Rothbart

For Rothbard, see Murray Rothbard.

Rothbart, also historically written Rotbart, Rottbart, Rothbarth and Rotbarth, and in Low German sources as Rodebart, Rodebarth, Rodtbart, Rodbart, Rodebard and related forms, is a surname of German origin, derived from a descriptive name meaning "red beard", from Middle High German rôt ("red") and bart ("beard").

Historical sources show considerable variation in spelling, and individual families and regional groups may appear under several forms of the name. In northern Germany in particular, the Low German element rode frequently occurs in place of rot or roth. Parish records from Rügen preserve forms including Rodebart, Rodebarth, Rodtbarth, Rothbart, Rothbard, Rothbardt and Rotbart within the same local population.

Documented lines and bearers of the Rothbart name are recorded in several parts of Central Europe, including the German states, Austria and the territory of present-day Slovakia. Historical bearers of the name were active in church administration, architecture, the arts, agriculture, commerce, court service and politics.

Among the best-documented lines is a family originating in Roth am Sand in Middle Franconia, which later settled in Nuremberg and became closely associated with the court of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Members of this line served as artists, architects and senior court officials and produced works associated with Prince Albert, Queen Victoria and other members of the Coburg dynasty.

Another documented line was established in Land Hadeln and Jever during the Reformation. Four successive generations—Laurentius Rodtbart, Peter Rothbart, Christoph Rothbart and Vitus Barbarossa—served as Lutheran pastors, superintendents, theological writers and church administrators between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Historical forms of the name

The spelling of the surname was not historically fixed. In addition to Rothbart, Rotbart, Rottbart, Rothbarth and Rotbarth, historical records contain forms including Rothbardt, Rothbard, Rodtbart, Rodbart, Rodebart, Rodebarth, Rodtbarth, Rodthbart, Rohtbart, Rodebahrt and Rodebahrd.

The same family or regional group could appear under several forms. The scholarly register to the sixteenth-century church ordinances of Lower Saxony, for example, records the Jever clergyman Peter under the forms Rodebart and Rodtbart, while his matriculation at the University of Wittenberg records Petrus Rodbart Hadelowenensis.

Particularly extensive variation is documented on the island of Rügen. The baptismal registers of Gingst contain the forms Rodebart, Rodebarth, Rohtbart, Rodtbarth, Rothbart, Rothbardt, Rothbard, Rodebahrt, Rodebahrd and Rotbart during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Parish records from the Wittow peninsula similarly contain Rodebart, Rodebarth, Rodbart, Rodbarth, Rodthbart and Rothbart.

Some historical bearers also used translated or learned equivalents rather than ordinary spelling variants. Members of the Jever–Land Hadeln clerical family used Barbarossa alongside Rodtbart/Rothbart, while Franz Rotbart is recorded in Latin as Franciscus Aenobarbus. Both forms reproduce the meaning "red beard".

Medieval attestations

Forms of the name are documented in northern Germany during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest securely documented bearers was Bernhard Rodebart, a vicar of the collegiate church of St. Johann in Osnabrück. He appears repeatedly in the medieval cartulary of the foundation during the 1340s and 1350s. In 1341 and 1355 he is recorded among the vicars of St. Johann, while a document of 1354 likewise names Bernhard Rodebart together with Bernhard von Haren and Godeword von Meppen.

Bernhard had died by 1371. On 14 May of that year, the judges and aldermen of the Neustadt of Osnabrück recorded the sale of an annual rent to the chapter of St. Johann for the memorial of the deceased Bernhard Rodebart.

Rothbart family

Jever–Land Hadeln clerical line

Another documented line of the Rothbart family was established in Land Hadeln and Jever during the Reformation. Over four generations, members of this line served as Lutheran pastors, church administrators, superintendents and theological writers in northern Germany.

Sources record members of the family under several forms of the surname, including Rodtbart, Rothbart and Barbarossa. The latter form occurs particularly frequently among the later generations of the family.

The documented line included:

• Laurentius (Laurenz) Rodtbart or Laurentius Barbarossa, pastor at Altenbruch in Land Hadeln
  • Petrus (Peter) Rodtbart, pastor of Jever, first inspector of the churches of the Lordship of Jever and author of the Jever Church Order of 1562
    • Christoph Rothbart or Christoph Barbarossa (1562–1623), Lutheran theologian, pastor and superintendent of Land Hadeln
      • Vitus Barbarossa (1592–1651), pastor and provost in Holstein

The family maintained a particularly strong association with the parish of Altenbruch. Laurentius served there as pastor, Peter later returned from Jever to succeed his father, and Christoph subsequently became pastor at Altenbruch and superintendent of Land Hadeln.

Laurentius Rodtbart

Laurentius Rodtbart, also recorded as Laurenz Rodtbart and Laurentius Barbarossa, was a Lutheran pastor at Altenbruch in Land Hadeln. He belonged to the first generation of Protestant clergy active there following the introduction of the Reformation.

