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Pelikan von Plauenwald |
More about the family Pelikan von Plauenwald and others related to them.
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A
young Karl Pelikan von Plauenwald |
Karl Pelikan Freiherr von Plauenwald was born on 13 February 1847 in the jurisdiction of the Vienna parish called am Hof (at the Court). Cousin Ida, who saw him in 1918 at Hans Zwierzina's funeral, described the Baron as a Klappermensch (a person who is so skinny as to appear to rattle like a skeleton). Ida thought that he had been a Lektor (a professor) at the Theresianum Military Academy in Vienna, and that he and Martha had an apartment there. No evidence has ever been found to substantiate any other connection with the Theresianum except for a letter to Karl's father, confirming that his son Karl had been admitted as a student or cadet. This document is dated 23 December 1860.
Karl was the son of Anton Pelikan Freiherr von Plauenwald, who had been a Vice President of the Ministry of Finance for Lower Austria, had been made an honorary citizen of the town of Nikolsburg in Moravia, and had been awarded by Emperor Franz Josef the Imperial Order of the Iron Crown 2nd Class. At the same time as he received the Order, he also had the title of nobility bestowed on him in his own right (in addition to the one he had inherited from his father).
Karl's mother, Karoline Freiin Czapka von Winstetten, was the daughter of Ignaz Freiherr Czapka von Winstetten (born 24 Feb 1792) who had been Mayor of the capitol city of Vienna until the disturbances of 1848 caused him to resign his post of Mayor. He remained in self-imposed retirement until a cabinet document of 6 May 1856 appointed him Chief of Police with the title of Hofrath. At the end of 1859 he petitioned to be relieved of this position, and in acquiescing, Emperor Franz Josef I, in recognition of his many years of loyal, public-minded, and self-sacrificing service, awarded him the Order of the Iron Crown 2nd class, and elevated him to the Austrian baronial level of Freiherr.
It is interesting to observe the respectable record these families established for "marrying well" - at least in terms of the social standing to which they perceived themselves entitled. Taking the Pelikan von Plauenwald, and the Czapka von Winstetten families together as a group, the records I have been able to examine show that in the process of contracting 37 marriages, they accumulated 15 baronial in-laws, two major generals, three field marshal generals, five colonels, two lieutenant colonels, one major, two captains, two vice-admirals, one physician, one surgeon, one doctor of law, and a retired Banus (Governor) of Croatia (see death notice below)..
Like other noble families, they had their share of military people, and also their share of losses. Karl Pelikan's grandfather lost two sons. The first one was Johann Nepomuk Gregor Norbert Freiherr Pelikan von Plauenwald, a 25 year-old Oberleutnant who fell on 30 June 1849 at Igmánd near Györ during the Hungarian uprising. According to a clipping from the newspaper Fremdenblatt dated 4 July 1849, Nr.157, he was killed by a stray bullet intended for Field Marshall Lieutenant Baron Wohlgemuth to whom he was an adjutant. fggdoc266
The second Pelikan lost was Eugen Franz Xavier Julius Freiherr Pelikan von Plauenwald, a 36 year-old, married Captain in the 77th Line Infantry Regiment who fell at Skalitz, Bohemia during the 1866 Battle of Königgrätz.
There was yet another Pelikan affected by the battle of Königgrätz: The 48 year-old Field Marshall Lieutenant Josef Freiherr Pelikan von Plauenwald was the Austrian military attaché in Berlin from 1864 to 1866. During the 1866 campaign he was attached to the Saxon headquarters.fggdoc238
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| Death notice for Cuvaj
von Ivanska former Banus of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. |
Transcrip and Translation: "Banus Baron Cuvaj von Ivanska. After a lengthy, serious illness, the former Banus of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, and Real Secret Counci,l Baron Eduard Cuvaj von Ivanska died here on the the 31st of the previous month. Baron Ivanska was the Chief Land-Steward, then Chief Mayor of the city of Agram, after which he was Vice-Banus and finally Banus of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. In this position he also carried out the duties of Royal Commissary of Croatia and Slawonia, which exposed him to considerable hostility from the Croatian Nationalists, including the well-known assassination attempt which he only survived by a lucky coincidence. After the Collapse (of the Austrian Empire) Baron Cuvaj completely retired from official life. He died in his 80th year as a result of a prolonged serious illness. For now, he will be interred at the Zentralfriedhof [Vienna], and will be later transferred to Agram to find his final resting place in the family's crypt. my translation
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