the Count presented a "Privilegienbuch der Stadt Gottschee" to the emperor for his signature. The book included all the privileges and rights that Hapsburg had granted the city of Gottschee since its elevation. They were re-confirmed with the imperial signature. The four market days and the two festival days commemorating the consecration of the church, which were among the rights, were of course again included. They had been an essential part of the economic life of the linguistic island since 1471.
The Gottscheers were not used to being ruled. All they knew were exploitation and oppression - and protest. Now they wanted to see how far they would get by protest with the new lord. Thus in 1661, they rebelled against the taxes that they thought were still too high. At first, Wolf Engelbrecht reacted calmly, but also called no one to account for it. But when, shortly thereafter, the catastrophic floodwaters of the Rinse destroyed extensive areas of the Oberland and a fire set by a child destroyed the city in 1660, he extended very noticeable tax relief to
the afflicted. These measures were completely in keeping with his character.
Count Wolf was an extraordinarily cultured person, a Renaissance man educated by the Jesuits in Graz. At first without success, he attempted to exert a polishing influence upon the rough customs of the Carniolian nobility. Things only improved when he took over the traditional provincial offices of the Auersperg family. He raised the level of culture by inviting artists and scholars to his palace in Laibach. The castle in the city of Gottschee did not serve him as his house for representation but was intended to be his administrative building from the outset.
Count Wolf died in 1673. His brother Johann Weikard was his heir. Thus, the princely line of the House of Auersperg took possession of the Countship of Gottschee. Due to his own fault, the prince had already incurred the disfavor of the imperial court before the death of his older brother. He had to lay down his offices because he had attempted to get a papal appointment as cardinal in Rome without the knowledge of the emperor. At first he withdrew to Wels, then to Lower Carniola - not to Gottschee! - where he died bitter and alone at the age of sixty-three at the Castle of Seisenberg. He left his heirs not only an orderly and economically recovered Gottschee, but also a dynastic obligation that only a mature, indeed only a wise, observer of human nature could have articulated: He decided that the Countship of Gottschee was not to be divided, even in inheritance disputes. Thus, he raised it to the status of entailed estate. The Auersperg family faithfully kept this obligation imposed by its great ancestor to the end of all Gottscheer days.
In 1690 the first German school on Gottscheer soil was opened in the city.
("Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer", Dr. Erich Petschauer)
www.gottschee.de
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