The historical pastor list of the Altenbruch parish records Laurenz Rodtbart as holder of the first pastoral office following Johannes Brandes. Modern scholarship on the church organization of Jever independently identifies Pastor Laurentius Barbarossa zu Altenbrok im Land Hadeln as the father of Magister Petrus Rodtbart.

His son Peter subsequently entered the Lutheran ministry and pursued a career in Jever before returning to Land Hadeln. The scholarly edition of the Jever church ordinances states that Peter returned to Hadeln in 1570 and succeeded his father in office.

The association of the family with the Altenbruch church continued in the following generation through Laurentius's grandson Christoph Rothbart.

Peter Rothbart

Petrus Rodtbart, also known as Peter Rothbart, was a Lutheran clergyman, church administrator and author. He was the son of Laurentius Barbarossa, pastor of Altenbruch in Land Hadeln.

Peter studied at the University of Wittenberg, where the university matriculation records list Petrus Rodbart Hadelowenensis in May 1553.

He subsequently entered church service in Jever. He initially served as archdeacon and was later appointed pastor of Jever and inspector of the other churches of the territory. Historical scholarship identifies him as the first inspector or superintendent responsible for the churches of the Lordship of Jever.

An historical list of the pastors of Jever records:

Peter Rothbart 1558,62: Zeuge; verfaßt die Kirchenordnung.

Jever Church Order of 1562

Peter Rothbart played an important role in consolidating the Lutheran Reformation in Jever.

When he arrived in Jever, an earlier church order dating from 1548 was already in existence but had only partially regulated church practice. Maria of Jever commissioned Rothbart to review the existing articles, expand them and prepare a more comprehensive church order.

Rothbart revised the text with the assistance of people familiar with local conditions and subsequently undertook a further revision. The resulting Jever Church Order of 1562 was printed at Wittenberg by Laurentz Schwenck under the title:

Kerckenordeninge, Wo ydt mit Christliker Lere, rekinge der Sacrament, Ordination der Dener des hilligen Euangelij, ordentliken Ceremonien yn den Kercken, Visitation vnnde Scholen [...] schal geholden werden. Upt nye corrigert unde aversehen dorch M. Petrum Rodtbart.

Rothbart based substantial parts of the order on the Mecklenburg church order of 1552 associated with Philip Melanchthon. The Jever order established an explicitly Lutheran ecclesiastical system and bound the pastors of the territory to the Augsburg Confession of 1530.

The order regulated not only doctrine and worship but also the institutional organization of the church. It addressed:

• the office and authority of the superintendent;
• the appointment and ordination of preachers;
• the administration of baptism and the Eucharist;
• annual synods of the clergy;
• church visitations;
• ecclesiastical discipline;
• the removal of clergy guilty of misconduct or doctrinal error;
• excommunication;
• and the organization and supervision of schools.

The order incorporated Martin Luther's ordination formula and referred to the baptismal form contained in Luther's catechism. Its communion order represented a liturgy revised according to Lutheran principles.

The printed church order achieved wider circulation than the earlier manuscript regulations of Jever and remained in force for thirteen years. Following the death of Maria of Jever in 1575, it was replaced by the Oldenburg church order.

Peter returned to Land Hadeln in 1570 and succeeded his father Laurentius in the ministry there.

Christoph Rothbart

Christoph Rothbart (1562–1623), commonly known as Christoph Barbarossa and also recorded as Christoph Rothbarth, was a Lutheran theologian, pastor, superintendent and religious author. He was born in Jever in 1562 while his father Peter Rothbart was serving in the territory.

Sources explicitly identify him as the son of Superintendent Peter Rothbart.

He attended school in Hanover and studied theology at the universities of Wittenberg and Rostock, obtaining the degree of Magister. In 1589 he became a preacher in Otterndorf in Land Hadeln.

His early publications were primarily theological. In 1595 he published Analysis Catechetica, a systematic treatment of catechetical theology which appeared with a preface by theologians of the University of Rostock.

In 1597 Rothbart became chief pastor at St. Johannis in Lüneburg. Publications from this period appeared under forms of his original surname, including Rothbardt and Rodtbart.

In 1599 he returned to Land Hadeln and became chief pastor at Altenbruch, the same parish in which his father and grandfather had served. He later became superintendent of Land Hadeln.

His theological publications included sermons and works on catechesis, predestination, marriage, the Passion of Christ and the Last Judgment. Among his works were Drey Predigten von der Predestination (1598), Creutz und Trostspiegel (1599), Lustgarten der Christen (1608) and Dispositiones Catecheticae (1611).

Later in his career Rothbart also wrote on alchemy, Paracelsus and the publications associated with the early Rosicrucian movement. He used the pseudonym Ratichius Brotoffer or Ratichs Brotoffer for some of these writings.

His Elucidarius Chymicus, first printed in 1616, presented an interpretation of the alchemical secrets which he believed to be concealed in the Fama Fraternitatis of the Rosicrucians. It was followed by the Elucidarius maior and Theophrastus non Theophrastus in 1617, the latter dealing with the religious and intellectual reputation of Paracelsus.

