Christoph Kroh

The abbot Christoph Kroh, Johann Christoph Fesel (1786)

Christoph Kroh (born June 8, 1735 in Würzburg ; † May 31, 1812 ibid) was the last abbot of the Premonstratensian monastery of Oberzell in Zell am Main from 1785 to 1803 before secularization .

Oberzell before Kroh

The Oberzell monastery experienced a new boom under the predecessors of Christoph Kroh, after the frequent armed conflicts in the previous centuries had ensured a steady decline of the abbey. Under Kroh's predecessor, Abbot Georg Fasel , the Oberzell monastery buildings began to be modernized and rebuilt in the Baroque style. The direct predecessor Oswald Loschert was even able to engage the Würzburg court architect Balthasar Neumann as master builder.

At the same time, the abbey's Würzburg study center also experienced a rise. The abbey produced several mathematicians, rhetoricians and scientists. In contrast to this development, the last witch trial in Franconia occurred in the area around Oberzell and its subsidiary Unterzell monastery . In the years 1759 to 1761 the construction activity came to a standstill because foreign soldiers now raided the abbey during the Seven Years' War .

Life

Christoph Kroh was born on June 8, 1735 in the metropolis of the Hochstift, Würzburg. Nothing is known about the family of the future abbot. Likewise, the training of Christoph Kroh has not been passed down, he probably attended the University of Würzburg . In 1755 he entered Oberzell Abbey, relatively late. He was ordained a priest on June 7, 1759, and two days later, on June 9, Kroh made his profession .

Now the sources are silent about the young priest for a while. It can only be found again in 1771. In the meantime he was promoted to pastor in the Kreuzkirche in Gerlachsheim . After the death of Abbot Oswald Loschert on August 27, 1785, the convent had to choose a successor. In the third ballot on September 27th of the same year, Christoph Kroh emerged as abbot from this election. A total of 53 fathers from Oberzell and Gerlachsheim were called to vote.

As abbot, Christoph drove the baroque renovation of the abbey forward. However, his predecessors had already modernized most of the actual monastery buildings. However, the lower mill of the monastery was rebuilt on the site around 1790. Six years later, in 1796, French soldiers under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan reached Franconia and made high contributions to Oberzell Abbey . For this reason, no further buildings could be realized.

The Revolutionary Wars also struck Würzburg in 1800. This time the abbey near the city was even in the line of battle. In the last few years of the abbey, the promotion of the next generation was neglected, and Oberzell no longer produced a scientist. In September 1802, Electoral Palatinate Bavaria occupied the city of Würzburg. As early as December 4, 1802, the occupiers dispatched Hofrat Kammerzell, who had to read the Bavarian occupation patent to the convent.

The monks also had to swear an oath of allegiance to the Bavarian prince . The monastery cash register was sealed. The novices in the monastery were immediately dismissed, and a letter from Abbot Kroh to the provincial commissariat, in which he demanded that the young men continue to work, was rejected. In March 1803, the Gallus Nickels monastery was appointed as the new administrator . Abbot Kroh again tried to prevent the abbey from being abolished by letter.

On May 3, 1803, the conventuals of the monastery were retired and the abbey was finally dissolved. The retired Abbot Christoph Kroh received three guilders a day, was allowed to keep his private furniture, continue to use a carriage, and was allowed to carry the pontificals for a lifetime. Kroh moved to his native city of Würzburg and died here on May 31, 1812. He was blessed in the church of St. Gertraud in Pleich.

coat of arms

The abbot's coat of arms at the mill

The personal coat of arms has been handed down several times due to the abbot's construction activities in the area of ​​the monastery. Description : An inguinal cross with the head of St. Maurus on it . The crest refers to the abbot's last name and is depicted with a crow with half a loaf in its beak. The timing is unclear. The coat of arms can be found, augmented by the coat of arms of Oberzell and Gerlachsheim, on the Lower Klostermühle. It was also passed down in the abbey staircase.

literature

• Helmut Flachenecker , Stefan Petersen: Personnel lists for upper and lower cell. In: Helmut Flachenecker, Wolfgang Weiß (ed.): Oberzell - From the Premonstratensian Monastery (until 1803) to the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus (= sources and research on the history of the diocese and bishopric of Würzburg, Volume LXII). Würzburg 2006, pp. 521-570.
• Leo Günther: Oberzell Monastery. From foundation to secularization 1128–1802 . In: Festschrift for the 800th anniversary of the Norbertus monastery in Oberzell . Würzburg 1928. pp. 5-55.
• Wolfgang Weiß: The secularization of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Oberzell . In: Helmut Flachenecker, Wolfgang Weiß (ed.): Oberzell - From the Premonstratensian Monastery (until 1803) to the motherhouse of the Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Childhood of Jesus (= sources and research on the history of the diocese and bishopric of Würzburg, volume LXII) . Würzburg 2006. pp. 481-520.

Web links

Commons : Christoph Kroh  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• WürzburgWiki: Christoph Kroh

Individual evidence

1. ^ Günther, Leo: Oberzell Abbey . P. 42.
2. ↑ Flachenecker, Helmut (among others): Personal lists for Ober- and Unterzell . P. 530 f. (Footnotes).
3. ↑ Weiß, Wolfgang: The secularization of the Premonstratensian Abbey Oberzell . P. 481.
4. ^ Günther, Leo: Oberzell Abbey . P. 50.
5. ↑ Weiß, Wolfgang: The secularization of the Premonstratensian Abbey Oberzell . P. 512.

predecessor	Office	successor
Oswald Loschert	Abbot of Oberzell 1785–1803	---