Peter Melander, Count of Holzappel (* 8th February 1589 in Niederhadamar † 17 May 1648 in Augsburg) was an important first Protestant military leader in the Thirty Years' War and Chief of the imperial troops of the League of 1647 until his death.
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Peter Melander was born as Peter Eppelmann 8 February 1589 in Niederhadamar, the son of a farmer born. The birth date is documented evidence, whereas the same as in the older literature born in 1585 on an erroneous indication of age the epitaph in the church of Melanders Holzappel is based. After the death of his father's 1592 Eppelmann Peter joined his childless uncle John, a secretary of the Maurice of Orange, in the Netherlands. His uncle had translated into Greek in the family name Eppelmann "Melander," and Peter took over the name of the uncle. Through the efforts of John Melander, the family was raised in 1606 in the knightly nobility, she took over after the name "of Holzappel" of the extinct noble family "Holzappel of Voitsburg-Selzberg" from space casting.
Peter Melander 1638 married Countess Agnes of Effern († 1656). With her he had his only child, daughter Charlotte Elizabeth, later Countess of Schaumburg-Holzappel. She married Prince Adolf of Nassau-Dillenburg and became Duchess Elizabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg.
To Melanders descendants include Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and King Charles XVI of Sweden.
His first tentative steps were made by the strictly military Protestant Melander initially trained in the Dutch army. In 1615 he joined Venetian services, and fought in the Friuli War. In 1620 he commanded as Colonel a Swiss regiment in Basel. He then fought in the Veltliner War (1620–1622) and the Mantuan War of Succession (1628–1631). The first highlight of his military career, he reached in 1633 with his appointment as Lieutenant General, secret war council of the Landgrave William V by Hesse-Kassel. Landgraf Wilhelm was allied with the Sweden, and thus Peter Melander was struggling with his Hesse against the imperial troops. On 28 June 1633 in the Battle of Oldendorf, he commanded the center of the Protestant forces in Georg Calenberg and contributed much to the victories over the Imperial, where he could teach in the wake of severe defeats Westphalian area (May 26, 1634 revenue Hamm s, June 27, 1634 victory against the Leaguers of Boenninghausen General, who was forced to retire on the Rhine). After the death of Landgraf Wilhelm (Autumn 1637) held his wife countess Amalie Elisabeth maintained his anti-Habsburg European alliance politics, a stance that Melander was no longer willing to support . He resigned mid-July 1640 the command of the Hessian troops and has now ensnared by the Emperor and courted.
He first entered the service of the Elector Palatine Wolfgang Wilhelm von Neuburg, but soon after, yet in 1640, in which the emperor. On 23 December 1641 the kingdom was Melander counts of Holzappel appointed and entrusted with the supreme command in Westphalia. On 15 February 1642 he received an imperial field marshal patent. He lived by leave of the Hessian service until 1643, on instruction of the Count Palatine Wolfgang William, Duke of Jülich-Berg, on Angerort. As Bergisches fief he received the 1642 Castle Lülsdorf at Niederkassel.[1]
It was not until 1645, after the invasion of Wrangel in Westphalia, he resumed military duties. He has packed on 30 November 1646 Paderborn and, after the death of Matthias Gallas the command of the entire imperial troops, which he led in July 1647 Bohemia. There came about 10,000 Bavaria | added under Count [Jost of Gronsfeld] [Jost Maximilian von Bronckhorst-Gronsfeld]. Discrepancies between the two generals, however, led fairly quickly to re-separation of the two armies. Melander besieged Marburg and was the city with the exception of the Marburg Castle take it in December 1647th At the siege but he lost many troops. At 28.12. let the Hessian commander of the castle, Johann Georg Stauff, fire his guns at the house of the apothecary Seip, where Melander just wanted to put the bugle to dinner. He was severely wounded by a shot-up bar, the shot standing sentinel at the door of the head.
The associations Melanders retreated in the direction Danube (January 1648) and were back near the village of Zusmarshausen at Augsburg from a Swedish-French army under Wrangel and Turenne surprised. Melander, who had thrown himself into the fray, was shot twice. He died on 17 May 1648 in Augsburg, as a result of the wounds he had received in the Battle of Zusmarshausen. He was buried in the royal crypt ("Melandergruft") of John Lutheran Church in Estonia (Holzappel).
Acquisition of sovereignty Holzappel == == Due to its position in the Thirty Years' War had become rich, bought Peter Melander 1643 to 64 000 dollars, the rule Esterau by Prince Johann Ludwig of Nassau-Hadamar, the financial in considerable distress was . Kaiser Ferdinand III, the small rule arose shortly after the Free Imperial immediacy Holzappel County", in gratitude for the services he had done the Melander in the imperial army. Melander was thus a member of the Wetterau College of Imperial Counts s.
Peter Melander left a fortune that allowed it to his wife Agnes, in 1656 the government and the Schloss Schaumburg to acquire and merge with the county to the county Holzappel Holzappel-Schaumburg. Melanders daughter Elisabeth Charlotte called the Estonian capital in 1685 Holzappel order.
Melander, who seems largely forgotten today, was in his lifetime, a highly respected warlord, were vying for his services almost all the war powers. He coined the Westerwald-known saying: "I am a German and, moreover, one Westerwald, which will mean as much as two German". In a modification, the authorship of this, referring to Melander award but also Maurice of Orange, and Emperor Ferdinand III. attributed.
According to Andreas Pechtl a bust Melanders of Holzappel is in profile to the left of the portrait gallery of Gripsholm Castle (Inv 798), from another chest portrait quarters to the right is a photograph in the collections of the Deutsche Fotothek ( No. df_0001833). Both portraits are probably authentic. Andreas Pechtl shall also have the images of life in Nassau and then in several articles about Melander reproduced portrait exposed as untrue. It does not show the field marshal, but the prince Christian II of Anhalt-Bernburg.
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