These works place Rothbart among the Lutheran theologians who participated in the early printed debate surrounding alchemy, Paracelsianism and the Rosicrucian manifestos. His writings continued to be reprinted long after his death; editions of the Elucidarius maior appeared again in the eighteenth century.

Contemporary and later portrait collections also preserve representations of Christoph Barbarossa.

Vitus Barbarossa

Vitus Barbarossa (25 March 1592 – 4 March 1651) was a Lutheran pastor, theologian and senior church administrator. He was born in Otterndorf in Land Hadeln, where his father Christoph Rothbart was then serving as a preacher.

The University of Rostock matriculation records explicitly identify Vitus as the son of Superintendent Christoph Barbarossa and as a native of Otterndorf in Land Hadeln. He matriculated at Rostock in 1611.

Vitus subsequently pursued a clerical career in Holstein. He became pastor at Itzehoe and in 1634 was appointed Propst of Münsterdorf, an office based primarily in Itzehoe and exercising ecclesiastical supervision over a substantial part of the modern district of Steinburg.

He held the Münsterdorf provostship from 1634 until his death in 1651. The records of the Nordkirche also list him as holding the united provost offices of Altona and Pinneberg from 1634 to 1642.

Vitus was known as a theologian and preacher. In 1640 he delivered the funeral sermon for Hinrich Magen of Beidenfleth; the sermon was subsequently printed at Glückstadt by Andreas Koch under Vitus's name as Propst zu Itzehoe.

Following Magen's death, his widow Elisabeth converted her husband's intended charitable bequest into a capital fund of 1,000 Reichstaler for the support of two poor theology students. Vitus Barbarossa and the Steinburg administrator Jacobus Steinmann were appointed patrons of the foundation, with jurist Reimarus Dorn assisting in drawing up its regulations.

The foundation provided financial support for theology students for periods of five years, with preference given to relatives of the founders and otherwise to students born within the jurisdiction of the Münsterdorf consistory.

Vitus also participated in the training of younger clergy. In 1650 the later theologian Matthias Cadovius received his first clerical appointment as Adjunctus or chaplain to Vitus Barbarossa at Itzehoe. Cadovius subsequently became court preacher and eventually general superintendent of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst.

Vitus died at Itzehoe on 4 March 1651. A funeral sermon for him was delivered by Salomon Walther.

Other early Rothbarts in Land Hadeln

Contemporary records contain several additional bearers of the Rothbart name connected with Land Hadeln, although their precise relationship to the family of Laurentius, Peter and Christoph has not been established.

In 1559 the Wittenberg ordination register recorded Magister Johannes Rotbart Hadelensis, identifying him as a native of Hadeln. He was called to serve as propositus or provost at Schlieben.

Another clergyman bearing the name was Lorenz Rodtbart, also recorded as Lorenz Rodebart. After studying at Marburg, he was appointed in 1579 as the first Reformed preacher at Flögeln in Land Hadeln and remained pastor there until 1609.

Another bearer of the name, Wilhelm Rotbart, is recorded at Otterndorf in 1596 as an advocate in a witchcraft proceeding. He represented Christine, wife of Peter Wirich, after she had been accused of sorcery by Georg Berendt. Following legal advice obtained from the law faculty of the University of Rostock, she was acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence and the accuser was ordered to bear the costs of the proceeding.

The presence of Johannes and Wilhelm Rotbart provides further evidence for the Rothbart name in Land Hadeln during the same period in which the documented clerical family was active, but no genealogical relationship between these individuals and the line of Laurentius Rodtbart is presently established.

Lübeck Rodebart family

A documented Rodebart or Rodebarth family was established in Lübeck as dyers, businessmen and substantial urban property owners during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The Lübeck historian Eduard Hach identified two successive men named Laurenz Rodebarth, father and son. Hach described both as substantial businessmen and the younger Laurenz in particular as operating on an almost factory-like scale.

The elder Laurenz acquired a bakehouse in the Kupferschmiedestraße which he subsequently left to his children.

The younger Laurenz Rodebarth, also recorded as Lorenz Rodebart, was a dyer. He owned property in the Fleischhauerstraße before acquiring a large dyeing property along the Lübeck city wall in 1579. He subsequently acquired additional adjoining properties and expanded his operations along what is today the Wakenitzmauer.

The properties included two large dyeing establishments and numerous smaller residential buildings or Buden. The property complex purchased and assembled by Rodebart contributed to the development of the later Kattundrucker-Gang on the Wakenitzmauer.

The documented Lübeck line included:

• Laurenz Rodebarth the elder
  • Laurenz Rodebarth the younger, dyer and property owner
    • Hinrich Rodebarth (died 1622)
      • Hinrich Rodebarth the younger
    • Johann Rodebarth (died 1612)

The younger Laurenz left the two principal dyeing establishments and their associated dwellings to his sons Hinrich and Johann Rodebarth. Johann died in 1612 and his property passed to his brother Hinrich. Hinrich died in 1622, leaving his widow Elsabe and children. A younger Hinrich Rodebarth subsequently held a substantial part of the family properties, at first jointly with Dr Hermann Westhof and later in his own right, until 1659.

