Franz Karl von Velbrück

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Franz Karl von Velbrück

Franz Karl Reichsgraf von Velbrück, French François-Charles de Velbrück or Velbruck (born June 11, 1719 at Garath Castle near Düsseldorf , † April 30, 1784 at Heks Castle, Borgloon near Tongeren ) was Prince-Bishop of Liège from 1772 to 1784 .

Life

His parents were Maximilian Heinrich Reichsgraf von Velbrück and his wife Marie-Anne von Wachtendonck zu Germenseel. As early as 1735, the then 16-year-old count was offered the post of canon of the Lambertus Cathedral in Liège , which his brother Adam had previously refused to accept. He now studied canon law in Douai and Reims and was called back to Liège in 1743 after the death of Georg Ludwig von Berghes to enter the service of the new Prince-Bishop Johann Theodor von Bayern .

In 1746 von Velbrück became Minister of the Liège State Government. At the end of 1757, the Cologne Elector awarded him a cathedral priest from Münster . After the death of Karl von Oultremont he was proposed on January 16, 1772 for the office of Prince-Bishop and confirmed therein on March 30 of the same year. This was followed on 26 April 1772 his ordination to the priesthood and on May 5, the episcopal ordination .

The reign of Velbrücks was strongly influenced by the Age of Enlightenment and shaped by the liberal sentiment in the entire Liège diocese. So it is not surprising that von Velbrück not only had a lover - Maria Christine Josefine de Bouget , known as "la belle Stinette" - but also fathered two sons with her. Although this relationship was accepted by the then extremely tolerant Liège society, Christine married the Liège lawyer and later mayor Baron Nicolas Mathieu de Graillet et d'Oupeye on November 30, 1758 at Velbrück's insistence .

Franz Karl, who used to stay in his hunting lodge Heks near Borgloon in spring and autumn , suffered a stroke there on April 29, 1784 and died the following day in the afternoon in the arms of his eldest son Charles-François Graillet, who had rushed over from Liège which came from the Maitressen relationship between Velbrück and Madame de Graillet. Velbrück's body was transferred to Liège and buried there in the cathedral. His nephew and heir built a magnificent mausoleum for him, which was destroyed after the French Revolution when, under the supervision of the "Commission destructive de la cathédrale", the demolition of the Lambertus Cathedral was tackled as a symbol of the reign of the Prince-Bishop. The remains of Velbrück were brought to the chapel of the Carmelite convent in Potay in Liège, where they remained until 1937. From there they were transferred to Heks and buried in the parish church of Heks.

Von Velbrück was a member of the Liege Illuminati Order Sociètè d'Emulation , and allegedly, but not proven, a Freemason and master of the chair of the La Parfaite Intelligence lodge .

literature

  • Dwelshauwers-Dery, Histoire de la Franc-Maçonnerie à Liège avant 1820 , Brussels, 1879.
  • Henri Francotte , La propagande des Encyclopédistes français au Pays de Liège , Brussels, Hayez, 1880.
  • Jules Helbig , Éloge académique du Prince de Velbruck , 1881.
  • Paul Duchaine, La Franc-Maçonnerie Belge au XVIIIe siècle , Brussels, 1911
  • Bertrand Van der Schelden, La franc-maçonnerie belge sous le régime autrichien , Leuven, 1923
  • Paul Harsin, Velbruck, sa carrière politique et son élection à l'épiscopat liégeois , in La Vie Wallonne , décembre 1924 et janvier 1925.
  • Paul Harsin, Velbruck, le prince, l'évêque , in: La Terre wallonne , may 1929, p. 70.
  • Georges de Froidcourt, François-Charles, comte de Velbruck, prince-évêque de Liège, Franc-maçon , Liège, 1936.
  • Georges de Froidcourt, Velbrück prince-évêque philosophe , Liège, Gothier et fils, 1948.
  • Wilhelm Baum: Franz Karl von Velbrück (1719-1784), Prince-Bishop of Lüttich, in: Düsseldorfer Jahrbücher 57/58, 1980, pp. 428–440.
  • Un siècle de franc-maçonnerie dans nos régions, 1740-1840 , Brussels, 1983
  • Daphné Parthoens, La politique intérieure du prince-évêque François-Charles de Velbrück (1772-1784) , in: Annuaire d'Histoire Liégeoise , t. 34, n ° 58, 2004, p. 1-174

Web links

Commons : Franz Karl von Velbrück  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Het oude land van Luik" at scarlet.be
  2. ↑ Dwelshauwers-Dery, himself a Freemason in the La Parfaite Intelligence et l'Etoile Réunies lodge in Liège, wrote: Après avoir fouillé nombre d'archives inconnues jusqu'ici, je n'ai trouvé aucune preuve que le Prince de Velbrück ait été franc-maçon .
  3. ↑ List of famous Belgian Freemasons ( Memento from July 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
predecessor Office successor
Charles of Oultremont Bishop of Liège
1772–1784 		Caesar Constantin Franz von Hoensbroech
personal data
SURNAME Velbrück, Franz Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Velbrück, Franz Karl Reichsgraf von; Velbrück, Francois Charles de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bishop of Liege
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1719
PLACE OF BIRTH Garath Castle near Düsseldorf
DATE OF DEATH April 30, 1784
Place of death Liege