Christoph Franz von Hutten

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
High relief - tondo representation of the Prince-Bishop on his epitaph in the Würzburg Cathedral
Christoph Franz von Hutten

Christoph Franz von Hutten (born January 19, 1673 in Mainberg ; † March 25, 1729 in Würzburg ) was a German theologian, canon and from 1724 to 1729 Prince-Bishop of Würzburg .

family

He was the eldest male descendant of the knight Johann von Hutten (* October 17, 1629 - May 19, 1690) and his wife Anna Maria, born Freiin von Hagen zur Motten and Büschfeld (* 1649 - January 18, 1698), the reached adulthood. As head of the family, he took on the family's cooperative duties as a member of the knight canton of Rhön-Werra from 1690 . He kept giving his family money to support them.

education

From 1680 to 1685 he received a school education at the seminary in Würzburg . He then studied at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome . In 1690 and 1691 he was enrolled at the University of Siena , he graduated from the University of Mainz . A cavalier tour took him through Italy , Spain and France . He spoke several languages.

Church career

Huttenschlösschen (Würzburg)
Tithe cellar in Iphofen with Hutten's coat of arms above the entrance
BC Fr. Hutten, engraving by Johann Balthasar Probst (1725)

As early as February 1, 1686, by collation, he became domiciliary in Würzburg and canon of the Comburg knight's monastery . On March 2, 1711 he received the canon of a canon in Bamberg . On January 26, 1713 he became cathedral capitular , on August 14, 1714 president of the Supreme Spiritual Council and on November 12, 1716 cathedral dean in Würzburg. He gave up the latter office after being elected bishop . On October 31, 1717 he was ordained a priest . Shortly afterwards he became provost of the Haug Collegiate Foundation . He also received the benefice of the Electoral Mainz knight's monastery St. Ferrutius in Bleidenstadt .

As cathedral dean responsible for the building of the bishop's church , he had the grave monuments erected along the walls in order to preserve them more safely , a measure that is thanks to the preservation of many grave monuments in the Würzburg cathedral. He also discovered remains of the old cathedral library under the roof of the church, which caused a sensation in the scholarly world of that time. Christoph Franz von Hutten took this as an opportunity to set up a cathedral chapter library for the books and an archive for manuscripts that were also found .

Prince-Bishop

Epitaph for Christoph Franz von Hutten, son of Anna Maria von Hagen and Johann von Hutten zum Stolzenberg, in Würzburg Cathedral

After the sudden death of his predecessor, Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn (* 1673; † 1724), the Viennese court tried to get the brother of the deceased bishop, Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (* 1674; † 1746), as his successor. But this was known for an absolutist government and lifestyle. The Würzburg Cathedral Chapter was afraid of this and therefore elected Christoph Franz von Hutten, who is known to him as well-versed in the field, as the 79th Bishop of Würzburg on October 2, 1724. Emperor Charles VI. was upset. However, the new bishop stuck to the policy of his predecessors, which was friendly to the emperor, and the period from 1719 to 1746 has been known as the Schönborn period since the 18th century .

In his administration, Bishop Christoph Franz was considered close to the people and popular. He was turned towards the veneration of Mary . He supported the Capuchins in Mariabuchen near Lohr - Steinbach and the construction of the new Münsterschwarzach monastery basilica by Balthasar Neumann . He also had the fortifications of the Marienberg Fortress reinforced. He added the four-story turret or machine turret. In 1725 he commissioned Anton Clemens Lünenschloß with the creation of drafts for a program of figures for the Alte Mainbrücke (the twelve statues of saints were made from 1728/29). On the other hand, Bishop Christoph Franz slowed down the construction of the Würzburg Residence, which his predecessor had begun, because of the diocese's tight budget. He had Balthasar Neumann put the north wing under the roof, which had already been started. During the construction period he lived in the neighboring Rosenbachpalais . He died just as the residence was ready to move into.

He pursued the reforms carried out by his predecessor, especially in the education sector. Economically, he represented a policy of mercantilism - in keeping with the times - and aggressively advocated tax increases in relation to the cathedral chapter in order to finance the upcoming investments .

During his tenure, he continued to promote the arts and sciences. He commissioned the historiographer Johann Georg von Eckhart (* 1664; † 1730) to publish the commentaries on East Franconian history . He donated an anatomical theater to the University of Würzburg and appointed the surgeon Louis Sivert, who was appointed from Paris in 1724, there . The chair for mathematics established under Christoph Franz in Würzburg was the first in the Philosophical Faculty to be occupied by a layperson .

death

On March 25, 1729, Bishop Christoph Franz died of pneumonia . He was buried on April 26th in the Würzburg Cathedral. Friedrich Karl von Schönborn was elected as his successor. The Latin inscription on his memorial plaque in the Würzburg Cathedral reads in German translation:

“Stand hiker and look. Christoph Franz, the Holy Roman Empire's Prince-Bishop of Würzburg and Duke of Eastern Franconia, a worm and not a person in life, now dust and ashes in death. On earth he had Johannes von Hutten zu Stolzenberg as his father and Anna Maria von Hagen as his mother. Through this he had drawn love for the virtues with life and blood. By the voice of God and the people he was elected Bishop of Würzburg on October 2nd in 1724. After presiding over the Würzburg Church for four years, five months and 23 days, he died in the 56th year of his life in 1729, on March 25th, worthy of fulfilling the unscathed times, as far as you take into account people's judgments. If you consider his virtues and merits, he is ripe for heaven long ago. Wanderer, pray on behalf of the deceased: God, have mercy on me according to your great mercy. "

literature

Web links

Commons : Christoph Franz von Hutten  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Entry on Christoph Franz von Hutten on catholic-hierarchy.org

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stefan Kummer : Architecture and fine arts from the beginnings of the Renaissance to the end of the Baroque. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes; Volume 2: From the Peasants' War in 1525 to the transition to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814. Theiss, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8062-1477-8 , pp. 576–678 and 942–952, here: pp. 663 f.
  2. ↑ Henning Bärmig: Loys Syvert (Louis Siver). In: The personal bibliographies of the professors teaching at the Medical Faculty of the Alma Mater Julia zu Würzburg from 1582 to 1803 with biographical information. Medical dissertation, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg 1969, p. 30.
predecessor Office successor
Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn Prince-Bishop of Würzburg
1724–1729 		Friedrich Karl von Schönborn-Buchheim
personal data
SURNAME Hutten, Christoph Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hutten, Christof Franz von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince-Bishop of Würzburg
DATE OF BIRTH January 19, 1673
PLACE OF BIRTH Mainberg
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1729
Place of death Wurzburg