The family's ownership of major properties in this area of Lübeck consequently lasted for nearly eighty years.

Hach connected the family with the historical place-name Rothbars-Mauer, formerly used for the section of Lübeck's city wall between Hundestraße and Glockengießerstraße. He argued that the name derived from the Rodebarth family's extensive adjoining properties.

Parts of the former property complex survive in the Kattundrucker-Gang at the Wakenitzmauer.

Rügen and Swedish Pomerania

The Rothbart surname and its Low German variants are extensively documented on the island of Rügen from the early seventeenth century.

A transcription of the baptismal register of Gingst records Claus Rodebart in 1608, followed by Adolph Rodebart in 1628, Gützlaf Rodebart in 1633 and Jochim Rodebart in 1639.

The Gingst records demonstrate considerable variation in the spelling of the surname within the same local population. Forms recorded in the parish include Rodebart, Rodebarth, Rodebahrt, Rodebahrd, Rodtbarth, Rohtbart, Rotbart, Rothbart, Rothbard and Rothbardt.

Among the entries are the triplets Christian, Ilse and Jacob Rodebart, baptized in 1672; Alexander Rohtbart in 1705; Hinrich Rothbard in 1733; Friederich Rothbardt in 1739; Hans Jochim Rodtbarth in 1746; Carl Ulrich Rothbart in 1772; and Jacob Christian Rotbart in 1779.

The surname was also established in other Rügen parishes. The baptismal register of Schaprode records Elisabeth Rodebard in 1661 and numerous later bearers under the forms Rodebard, Rodbard and Rodbarth.

Records from Trent likewise contain the forms Rodbart, Rodtbart, Rodbarth and Rotbart.

The variants are also independently recorded in the documentation of Swedish Pomerania. The surname index to the Swedish land survey of 1692–1698 contains forms including Rodebard, Rootbart, Rotbart and Rothbard in the Rügen district.

Bearers of these forms continued to appear in Rügen's maritime communities during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Compiled church and shipping records from Wiek, Trent, Schaprode and surrounding communities contain the forms Rodbart, Rodbarth, Rodebarth and Rodtbart in connection with local families and sailing vessels.

Paul Rothbarth and the Rothbarth-Stift

Paul Rothbarth (born 4 June 1836) was born at Garz/Rügen as the son of hotel proprietor Georg Rothbarth, owner of the Hotel du Nord, later known as the Nordischer Hof. Paul became a merchant and emigrated to Chicago, where he accumulated a considerable fortune.

In his will Rothbarth provided funds for the construction of a home for elderly residents in his native town. Although litigation with his heirs and difficulties in disposing of parts of the estate reduced the amount ultimately available, sufficient funds remained to construct a substantial building and provide its residents with free accommodation and heating together with a small pension.

The Rothbarth-Stift was formally inaugurated on 4 July 1911.

The Rothbarth-Stift in Garz/Rügen, founded from the bequest of Paul Rothbarth and inaugurated in 1911.

The Rothbarth-Stift survives at Poggenstraße 16 in Garz and is listed as a protected historic monument.

Gustav Rothbart

Gustav Rothbart (21 July 1842 – 20 November 1914), also recorded as Gustav Rothbarth, was a German landowner, agriculturalist, peat-industry manager and politician. He was born in Trent and died in Gifhorn.

Rothbart worked first in the administration of large agricultural estates and later became an estate owner in Triangel, today part of Sassenburg in Lower Saxony. He held the title Ökonomierat and became a prominent figure in the agricultural and economic development of the surrounding moorland region.

He was associated with the Norddeutsche Torfmoor-Gesellschaft and directed the peat works and moor-cultivation operations at Triangel. Historical company records covering the period from 1872 to 1902/03 identify Rothbart and Arnold Rimpau as important figures in the development of the company and of Triangel itself.

Rothbart's activities combined commercial peat extraction with the agricultural cultivation of moorland. The Triangel operation became known beyond the immediate region for its methods of moor cultivation and peat production. Agricultural specialists visited the enterprise to study its practices.

He also served as chairman of an agricultural association concerned with moor and heath cultivation and was a member of the local Kreistag.

Political career

In 1893 Rothbart was nominated as the National Liberal candidate for the 14th electoral district of the Province of Hanover, comprising Gifhorn, Celle, Peine and Burgdorf. His candidacy was also supported by conservative and agricultural political organizations.

He was elected to the German Reichstag in the 1893 election and served until 1898.

According to the parliamentary biographical database, Rothbart won the decisive ballot with 50.22 percent of the vote. In the Reichstag he was associated with the National Liberal parliamentary group and participated in committee work dealing with petitions and questions concerning the food trade.

Contemporary parliamentary reporting described him as an Ökonomierat from Triangel and as a National Liberal parliamentary associate.

His political interests reflected his professional background in agriculture. During the 1893 election campaign he addressed agricultural policy, commercial regulation and social legislation and received support from organized agricultural interests despite not accepting every element of their programme.

