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17th
Century,
Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer, Dr. Erich Petschauer, 1980.
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."
![](../../../Khiesel/Bilder/01t.jpg)
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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