Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel

Franz-Wilhelm von Spiegel

Baron Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel zum Desenberg (born January 30, 1752 at Canstein Castle (near Marsberg ); † August 6, 1815 there ) was a Westphalian nobleman, supporter of the Enlightenment , civil servant and minister of the state of Electoral Cologne .

Family and education

Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel came from one of the leading noble families in the Duchy of Westphalia . His father Theodor Hermann von Spiegel (1712–1779) had been Landdrost since 1758 and thus the highest representative of the Cologne state in its Westphalian outskirts . One of Franz Wilhelm's half-brothers was Ferdinand-August (1764–1835), who later became Archbishop of Cologne (from 1825).

At first, von Spiegel was tutored by a private tutor. At the age of ten he became a page at the court of Elector Max Friedrich in Bonn . Franz Wilhelm received his school education at the local page institute - a teaching institution for the nobility of the electoral state. In addition to numerous unqualified teachers, the scientific subjects were supervised by educated Jesuits . He then studied mainly law in Leuven and Göttingen . The later Prussian reformer Freiherr vom Stein was one of his college friends in Göttingen .

During his studies, von Spiegel became familiar with the ideas of the Enlightenment and was even an active member of a Masonic lodge for a short time under the name " Franciscus Eques ab Unione " . In 1802 he subsequently formulated his basic enlightenment position, which was decisive for his work. " That which, with the advancing understanding, cannot withstand the criticism of either pure or practical reason, falls apart ."

After completing his studies, he was first advisor to the Cologne government in Bonn in 1775 . Despite his aversion to the clergy, the enlightener applied for a canon position for financial reasons. In 1776 he went to Rome to prove that he was studying theology . After his stay there he received the minor orders and got a canon position in Hildesheim . A short time later there was a canon position in Münster and the ordination as a subdeacon.

Landdrost in the Duchy of Westphalia

After the death of his father (1779), von Spiegel successfully applied for his position as Land drost and drafted a memorandum on the reform of the duchy in line with Josephinism : “Thoughts on the real causes of the decline of our land and how it was is to be remedied. ” In it he called, among other things, a fairer distribution of taxes, state economic development measures or the establishment of elementary schools. To better organize the school system, a school commission for the duchy was set up in 1781. For a clergyman (at least in terms of title) the proposal was remarkable to abolish all monasteries and monasteries in the duchy and to use the proceeds to turn the Laurentianum grammar school in Arnsberg into a model educational institution.

He also devoted himself to the reform of the judiciary and "Polizey" in their extensive meaning at the time. This also included the construction of a "penitentiary" in Arnsberg, the later seat of the Prussian government and today's administrative court. However, many of Spiegel's enlightenment attempts were unsuccessful and met with rejection from the nobility, the clergy and the bourgeoisie alike. However, Spiegel was in agreement with the estates in their endeavor to preserve the independence of the Duchy in relation to the claims of Kurköln.

Leading electoral minister in Bonn

Maximilian Franz (Elector of Cologne)

After Elector Max Franz took office , Franz Wilhelm moved to Bonn in the government of the entire state. In this capacity, he now followed a clear course to extend the electoral rights in the Duchy of Westphalia. As a minister, he became a well-known and occasionally celebrated personality throughout Germany. In 1786, as president of the court chamber, he became something like the finance minister of the electoral state. In this capacity, he successfully cleared the financial management mess. This also included moving the customs posts in the interior of the Duchy of Westphalia to the borders. He introduced similar customs reforms for navigation on the Rhine. Another aspect of the reform was the reorganization of forestry in Westphalia. Von Spiegel also advocated a reform of the Mining Authority of the Duchy of Westphalia based on the Prussian model. In addition, von Spiegel took care of a reform of the administration of the electoral state as a whole. In place of aristocratic favoritism, the approach of court councilors according to ability and education appeared.

With the simultaneous appointment to the court academy council, he was also responsible for educational and cultural policy. In this office in particular, he was able to implement enlightenment ideas. This included a reform of the elementary school system (compulsory education, improving teacher training, etc.). In the Duchy of Westphalia, the pastor and pedagogue Friedrich Adolf Sauer was entrusted with the reform of teacher training and a standard for elementary schooling was created through the introduction of the so-called "normal schools". In addition, with the " industrial schools " an attempt was made to impart commercial knowledge in addition to normal schooling. The grammar schools in Arnsberg and Bonn received new structures and the Bonn Academy was expanded into a university (1786). As university curator, von Spiegel formulated the goal of the establishment unequivocally: " The goal of the new institute is to lead the Enlightenment in the Rhineland-Westphalia region to victory!"

With this, von Spiegel could be sure of the approval of the Enlightenment public, but despite the support of the elector, he met with considerable resistance, especially in the Cologne cathedral chapter up to the curia in Rome. Spiegel was accused of allowing heresy and unbelief at the university and was even accused of “democratic” tendencies, although von Spiegel had clearly spoken out against the French Revolution.

The end of the course state and last years of life

With the beginning of the Revolutionary Wars, a military commission was founded in Bonn, whose chairman was von Spiegel. Although the relationship between Max Franz and von Spiegel cooled significantly, he remained in the service of the state. After the occupation of the Rhineland in 1794, large parts of the national territory were lost. It now mainly consisted of the Westphalian parts of the country. The cathedral chapter moved to Arnsberg and the court chamber to Brilon. After Max Franz's death, von Spiegel had largely lost his influence in the rest of the state. Ultimately, he passed out and watched the transition from the Duchy of Westphalia to Hessen-Darmstadt. The attempt to recommend himself to the new masters with a memorandum on the secularization of the monasteries as officials was ultimately unsuccessful.

Spiegel's personality was contradicting itself. In matters of religion and education, von Spiegel was an important enlightener. However, he was conservative on political issues. After the abolition of the Westphalian estates and some noble privileges by the Hesse-Darmstadt government (1806), he was outraged.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Harm Klueting: History of Westphalia, The land between the Rhine and Weser from the 8th to the 20th century , Paderborn 1998. p. 203.
2. ^ Harm Klueting: Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel and his plan of secularization for the Duchy of Westphalia. In: Westfälische Zeitschrift Vol. 131/132 1981/82 pp. 47-68

literature

• von Schulte:  Spiegel zum Desenberge, Franz Wilhelm Freiherr von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 35, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, p. 155 f.
• Johannes Stemmer: Baron Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel zum Desenberg . In: From the crosier in Cologne to the Hessian lion to the Prussian eagle. Arnsberg, 2003. pp. 208-211.
• Alexander Freiherr von Elverfeldt: The economic development of Freiherr Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel to Desenberg in the Canstein lordship . In: Yearbook Hochsauerlandkreis, year 1989. P. 14f.
• The chronicle of the life of Baron Franz Wilhelm von Spiegel to this mountain. At the same time a contribution to the history of the Enlightenment in Rhineland-Westphalia, edit. v. Max Braubach (Publications of the Historical Commission of the Provincial Institute for Westphalian Regional Studies and Folklore 19; Westphalian Letters and Memorabilia 4), Münster 1952.
• Patrick Sensburg : The great lawyers of the Sauerland . 22 biographies of outstanding legal scholars. 1st edition. FW Becker, Arnsberg 2002, ISBN 978-3-930264-45-2 (276 pages).
• Mirror to this mountain, Franz Wilhelm Freiherr von. In: Josef Niesen : Bonner Personenlexikon. 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Bouvier, Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-416-03352-7 , pp. 451 f.