A memorial stone dedicated to Rothbart was erected in the park at Triangel by businessman Arnold Rimpau and commemorates his role in the development of the local peat industry and moor cultivation.

Saxon line at Bad Liebenwerda

A further historical line of the Rothbart family is documented in Bad Liebenwerda, then part of the Electorate of Saxony, during the eighteenth century. Historical records of the Saxon estates use the spellings Rothbart, Rothbarth and Rothbardt for members of this family.

Samuel Rothbart, whose surname is recorded in the source as Rothbart(h)/Rothbardt, represented Bad Liebenwerda in the Saxon estates. He was recorded as Prokonsul in 1763, as mayor (Bürgermeister) in 1766 and 1769, and as both mayor and Konsul in 1775.

Friedrich August Rothbarth subsequently served as mayor of Bad Liebenwerda and represented the town at the Saxon estates in 1787, 1793 and 1799.

Franconian–Coburg line

One line of the Rothbart family originated in Roth am Sand in Middle Franconia and subsequently settled in Nuremberg.

Johann Georg Rothbart was a gold- and silver-wire manufacturer. His sons included Johann Lorenz Theodor Rothbart, Georg Konrad Rothbart and Ferdinand Rothbart, who became active in art, architecture and related professions.

Following the early death of Johann Georg Rothbart, the family experienced considerable hardship. His widow and daughter supported the household through sewing. A guardian later placed Georg Konrad and Ferdinand in an orphanage, where they received education and vocational training.

The documented line included:

• Johann Georg Rothbart, gold- and silver-wire manufacturer
  • Johann Lorenz Theodor Rothbart (c. 1816–1877), painter, draftsman and lithographer
  • Georg Konrad Rothbart (1817–1896), architect, court official and Geheimer Hofrat
    • Hans Rothbart (1846–1904), architect, senior court official and Schlosshauptmann of Coburg and Gotha
  • Ferdinand Rothbart (1823–1899), painter, engraver, illustrator and museum conservator

Johann Lorenz Theodor Rothbart

Johann Lorenz Theodor Rothbart (c. 1816–1877) was an oil painter, watercolor painter, draftsman and lithographer. He was born in Roth in Middle Franconia and later worked in Nuremberg.

He studied under Albert Christoph Reindel at the Nuremberg art school and became particularly known for lithographic views of Nuremberg and Franconian Switzerland.

Among his works were representations of Gößweinstein, Rabenstein, Muggendorf, Rabeneck, Neudeck, Tüchersfeld, Pottenstein and Streitberg. Around 1840 a series entitled Die Fränkische Schweiz. Cyclus der interessantesten Punkte aus der Umgegend von Muggendorf und Streitberg appeared in Nuremberg with illustrations by Rothbart after drawings by Carl Kaeppel. A later series, Erinnerung an die Fränkische Schweiz, was commercially advertised in 1864.

Theodor also collaborated directly with his brother Ferdinand Rothbart. Around 1870, the Album von Coburg und Umgegend was published with lithographs by Theodor after drawings by Ferdinand. The album included views of Coburg, Ehrenburg Palace, the ducal court theatre and Veste Coburg.

Georg Konrad Rothbart

Georg Konrad Rothbart (22 November 1817 – 3 September 1896) was a German architect, painter, construction official and senior court councillor in the service of the dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

The Hofstube of Veste Coburg as a weapons hall, drawn by Georg Konrad Rothbart, c. 1851.

After spending part of his youth in an orphanage in Nuremberg, Rothbart studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. He later moved to Coburg, where he became closely involved in the architectural transformation of Veste Coburg and the administration of the ducal collections.

Rothbart worked for several decades in the service of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. He became director of the Coburg building school, headed parts of the ducal building administration and was entrusted with the care of the ducal collections.

His artistic work included detailed drawings and watercolors of the interiors of Coburg residences. Several of these works entered the British Royal Collection, reflecting the close relationship between the Coburg court and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Among Rothbart's surviving works is a representation of the childhood room used by Princes Ernst and Albert at Rosenau Castle. He also produced representations of Veste Coburg, Callenberg Castle and other ducal residences.

Rothbart's activities extended beyond architecture and court administration. On 1 April 1845 he entered the service of the Coburg court theatre as a costume designer and decorative painter. Between 1848 and 1854 he also taught drawing at the city's Bürgerschule and in October 1849 was appointed Hofmaler.

Rothbart also played an important role in technical education in Coburg. Following the death of architect Friedrich Streib, Rothbart founded a successor to Streib's private school for building craftsmen. From December 1852 the institution was known as the Herzogliche Baugewerkschule, and Rothbart served as its first director. The institution forms part of the historical development that ultimately led to the modern Hochschule Coburg.

His responsibilities for the ducal collections also became extensive. In 1851 Duke Ernest II entrusted him with supervision of the ducal print collection, which contained approximately 330,000 sheets. In 1854 his responsibility was extended to the collections at Veste Coburg as a whole, and he subsequently became their official director.

