Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg

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Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg as Cardinal-Bishop of Strasbourg
Portrait of Wilhelm Egons von Fürstenberg by Nicolas II. De Larmessin
Capture of Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg in Cologne on February 14, 1674, copperplate engraving by Romeyn de Hooghe , around 1675.

Wilhelm Egon Graf von Fürstenberg (born December 2, 1629 in Heiligenberg , † April 10, 1704 in Paris ) was Bishop of Strasbourg , cardinal and Prime Minister of Cologne .

origin

Wilhelm Egon came from the Fürstenberg family . He was the sixth son of the Bavarian general field witness, Landgrave Ernst Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1588–1635) and his wife, Countess Anna Maria von Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1603–1652). His older brother Franz Egon von Fürstenberg was his predecessor in the episcopate. Maria Franziska von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg was his younger sister.

Life

Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, together with his older brother Franz Egon, was First Minister of the Cologne Elector and Archbishop Maximilian Heinrich of Bavaria . After the two brothers Fürstenberg met the young Louis XIV in 1657 in the Sedan camp , they became allies of the French king. From January to July 1663 he was envoy to the Holy Roman Empire in Regensburg, and in September 1663 Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg was elected Bishop of Metz by Sedan Cathedral Chapter . However, the Pope did not recognize this choice. From 1664 the two brothers Fürstenberg were imperial princes.

In the dispute over the Spanish succession, Louis XIV attacked the Spanish Netherlands in 1667 in the War of Devolution . The Fürstenbergs urged the Archbishop of Cologne to step on the side of France and to provide Electoral Cologne territory as a supply base for the French troops. Bonn, the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, was turned into a fortress by the French. Louis XIV occupied other German cities, including a. Trier in August 1673, then the free imperial city of Colmar. Thereupon troops targeted the anti-French alliance (Kaiser, Spain, the Netherlands) against the Electorate of Cologne , captured on November 12, 1673 City of Bonn and occupied more Electorate of Cologne cities.

On February 14, 1674, under the command of Ferdinand Marquis Obizzi, Colonel Sergeant of the Imperial Regiment de Grana, imperial officers stopped Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg's equipage in the middle of the city of Cologne and declared Fürstenberg arrested on behalf of the Emperor. After a skirmish with Fürstenberg's armed bodyguard (at least one dead, several injured), the imperial officers escaped with Fürstenberg through Cologne's Hahnentor. The kidnapping of Fürstenberg ended the peace congress that had been meeting in Cologne since 1673, which was primarily intended to mediate between France and the Netherlands and at which Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg, as Kurkölner resident, had tried to establish a third party that was friendly to France. On the orders of Emperor Leopold I , Fürstenberg was first brought to Bonn, then to Vienna and held captive until May 4, 1679. The emperor saw him as the originator of the war and accused him of rebellion and activities hostile to the empire, since in 1658 he had concluded a secret pact with Louis XIV for Kurköln, in which Kurköln pledged to support French troops. He was sentenced to death for high treason in a private trial. Louis XIV made the release of Fürstenberg the subject of negotiations in all peace negotiations and achieved that Emperor Leopold I released Fürstenberg again in May 1679 as part of the Peace of Nijmegen .

When Wilhelm Egon's brother Franz Egon von Fürstenberg died in 1682, Ludwig XIV helped Wilhelm Egon to the office of bishop in the diocese of Strasbourg and in 1686 to a cardinal's hat . But he was not appointed cardinal priest of Sant'Onofrio until November 14, 1689 . This should be his springboard for the Cologne Erzstuhl. Once again he managed to influence the Cologne elector and archbishop Max Heinrich, who appointed him first minister (prime minister) in 1683. On December 24, 1683, Kurköln and France signed an alliance treaty at Fürstenberg's initiative, which was reinforced again in 1687. In the same year Max Heinrich appointed Fürstenberg as his coadjutor . When the Elector Maximilian Heinrich died in July 1688, Wilhelm Egon sought his successor. The Cologne diocese dispute broke out : In the election by the Cologne cathedral chapter , Fürstenberg received more votes than his opponent Joseph Clemens, but he lacked the two-thirds majority required by church law. Pope Innocent XI. therefore Joseph Clemens von Bayern declared his recognition as Archbishop. The emperor confirmed the papal decision. Fürstenberg and Louis XIV did not accept this, and the French king sent troops to Kurköln to secure Fürstenberg's rule. The emperor declared Imperial War against Fürstenberg and his allies and the empire concluded an alliance with the Netherlands. Under the Brandenburg Elector Friedrich III. About 26,000 men gathered in the Duchy of Kleve , to which, in addition to Brandenburg and Prussian troops, Lüneburg, Münster and Dutch units were added. On July 24, 1689, the Allies began to bombard Bonn and largely destroyed it in the course of the war. On October 12, 1689, the French occupation capitulated.

After the end of the war, Cardinal Fürstenberg got all his offices and property back, but he did not settle in Strasbourg. He went to the French court and later retired to the Fécamp and St. Germain-des-Prés Abbeys, where he died in 1704.

Honors

A square in Paris bears his name Place de Furstemberg , officially Rue de Furstenberg .

In Bonn- Lannesdorf , Fürstenbergstrasse was named after him.

literature

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Spiegel, p. 150
predecessor Office successor
Franz Egon von Fürstenberg Abbot of Malmedy and Stablo
1682–1704 		Franz II. Joseph of Lorraine
Franz Egon von Fürstenberg Bishop of Strasbourg
1682–1704 		Armand I. Gaston of Rohan-Soubise
Franz Egon von Fürstenberg Bishop of Metz
1663–1668 		Georges d'Aubusson de La Feuillade
personal data
SURNAME Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, Wilhelm Egon von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fürstenberg, Wilhelm Egon Count of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German clergyman, Bishop of Strasbourg
DATE OF BIRTH December 2, 1629
PLACE OF BIRTH Heiligenberg
DATE OF DEATH April 10, 1704
Place of death Paris