Ambrosius Bloch
Ambrosius I. Bloch (born December 11, 1768 in Oensingen as Urs Jakob Bloch ; † November 5, 1838 in Engelberg ) was a Swiss Benedictine monk . From 1816 to 1838 he was abbot of the Muri monastery in the canton of Aargau .
biography
The son of Johann Bloch and Anna Maria Cartier completed his studies in the monastery school of Muri. In 1791 he made his profession , in 1793 he was ordained a priest . From 1791 he was already active as a teacher of rhetoric, from 1793 alternately as a teacher of philosophy and theology. After he had been vice librarian since 1795, he took over the post of librarian of the monastery in 1803. Bloch had such a good reputation as a librarian that in 1804 he was asked by the finance department of the canton of Aargau to come to Aarau to verify and organize the Zurlauben collection . On October 16, 1816 he was elected abbot of the Muri Monastery. From 1819 to 1838 he was one of the visitors of the Swiss Benedictine Congregation .
In 1830, after a legal dispute with Prince Anton Aloys that had lasted for decades, the abbey received financial compensation of 70,000 guilders for the territories on the Neckar , which had passed to the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in October 1802 at the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss . However, this corresponded to only a small part of the loss, which at that time had amounted to 950,000 guilders; the remaining demands could not be enforced.
After the storm of Freiämter in 1830, liberal forces came to power, who strove to suppress the influence of the Catholic Church, which was regarded as hostile to the state. Seven liberal cantons, including Aargau, passed the Baden Articles in 1834 . The church was placed under state control, while the monasteries became taxable and, in addition, had to support the school system and the poor financially. Muri Monastery, which at the time had assets of three million francs and had 80 employees, had to draw up an extensive inventory. The monastery school had to close due to a non-issued permit. On November 7, 1835, the cantonal government placed the monastery under state administration and prohibited the admission of novices .
Bloch felt so threatened by the radical secularization policy of the canton of Aargau that he fled on November 6, 1835 and went to Klingenberg in the canton of Thurgau . A few weeks later he traveled on to Engelberg , where he spent the rest of his life. With his escape, he tried to withdraw the monastery's foreign debt securities that he had taken with him from the canton of Aargau. He died on November 5, 1838 in Engelberg Monastery and was buried in the crypt there.
literature
- Biographical Lexicon of the Canton of Aargau 1803–1957 . In: Historical Society of the Canton of Aargau (Ed.): Argovia . tape 68/69 . Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau 1958, p. 80 .
- Rupert Amschwand: Abbot Adalbert Regli and the abolition of the Muri monastery. Sarnen 1956, pp. 89-91, pp. 141-146 and pp. 163-167.
- Martin Kiem: History of the Benedictine Abbey Muri-Gries. Volume 2: The History of Muri in Modern Times. Stans 1891, pp. 384-429.
- Bruno Meier : The Muri Monastery - History and Present of the Benedictine Abbey . here + now , Baden 2011, ISBN 978-3-03919-215-1 .
Web links
- Anton Wohler: Bloch, Ambrosius. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
Individual evidence
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Gregor Koch |
Abbot of Muri 1816–1838 |
Adalbert Regli |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bloch, Ambrosius |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bloch, Urs Jakob |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss Benedictine monk, abbot of the Muri monastery |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 11, 1768 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oensingen |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 5, 1838 |
| Place of death | Engelberg |