Architectural works

Georg Konrad Rothbart was responsible for or participated in numerous architectural projects in and around Coburg. His documented works include:

• alterations and restoration work at Veste Coburg;
• alterations to the Luther Chapel at Veste Coburg;
• construction of the new gate tower and stone bridge at Veste Coburg;
• the new inn at Veste Coburg;
• reconstruction of the lower castle at Callenberg Castle between 1856 and 1859;
• the princely crypt at St. Augustin in Coburg;
• reconstruction and enlargement of the Palais Edinburgh in 1866;
• Schloss Ketschendorf;
• Gut Neudörfles;
• Schloss Neuhof;
• the Ernstfarm agricultural estate;
• numerous residential and administrative buildings in Coburg;
• the hunting and residential palace at Schladming, Austria.

Several buildings designed or altered by Rothbart remain listed architectural monuments.

One of Rothbart's surviving public buildings is the Reithalle at Schlossplatz in Coburg, built in 1852. The building subsequently became a venue for important civic and national gatherings. It hosted events connected with the first German gymnastics and youth festival in 1860, the first general assembly of the German National Association and, in 1862, the formation of the Deutscher Sängerbund. It later became part of the Landestheater Coburg and is used as a studio theatre.

Georg Konrad Rothbart was also professionally active in Austria through his work for the Coburg dynasty.

The former Coburg hunting and residential palace in Schladming, designed by Georg Konrad Rothbart in 1884 and now used as the town hall.

In 1884 Prince Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha commissioned Georg Konrad Rothbart to design a neo-Gothic hunting and residential palace in Schladming, Styria. The building was associated with the Brazilian branch of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry dynasty.

Following the end of the Brazilian monarchy, the building became an important residence of the Coburg family in Austria. It was later associated with Prince August Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Archduchess Karoline Marie of Austria. The municipality of Schladming acquired the building in 1940 and has since used it as the town hall.

Honours and court rank

Rothbart received a series of appointments and decorations during his career.

In October 1853, Duke Ernest II awarded him a gold merit medal for his work at Veste Coburg. In 1858 he was appointed ducal Baurat.

In 1877 he received the Knight's Cross, 2nd Class of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order. The order was the dynastic order shared by the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen and Saxe-Altenburg.

Rothbart was appointed ducal Hofrat in 1879 and Geheimer Hofrat in 1881. In 1893 he received the Commander's Cross, 2nd Class of the Saxe-Ernestine House Order.

Ferdinand Rothbart

Ferdinand Rothbart (3 October 1823 – 31 January 1899) was a German painter, engraver, illustrator, graphic artist and museum conservator.

An interior watercolor by Ferdinand Rothbart, c. 1848.

He was born in Roth am Sand and moved with his family to Nuremberg during childhood. Following his father's death, Ferdinand and his brother Georg Konrad were placed in an orphanage. Ferdinand initially learned the mechanical coloring of maps and prints before training in engraving, etching and lithography.

He studied engraving under Heinrich Ludwig Petersen in Nuremberg and produced plates for the Nürnberger Gedenkbuch, formally titled Vollständige Sammlung aller Baudenkmale, Monumente und anderer Merkwürdigkeiten Nürnberg's, based on drawings by Johann Georg Wolff.

Coburg court

Between 1845 and 1848 Ferdinand worked for the Coburg court. He received commissions associated with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, including commemorative representations connected with Victoria's first visit to Albert's homeland.

He produced detailed watercolors of royal and ducal interiors at Rosenau, Ehrenburg Palace, Friedrichsthal, the Gotha Winter Palace and Reinhardsbrunn. A number of these works were acquired by Queen Victoria and entered the British Royal Collection.

Rothbart also designed a neo-Gothic writing cabinet associated with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

His watercolors later acquired additional importance as historical documentation. During the restoration of Rosenau Castle, the Bavarian Palace Administration used Rothbart's accurate interior views as sources for reconstructing the historic decoration and furnishings.

Munich and later career

Ferdinand settled in Munich in 1855 and worked as an independent book illustrator. His illustrations appeared in publications connected with authors including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.

From 1860 to 1863 he travelled in Italy with support from the Martin von Wagner Foundation. While in Rome he produced oil paintings and worked as librarian of the library at the Villa Malta.

In 1871 Rothbart became conservator of the royal prints and drawings cabinet in Munich, the institution that later developed into the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München.

Rothbart also produced extensive historical and dynastic studies. A later art-sale catalogue documented a group of 61 drawings by him consisting of 40 full-length portraits of Saxon dukes, electors and their wives, extending from Widukind to Friedrich Josias, together with 21 heraldic designs and coats of arms. The drawings were executed principally in pencil and charcoal, with several portraits and coats of arms additionally colored.

He remained active in artistic organizations in Munich until his death in 1899.

Hans Rothbart

Hans Rothbart (16 December 1846 – 22 February 1904), son of Georg Konrad Rothbart, was a German architect and senior court official in the service of the dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Palais Edinburgh in Coburg. Georg Konrad Rothbart reconstructed and enlarged the palace in 1866; Hans Rothbart later worked on its further extension.

