Eberhard von Regensberg

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Half-length portrait of Archbishop Eberhard II of Salzburg, Bishop's Chapel , Seckau Basilica , Styria (depiction around 1595)

Eberhard von Regensberg (* around 1170; † December 1, 1246 in Friesach ) was, as Eberhard II, the archbishop of Salzburg with the longest reign to date. Because of his extraordinary achievements, he is referred to as the Pater patriae of the State of Salzburg .

Life

Eberhard was born as the son of the noble Luitold II of Regensberg from the family of the Barons of Regensberg . His mother came from the family of the Barons von Vaz . His uncle Diethelm von Krenkingen , Bishop of Konstanz , appointed him to the Konstanz cathedral chapter and probably also promoted the election of Eberhard as Bishop of Brixen (sedentary period 1196 / 98–1200). Pope Innocent III was elected Archbishop of Salzburg . not recognized at first because he mistrusted the critical man. After this cleric was elected again as archbishop, Eberhard went to Rome himself and was able to achieve his recognition there "with a lot of effort and sweat" including the award of the pallium . In doing so, Eberhard had to undertake to take the side of the Pope in the conflict over the throne of the German-Roman Empire, who wanted Otto IV to be declared king. But already in September 1201 Eberhard was with the elected King Philip , who donated the Reich Abbeys Frauenchiemsee and Seeon to the Salzburg Archbishopric for his loyalty . As a result, Eberhard continued to be emphatically diplomatic and ultimately neutral in Otto and Philip's dispute over royal dignity. The archbishop refrained from expressly supporting Otto despite repeated admonitions, whereupon Otto imprisoned Eberhard in a violent coup and only released him after he had undertaken in writing and by oath to obey the emperor and obey everyone. This act of violence by the irascible king against a very respected clergyman did not help the king and his reputation in the end. As a result, Eberhard remained diplomatically neutral. After a revolt against the banished Emperor Otto by several imperial princes and with the support of Innocent III. Elected Staufer Friedrich II thanked the archbishop by donating the imperial property in Lungau and confirmed the archbishop's rights over the diocese of Gurk and the establishment of his own diocese next to the Frauenchiemsee abbey. In 1214 he also confirmed the archbishop's rights over the diocese of Seckau . The Chiemsee diocese should now have its seat in Herrenchiemsee .

The commissioner of Pope Albert Beham excommunicated numerous church leaders and princes in Germany in a rather grotesque manner, because in his opinion they did not want to make known the excommunication of the Roman-German emperor or did not want to make it known enough, but this only resulted in incomprehension and general uncertainty.

The otherwise always prudent old Eberhard lost control in the face of the papal agent's antics, demonstratively kicked the excommunication document that had been brought to him during the solemn priestly ordination in the cathedral and slapped the bearer. Eberhard also had the mountain passes blocked for Albert's agents in order to make delivery of his documents more difficult, whereupon Albert had to hire children and old women to act as secret mail carriers.

The body of this great church prince and statesman, who had died under excommunication , was therefore not allowed to be buried and had to lie unburied over the vault of the church of Radstadt (today's Altenmarkt church) for 42 years . Because of his ban, there was also no contemporary chronicler who wrote down a comprehensive and comprehensive appraisal. It was only when Pope Nicholas IV lifted the ban that Eberhard von Regensberg was buried in Salzburg Cathedral in 1288.

Services as sovereign

Eberhard was able to secure peace in his country and bring about a cultural and material upswing in his country, this is all the more important as his reign was extremely difficult in the struggle between emperor and pope: the high degree of economic and cultural prosperity could after this ruler for three Centuries can no longer be achieved. During his time he acquired the Upper Pinzgau in 1228, the County of Lebenau in 1230 and the Lungau in 1246. He promoted long-distance trade and ensured the safety of trade routes. Eberhard elevated the most important trading centers to cities or expanded them; the cities of Mühldorf , Pettau , Hallein and Laufen developed into important imperial cities under his reign. He raised Traismauer , St. Andrä and Rann an der Save to markets in the holdings in the Lower Austria area . Minting in Friesach reached its peak under Eberhard.

Even disasters could not change the nationwide prosperity: At that time, the Lungau was struck by a strong earthquake , which in several individual quakes lasting more than a year brought down Katsch Castle and buried the residents of the castle under itself. The city of Salzburg burned to a large extent twice in a row under his reign.

Achievements as a politician of the empire

Eberhard von Regensberg is one of the largest and most capable archbishops in Salzburg. In his exceptionally long reign of 46 years in a very eventful time with a clear and purposeful political concept, he played a decisive role in shaping European politics like hardly any other ruler of Salzburg.

Achievements as archbishop

Eberhard earned special services in church organization and monastery reform. His achievements also include the founding of the three own dioceses Chiemsee, Seckau and Lavant . In the Pope Gregory IX. ordered intensified fight against the heretics by way of the Inquisition , Eberhard behaved emphatically mildly despite exhortations from the Pope. (The murder of the fanatical inquisitor Konrad von Marburg , whose goings-on had caused great horror, but the Pope also acquitted against his promise to participate in the crusade.)

literature

Web links

Commons : Eberhard von Regensberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Heinrich I of Berchtesgaden Bishop of Brixen
1196–1200 		Konrad von Rodank
Adalbert III. of Bohemia Archbishop of Salzburg
1200–1246 		Burkhart from Ziegenhain
personal data
SURNAME Eberhard von Regensberg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eberhard II.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archbishop of Salzburg, Bishop of Brixen
DATE OF BIRTH around 1170
DATE OF DEATH December 1, 1246
Place of death Friesach (Carinthia)