Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim

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Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim
Coat of arms of the Archbishop of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Worms

Emmerich Joseph Freiherr von Breidbach zu Bürresheim (born November 12, 1707 in Koblenz , † June 11, 1774 in Mainz ) was elector and archbishop of Mainz and prince-bishop of Worms from 1763 (from 1768).

Life

Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim was born in the Dreikönigenhaus and is one of the most important archbishops of Mainz in the 18th century . Before his election he was already dean of the cathedral and since 1752 he was also a close associate of the grand court master Count Anton Heinrich Friedrich von Stadion , who had been one of the most important representatives of enlightened ideas at the electoral court of Mainz at the time of elector Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein .

After the death of Johann Friedrich Karl on June 4, 1763, Emmerich Joseph was elected as the new archbishop and elector by the Mainz cathedral chapter on July 5, 1763, after he had drawn an opposing candidate on his side . On November 13th of the same year he received the episcopal ordination .

The election of Emmerich Joseph was welcomed by the citizens, as he was what one calls an affable and open-minded, in short, popular pastor. One of his greatest achievements was the importation of Polish grain by sea after the price of bread had more than tripled in the 1771 famine. The apostolic nunciature and the imperial court in Vienna were less satisfied , since Emmerich Joseph was considered too friendly to the French. After all, he was a supporter of Enlightenment ideas.

Imperial politics

The new elector had hardly any leeway in terms of imperial politics. Since the Thirty Years' War at the latest , the Holy Roman Empire was nothing more than a loose patchwork quilt. One of the most important imperial political tasks was the election and coronation of the German kings. With the Electoral College, Emmerich Joseph elected the Habsburg Joseph II as the Roman-German King and thus the designated successor of Emperor Franz I Stephan on January 7, 1764 . In addition, the elector was not allowed to influence the imperial politics, which hardly existed any more. After all, the archbishopric and electoral state were spared wars during his era.

Relationship to the Enlightenment: Emmerich Joseph as a reformer

The importance of Emmerich Joseph can be seen above all in the implementation of an enlightened reform program. First of all, this affected all areas of administration, economics, law and finance. Care for the people and the poor was also significantly expanded, which the citizens appreciated especially in the face of recurring famine.

Personal bishop's staff (1763) with St. Martin and vine tendrils, today in the Speyer Cathedral Treasury , Historisches Museum der Pfalz , Speyer

Reforms in the universal Church and in society

Like his predecessor, Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein, Emmerich Joseph once again reduced the number of public holidays and thus increased labor productivity, which, along with other reforms, benefited the state budget. The services were formally simplified and the processional system was restricted. From 1768 he also reformed the schools and monasteries, which at that time had a significant impact on public life. Bringing enlightenment thoughts into these institutions made them a public matter. Central points of his school reform were the exemption of teachers from church service, their fixed salary and the establishment of a teachers' academy that opened on May 1, 1771.

Reform of the monastic system and abolition of the Jesuit order

The monasteries too soon felt the "new wind". Immediately after his election, Emmerich Joseph lifted the influential Jesuits' immunity and gradually withdrew their privileges. From 1770 the entire monastic life was increasingly regulated. The monasteries were mostly viewed by the Enlightenment as outdated institutions, with great wealth and too much power accumulated. The new spirit found its way into the governments of Europe and led to the abolition of the Jesuit order by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. At the same time, the Catholic Church reduced its influence on the upbringing and education of future generations. As a result, the Jesuits were mostly assigned to monasteries in Kurmainz and were forced to leave their communities there; the university was reorganized by Emmerich Joseph.

The relentless action of the otherwise rather tolerant archbishop against the Jesuits is explained by his image of this order. Emmerich Joseph saw in the Jesuits above all the representatives of a hierarchically structured Catholic Church controlled by the papacy. At the time of Emmerich Joseph there were countercurrents against Roman centralism that wanted to strengthen the rights of the episcopate . Emmerich Joseph tried to push back the Roman influence on his archbishopric, but he did not succeed because of disagreements between the three clerical electors ( Mainz , Cologne , Trier ) and the emperor's lack of interest. The idea of ​​a German Catholic national church based on the Protestant model should, however, be discussed more often in the future. Emmerich Joseph's successor Archbishop Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal also pursued such ideas. Finally, the abolition of the Jesuits gave Emmerich Joseph the opportunity to dissolve the Jesuit communities in his archbishopric.

The archbishop died on June 11, 1774. He was buried in Mainz Cathedral , the west tower of which he had had Franz Ignaz Michael Neumann renewed from his private fortune after a lightning strike in 1767 .

Honors

The Emmerich-Josef-Strasse in Mainz and Frankfurt am Main , as well as Emrichruhstrasse in Mainz-Mombach , were named after him .

Emmerichshofen Castle , built north of Kahl am Main in 1766, was named after Emmerich Joseph .

The former Emmerichsthal glassworks and a hamlet belonging to the Obersinn market in the Main-Spessart district were named after Emmerich Joseph.

Today's Rabanus-Maurus-Gymnasium in Mainz, which emerged from the Mainz Jesuit School in 1773/74, was subsequently called the Electoral Mainzisches Emmerizianisches Gymnasium.

Others

His prince-bishop's coat of arms is placed in sandstone above the west portal of the Catholic parish church St. Petrus und Paulus in Großostheim , whose baroque renovation and heightening of all three naves had been commissioned by the prince-bishop as the builder around 1771.

Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim had the nickname "Emmerich Joseph Breitfass von Schütt-es-ein". Friedrich Wilhelm Philipp Oertel, under the pseudonym WO von Horn, has the high alcohol consumption of the Elector indicated by this and some of his traits in the story "Churfürst Emmerich Joseph von Mainz and the peasant woman from Zahlbach" in "The Spinning Room: A People's Book for the Year 1865" "reproduced.

literature

Web links

Commons : Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach zu Bürresheim  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Haus: Chronicle of the city of Aschaffenburg . Aschaffenburg 1855, p. 5 ff .
  2. ^ Karl Otmar von Aretin : Das Reich: Peace guarantee and European balance, 1648-1806 , Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart, 1986, ISBN 978-3-608-91074-2 , p. 416
  3. ↑ One of the earliest Catholic enlighteners on the bishop's chair. New publication on Archbishop Emmerich Joseph von Breidbach-Bürresheim
  4. ^ The Catholic parish church St. Petrus and Paulus in Großostheim in gallery: Photos of beautiful old coats of arms no. 2304. Großostheim (district of Aschaffenburg, Lower Franconia) , private heraldry website; accessed on January 25, 2018
predecessor Office successor
Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein Archbishop Elector of Mainz
1763–1774 		Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal
Johann Philipp II. Baron von Walderdorff Prince-Bishop of Worms
1768–1774 		Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal
personal data
SURNAME Breidbach zu Bürresheim, Emmerich Joseph von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Breidbach zu Bürresheim, Emmerich Joseph Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Elector and Archbishop of Mainz and Prince-Bishop of Worms
DATE OF BIRTH November 12, 1707
PLACE OF BIRTH Koblenz
DATE OF DEATH June 11, 1774
Place of death Mainz