Hans was born at Veste Coburg. He attended the Coburg Realschule Ernestinum and subsequently studied at the Coburg building school, where his father served as director.

He entered ducal service while still a young man. By the age of approximately 25 he headed the ducal private office and presided over the ducal cabinet, while continuing to undertake architectural work for private clients.

Hans served in the court of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

In November 1893 he was appointed Schlosshauptmann of Coburg and Gotha and was placed in charge of the ducal collections at Veste Coburg. The appointment is documented in the surviving records of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha State Ministry, whose file concerning Rothbart's appointment covers the period 1893–1904. A contemporary report likewise announced the appointment in November 1893 and stated that Rothbart would continue to head the ducal private office.

In 1894 Emperor William II awarded Rothbart the Prussian Royal Crown Order, 3rd Class. Contemporary reporting listed him among senior Saxe-Coburg and Gotha officials decorated by the Prussian king and German emperor.

Contemporary state records also record Rothbart being made a knight.

As an architect, Hans designed numerous residential, commercial and court-related buildings in Coburg. The City of Coburg credits his work with contributing substantially to the city's late historicist and Gründerzeit architectural character.

His works included the former Weiß confectionery factory and residential complex at Albertsplatz and alterations associated with the Palais Edinburgh.

In 1881 Hans designed a four-storey extension of the Palais Edinburgh. The earlier reconstruction and enlargement of the palace had been carried out by his father Georg Konrad in 1866, making the residence a notable example of architectural work by two generations of the Rothbart family.

Rothbart died in Coburg on 22 February 1904 at the age of 57. A contemporary report stated that he died of cancer and described him as a widely known and well-regarded figure in Coburg who had stood particularly close to the late Duke Alfred.

Court service and royal connections

The Rothbart family's work in Coburg became closely connected with the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Georg Konrad Rothbart served the ducal house for several decades as architect, construction official, director of collections and senior councillor. His son Hans subsequently entered the same court administration and rose to become Schlosshauptmann of Coburg and Gotha.

Georg Konrad and Ferdinand Rothbart also produced detailed artistic representations of residences associated with the Coburg dynasty. Several were acquired by Queen Victoria and remain in the British Royal Collection.

The connection continued through Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the second son of Victoria and Albert. Both Georg Konrad and Hans worked on Alfred's Palais Edinburgh in Coburg.

Queen Victoria and members of several European royal houses at Coburg in 1894, photographed in front of the winter garden of the Palais Edinburgh.

Alfred was married to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. The Coburg court consequently formed part of a broad dynastic network linking the British, German, Russian, Belgian, Portuguese and other European royal houses.

The Palais Edinburgh was the setting for major dynastic gatherings. In 1894 members of several European royal families gathered in Coburg for the marriage of Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse. The gathering included Queen Victoria and members of the German and Russian imperial families.

Other Rothbarts from Roth am Sand

Josef Rothbart (16 April 1835 – 9 September 1900) was a German goldsmith born in Roth am Sand. The Nürnberger Künstlerlexikon identifies him as the son of a Gürtlermeister, a master craftsman in decorative metalwork.

Austria

The Rothbart and Rotbart surnames are documented in Austria, particularly in Styria, in ecclesiastical, educational, industrial and military sources.

Clergy

The Rothbart name is documented among the Catholic clergy of Styria during the nineteenth century.

Alois Rotbart

Alois Rotbart was an Austrian Catholic priest active in Styria. He is recorded in the official 1858 clerical directory of the former Diocese of Leoben in Upper Styria, which at that time was under the administration of the Prince-Bishopric of Seckau.

His inclusion in the diocesan Schematismus, an official directory of secular and regular clergy, documents the presence of the Rotbart/Rothbart name within the established Catholic ecclesiastical administration of Upper Styria by the mid-nineteenth century.

Josef Rothbart

Monsignor Josef Rothbart was an Austrian Catholic priest and professor associated with Styria. His clerical activity is documented in historical research concerning the parish of Kitzeck im Sausal, whose institutional history from the reforms of Joseph II to the Second Vatican Council has been studied at the University of Graz.

Rothbart also appears in contemporary Austrian printed sources as a professor. The Grazer Morgenpost records Josef Rothbart in 1891, providing contemporary evidence for his position in addition to his ecclesiastical activity.

The records of Alois Rotbart and Josef Rothbart, together with other documented Rothbarts in Styria, show an established presence of the surname in the Austrian lands during the period.

Education and industry

An early record appears in the history of education around Weiz. Before the tenure of teacher Johann Stelzer from 1834 to 1839, a man named Georg Rothbart is recorded as teaching children in the Weizerzeil. According to the municipal chronicle of Naas, Rothbart taught in return for food, accommodation and payment for carrying messages and writing letters.

Another Styrian educator was Karl Rothbart, recorded in the 1890 directory of Styrian elementary schools as an Oberlehrer. Later records identify Karl Rothbart as school director at St. Jakob im Freiland. In 1909–1910 he petitioned the Styrian authorities for the full recognition of his earlier years of service as an assistant teacher.

