Letters from Vienna #209
A virtual guided tour of Vienna, Part 20, Am Hof
Letter to Baron Bethell #29
Dear James,
Beyond the Freyung is Am Hof, which is of considerable historic importance.
“Am Hof is a square, dating from the Middle Ages, which was created within the Roman camp walls. When Heinrich II Jasomirgott moved his residence from Regensburg, where he had his seat as Duke of Bavaria until 1154, to Vienna, he established a palace for himself and his wife Theodora. The Palatinate consisted of several buildings grouped around an open space. In the north-west and south-west the fortifications of the Roman legionary camp delimited the Palatinate area. The “Hof” remained a residence until 1280 at the latest, after which it was used for other purposes.”[1]
“In 1141 Heinrich became Margrave of Austria and in 1143 also Duke of Bavaria (residence in Regensburg) in place of his deceased brother, Margrave Leopold IV…When he left Regensburg in 1155, he didn’t move his residence to Klosterneuburg but rather to Vienna, created a princely palace at the court with two chapels (Johanneskapelle and Pankrazkapelle) and in the same year founded the Schottenstift in front of what was then the city wall…. Since the Schottenkirche was not completed until around 1180/1185 (i.e. after Heinrich’s death), the service was held in the Pankraz chapel Am Hof…”
“Around 1170 the new parish church of St. Stephen (begun around 1137 and consecrated in 1147) was completed (Stephanskirche), around the same time Heinrich donated the older churches of St. Ruprecht (Ruprechtskirche), St. Peter (Peterskirche) and Maria am Gestade to the Schottenstift. Around the Schottenstift in the west and St. Stephen’s Church in the east of the old town, new settlements formed, the growth of which was favored by land donations from Heinrich and his successor Leopold V. and finally gave rise to an expansion of the city (new Babenberg ring wall around 1180-1200).”[2]
Another biography states:
“Heinrich was the eldest son of Margrave Leopold III. and the Margravine Agnes and learned his “craft” on the Rhine as Count Palatine, while his slightly younger brother Leopold (IV.) succeeded his father. In the course of the conflicts between the Staufers and the Welfs (aka Guelphs/Guelfs), Leopold also became Duke of Bavaria in 1139, but died two years later. When Heinrich had to take over the Mark and the duchy in the east, he initially dealt with a large number of conflicts. A contemporary source calls him “strong, bold, but impatient”.”
“Although he married the widow of the Welf Heinrich “the Proud”, Gertrud, in order to consolidate his rule in the Duchy of Bavaria, she died after a few years. The rule of Bavaria brought feuds and wars (a conflict with the Hungarians was especially unfortunate) and in the second crusade (1147-1149) Heinrich only narrowly escaped catastrophe. However, the result of this enterprise was the promise of a marriage to the niece of Emperor Manuel of Byzantium, Theodora, which was consummated in 1148.”
“His nephew, Emperor Friedrich I, known as Barbarossa, had to come to terms with the Welfs, who still – now in the person of Henry the Lion – laid claim to the duchies of Saxony and Bavaria… In September 1156, after tough negotiations at the Reichstag in Regensburg, the Babenbergs resigned from the Bavarian duchy and in return received an increase in rank. The Mark of Austria was spun off from the Duchy of Bavaria, raised to a duchy and bestowed on Heinrich and his wife Theodora in a solemn ceremony. The negotiated “privilege minus” laid another foundation stone for the expansion of sovereignty.”
“Heinrich moved his residence from Klosterneuburg to the newly built Am Hof Castle in Vienna and founded the Schottenkloster there in 1158, to which he invited the Irish monks from the Jakobskloster in Regensburg. In the long dispute between Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and the Pope, he supported the Pope, but was largely able to stay out of the dispute. Towards the end of his reign, conflicts with Bohemia over the northern forest increased. On a campaign Heinrich fell from his horse near Znaim and died as a result of a fractured thigh. He was buried in the Schottenkloster in Vienna.”[3]
Some are wholly and wilfully ignorant of this fascinating period of history but both you and I were taught its importance at university. For some, such as Eustace Mullins, it remains the key to understanding our world today:
“During the Middle Ages, European power centers coalesced into two camps, the Ghibellines, those who supported the Emperor’s Hohenstaufen family, (an Italian adaptation of Weinblingen, the name of the Hohenstaufen estate), and the Guelphs, from Welf, the German prince who competed with Frederick for control of the Holy Roman Empire. The Pope then allied himself with the Guelphs against the Ghibellines resulting in their victory.”
“All of modern history stems directly from the struggle between these two powers. The Guelphs, also called the Neri, or Black Guelphs, and Black Nobility, were the Normans who conquered England in the 11th century; the Genoese who backed Robert Bruce in his conquest of Scotland, and who supported William of Orange in his seizure of the throne of England.”
“William’s victory resulted in the formation of the Bank of England and the East India Company, which have ruled the world since the 17th century. Every subsequent coup d’etat, revolution and war has centered in the battle of the Guelphs to hold and enhance their power, which is now the World Order.”
“The power of the Guelphs grew through their control of banking and international trade. It was extended through the Italian centers to the north of Florence, in Lombardy, which became great financial centers. All Italian bankers, including the Genoese, the Venetians, and Milanese, were referred to as “Lombards”; Lombard, in German, means “deposit bank”; the Lombards were bankers to the entire Medieval world. Modern history begins with the transfer of their operations north to Hamburg, Amsterdam, and finally to London.”
“Two of the most powerful influences in the world today are the international drug trade, which began with the East India Co., and international espionage, which began with the Bank of England.”[4]
Best,
Michael
[1] https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Am_Hof
[2] https://www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Heinrich_II.
[3] https://www.gedaechtnisdeslandes.at/personen/action/show/controller/Person/person/heinrich-ii-jasomirgott.html
[4] pp. 685-688 The World Order, Eustace Mullins