August Wilhelm von Wolff-Metternich

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August Wilhelm Freiherr von Wolff-Metternich (born June 30, 1705 ; † July 10, 1764 in Osnabrück ) was canon of various cathedral chapters , a leading politician in Kurköln and from 1753 to 1764 cathedral provost in Münster .

Life

He came from the noble Wolff-Metternich family . His parents were Leopold von Wolff called Metternich zu Wehrden, Gracht and Sterneburg. This was Princely Paderborn head stable master and secret council . The mother was Anna Antonetta Helena von der Horst .

He studied from 1723 to 1725 in Rome at the Collegium Germanicum and was canon in Paderborn from 1726 . He was one of the favorites of Clemens August von Bayern and as such received a canon position in Osnabrück in 1732. There he was, among other things, cathedral sexton in 1733. In 1748 the Pope also granted him a canon position in Münster. He was also provost in Wiedenbrück and cathedral scholaster in Paderborn since 1750 at the latest . In Münster he was elected provost of the cathedral in 1753.

In addition to the clergy, he also held important secular offices. In the 1740s he was director of the electoral buildings, gardens and amusements. In the second half of the decade, a cabinet government was formed in Kurköln, in which Wolff-Metternich played the central role. From 1749 to 1756 he was officially one of the leading politicians in Kurköln as a treasurer.

In 1755 he lost the favor of Clemens August and had to give up all court and state offices in Bonn . He was even forced to leave the royal seat and since then has stayed in Paderborn, Munster or Osnabrück. The character of Wolff-Metternich was judged very negatively by his contemporaries.

literature

  • Wilhelm Kohl: The dioceses of the church province Cologne. The diocese of Münster IV, 2. The cathedral monastery of St. Paul in Münster . Berlin, 1982. (Germania Sacra NF. 17,2) ISBN 978-3-11-008508-2 , p. 77.
  • Rudolf Lill / Erwin Sandmann: Constitution and administration of the Electorate and Archdiocese of Cologne in the 18th century. In: Elector Clemens August. Sovereign and patron of the 18th century. Cologne 1961, p. 51.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. Gudrun Gersmann and Hans-Werner Langbrandtner (eds.): Noble lifeworlds in the Rhineland: annotated sources of the early modern period. Vienna 2009. p. 163.
personal data
SURNAME Wolff-Metternich, August Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wolff-Metternich, August Wilhelm Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canon and Minister
DATE OF BIRTH June 30, 1705
DATE OF DEATH July 10, 1764
Place of death Osnabrück