The surname also appears in Austrian industrial records. Otto Rothbart was recorded in 1894 as a Hütteningenieur (metallurgical or smelting engineer) employed by the Oesterreichisch-Alpine Montangesellschaft, one of the principal iron and steel companies of Austria. By 1896 he was recorded as Hüttenverwalter and head of a smelting administration operated by the company.

Military records

Austro-Hungarian military records provide further evidence of Rothbarts from the Weiz region during the First World War. Franz Rothbart, born in 1884 at Gairach in the district of Weiz, served as an infantryman in the 3rd Company of k.k. Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 3 and was reported wounded.

Jakob Rothbart, born in 1892 at Kleinsemmering in the district of Weiz, served as a Dragoner in the 3rd Squadron of Austro-Hungarian Dragoon Regiment No. 5. He was killed on 5 November 1914 during fighting at Radyczhöhe in the area of Dobromyl, then in Galicia.

Dragoon Regiment No. 5 was a cavalry formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army with strong recruiting connections to Styria, Carinthia and Carniola. Before the outbreak of the war, its regimental headquarters and 1st and 3rd Squadrons were stationed at Görz.

Franz Rotbart and the Reformation in Görlitz

Franz Rotbart (also Franz Rothbart, Franziskus Ruperti, Rupertus; Latin: Franciscus Aenobarbus; 1480 – 29 February 1570) was a German clergyman and an early leader of the Protestant Reformation in Görlitz. He became the first Protestant pastor of the city and has been described in historical literature as the principal or "true" reformer of Görlitz.

Older biographical accounts identify his father as Merten Rotbart, a Görlitz craftsman described variously as a clothmaker or red tanner, and his mother as Margarete. Before returning to his native Görlitz, Rotbart served as a deacon or parish priest in Sprottau.

In April 1520 he was called to Görlitz as successor to Martin Fabri. At the time of his appointment he remained within the Catholic ecclesiastical system, and in February 1521 he was still associated with the public posting of the papal condemnation of Martin Luther at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

During the summer of 1521, however, Rotbart increasingly began to preach according to Luther's teachings. His change coincided with a severe plague epidemic in Görlitz. Most members of the city council left the city during the outbreak, while Rotbart remained and continued preaching. The temporary absence of the municipal authorities gave him greater freedom to introduce Lutheran ideas and elements of reformed liturgy.

His preaching attracted considerable support among the inhabitants of Görlitz. Contemporary and later accounts particularly associate his following with craftsmen and the urban guilds, while people also travelled from surrounding villages to hear him preach.

The city council opposed the increasingly Lutheran character of his ministry and Rotbart left Görlitz in 1523. Opposition to his dismissal remained strong among the guilds, whose elders repeatedly requested his return. In 1525, amid concerns about unrest in the city, the council recalled him to his post.

His return marked an important stage in the institutional development of the Reformation in Görlitz. On 30 April 1525 approximately 200 citizens received communion in both kinds under Rotbart at the Georgskapelle of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. The same period saw the first recorded celebration of communion in both kinds and baptism in the German vernacular in the city.

The council's relationship with Rotbart nevertheless remained difficult. When he was recalled, he had agreed to moderate his attacks on the council and to resign his office if he married. On 29 August 1530 he married Anna Wolf. He was consequently removed from office for a second time.

After leaving Görlitz, Rotbart went to Wittenberg. He was subsequently called to Bunzlau in 1532, moved to Freystadt in 1540 and later returned to Bunzlau. He died there on 29 February 1570 at approximately 90 years of age.

Rotbart's significance lay less in formal theological writing than in his role in the practical introduction of the Reformation in Görlitz. His preaching, his conflict with the municipal government, and the support he received from sections of the urban population formed an important part of the city's gradual transition to Protestantism.

Slovakia

Members of the Rothbart family are also documented in the territory of present-day Slovakia, which at the time formed part of the Kingdom of Hungary within Austria-Hungary.

Notable people

• Davy Rothbart (born 1975), American writer and filmmaker.
• Michael Forster Rothbart, American photojournalist.
• Boris Rothbart (born 1986), professional basketball player.
• Irma Rothbart (1896–1967), Hungarian physician and translator.
• Mary K. Rothbart (born 1940), American psychologist known for research on temperament and child development.
• Max Rothbart (born 1990), German actor.
• Otto-Rudolf Rothbart (1928–2019), German librarian and author.

Other uses

Rotbart can also refer to:

• Pater Rotbart, nickname of Joachim Haspinger, a Capuchin priest who played a key role in the Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809.
• A German form of the name Barbarossa ("red beard"), the epithet of Emperor Frederick I.
• Rotbart, a German brand of razor, including razors used by German soldiers during World War II.
• The long-period comet C/1946 K1 (Pajdusakova-Rotbart-Weber).

Fictional characters

• Baron von Rothbart, the sorcerer and principal antagonist in the ballet Swan Lake.

See also

• Rothbard
• Rothbarth
• Rotbart (disambiguation)
• Red Beard (disambiguation)
• Barbarossa (disambiguation)