@Earnest
You are correct that geographical proximity, by itself, does not prove or disprove kinship unless the genealogical links are established. However, when we look carefully at the geographical movements of Pope Benedict XVI’s maternal ancestors, it becomes evident that they do not align with Stefanie Brzakovic's account.
Pope Benedict’s maternal line — the Riegers, Reisses, Peintners, and Taubers — is well documented. His mother, Maria Peintner Rieger, was born in Oberaudorf, in southern Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Her father, Isidor Rieger, was born in Welden, near Augsburg in Bavaria, and later moved south toward the Chiemsee area (Rimsting), remaining firmly within Bavarian territory. Her mother, Maria Tauber-Peintner, was born in Raas (Naz-Sciaves) in South Tyrol, part of the Austrian Empire at the time (now Italy), a German-speaking region closely connected to Bavaria both culturally and linguistically.
The Peintner side (Anton Peter Peintner and Elisabeth Maria Tauber) lived in small German-speaking towns such as Aicha, Mühlbach, and Natz (all in Tyrol). They later moved into Bavaria (Rimsting) by the late 19th century.
The Rieger and Reiss sides remained rooted in Welden and Günzburg in Bavaria for several generations.
Thus, their pattern of movement shows:
- A concentration in Welden–Günzburg (Bavaria) for the Rieger and Reiss lines.
- South Tyrol origins (Aicha, Natz, Raas) for the Peintner and Tauber lines, who eventually moved into Rimsting in Bavaria.
- Movement is mostly northward or westward from Tyrol into Bavaria, not toward the Weilheim area.
Now, Stefanie Brzakovic claimed that her family lived in Weilheim in Oberbayern, about 50 kilometers west of Oberaudorf, and that they often “hung out” with the Ratzinger family.
However, this is geographically unlikely for several reasons:
- The Ratzinger family lived in Tittmoning, Aschau am Inn, and later Traunstein, all in southeastern Bavaria, much closer to the Austrian border, not near Weilheim.
- Weilheim is located west of Munich, while Tittmoning, Aschau, and Traunstein are east of Munich — on opposite sides of Upper Bavaria.
- In the early 20th century, with limited transportation and strong local social structures, regular family interactions over such distances (about 100 km) were rare unless absolutely necessary.
Moreover, there is no documented evidence that any branch of the Rieger, Peintner, Reiss, or Tauber families ever lived in or near Weilheim. Their movements were mostly between Tyrol and southeastern Bavaria, not across Upper Bavaria.
Thus:
- Geographically, the Pope’s maternal family stayed in a southeastern corridor (Raas → Rimsting → Oberaudorf → Tittmoning/Traunstein).
- The Brzakovic/Blabst family claim about living in Weilheim is disconnected from the Ratzinger family’s real geographical history.
- No migration patterns, no baptismal or civil records, and no family testimonies link the Ratzinger maternal relatives to Weilheim.
In short, when we map out the real historical movements, Stefanie Brzakovic’s claim does not fit the known facts of where the Pope’s maternal ancestors lived and moved. The discrepancy further undermines the credibility of her account.
Nevertheless, in this case, the issue is not simply the geography, but the complete absence of any documented genealogical connection between Stefanie Blabst (later Brzakovic) and the Ratzinger or Peintner family lines. Pope Benedict XVI’s maternal ancestry is well preserved and thoroughly documented, spanning multiple generations. His mother's side—the Riegers, Reisses, Peintners, and Taubers—were firmly Bavarian and Tyrolean German-speaking families, with no evidence of South Slavic or Moravian branches entering the line in the last several generations.
There are also some factual corrections that must be made to the family details you mentioned. For example, Maria Tauber-Peintner, was born in Raas, in South Tyrol, which was at that time part of the Austrian Empire. The Peintners and Taubers were established German-speaking families from Tyrol, not Moravia.
Moreover, the claim that Elisabeth (Betty) Tauber was born in Mährisch-Weißkirchen (today Hranice, Czech Republic) is not substantiated by the primary genealogical sources. In fact, Elisabeth Maria Tauber was born in Natz (Naz-Sciaves) in Tyrol in 1832, as shown by the baptismal and civil records. Therefore, there is no direct Moravian ancestry influencing Joseph Ratzinger’s immediate family.
The point about Josefina Knopfelmacher’s nickname being "Peppi" is interesting from a human perspective but does not support the claim about Joseph Ratzinger himself. Josefina Knopfelmacher (1819–1886), a great-great-grandmother figure, would have had little to no direct influence on the everyday speech habits or nicknames used by Bavarian children in the 1920s and 30s. Nicknames arise organically in the living culture of a place and time, not from ancestral memory two or three generations removed. In rural Bavaria, the affectionate form for Joseph was, and remains, "Sepp" or "Sepperl," as contemporaneous witnesses, including Pope Benedict’s own cousin Erika Kopper, consistently attest. "Pepi" is recognized primarily as an Austrian or Viennese diminutive, and would have been highly unusual among children in Traunstein or Tittmoning at that time.
In addition, the serious genealogical problem remains: Isidor Rieger, Pope Benedict’s grandfather, was an only child, and the maternal lineage of Maria Tauber-Peintner is equally well documented without any unexplained branches. Without a shared great-grandparent, the alleged "second cousin" relationship simply cannot be true. Stefanie Blabst’s maternal line (from Katharina Berger) remains unconnected to any branch of the Pope’s known family tree.