Joseph von Widnmann

Joseph von Widnmann

Joseph Freiherr von Widnmann (born December 25, 1738 in Munich ; † January 26, 1807 there ) was a civil servant enlightener of the Catholic state church in the Electorate of Bavaria . From 1781 to 1803 he was district judge of Erding and Dorfen and thus involved in the fundamental reforms under Minister Maximilian von Montgelas . He belonged to numerous Catholic associations as well as to Freemasonry .

Life

His parents were Franz Karl Freiherr von Widnmann (1705–1780) and Maria Anna Aloisia Freifrau von Imhoff (d. 1748). His first marriage was to Franziska Freifrau von Gise (1738–1804), later to Johanna Franziska Freifrau von Segesser (1743–1813); both marriages remained childless.

From childhood, Widnmann was involved in traditional religious life. During his time in Ingolstadt he served as the head of the Marian Student Congregation , whereas in later years he was only a passive member of the Munich Greater Latin Congregation . He did not break away from these ties throughout his life, but this is not primarily related to his convictions, but to his position as a (noble) civil servant .

In addition to his work in the church, there is his administrative career. From 1761 to 1781 he made a career as a top civil servant in the Munich central authorities, where he received thorough training in all areas affecting regional rule. During this time he and his friends, Count Morawitzky and Preysing, created a space for educational publications protected from censorship . His social and charitable commitment in the orphanage ob der Au gained fame .

After his transfer as district judge to Erding, where he worked from 1781 to 1803, he joined numerous Catholic brotherhoods according to convention; his election as prefect (chairman) of the Langengeislinger Erzbruderschaft is also related to the post of district judge. He was far removed from the pious Catholic tradition , which was arrested in the Baroque era .

In connection with the reform of the Munich Good Friday procession (1780), Widnmann presented his conception of a purified, internalized practice of religion for the first time. Widnmann went as far as some of his colleagues, such as Anton von Eisenreich , who only accepted the "altar in the heart" Not; for himself and for others he insisted on attending church services regularly on Sundays and major holidays. In the area of ​​education, which he emphatically promoted, he only accepted Christian maxims linked to the principle of utilitarianism . Accordingly, “citizens” had to be Christian and useful. The church interior should be designed in such a way that nothing distracts the prayer. In his sense of art, the Freiherr was a purist, which is why the already simple (early) classicism still seemed too “splendid” and “excessive” to him.

Widnmann acted as a special sponsor of the Maria Dorfen pilgrimage church , which was rebuilt under his direction after a vault collapsed. He donated a side altar to Our Lady and helped finance the bells. The objects acquired or subsidized by Widnmann were adorned by one of the most popular saints of the 18th century, Johannes von Nepomuk , the family patron of the Barons von Widnmann. All family members were also baptized with the names Johann Nepomuk / Johanna Nepomuzene. The Erdinger house chapel, inaugurated in 1783, in which Widnmann took part in the Sunday and holiday service, was under the patronage of this saint, as was the side altar in Maria Dorfen. In addition, the title of this chapel was the Immaculate Conception , an indication that Widnmann in his devotion to the Blessed Mother reform Catholic ideas in their Jansenist severity, ie rejection of Sententia pia the Immaculata conceptio , did not accept. This is also indicated by his membership in the Sacred Heart Brotherhood of Holy Blood (which, however, complies with the conventions) ; the Sacred Heart Devotion was rejected by the Jansenists as a Jesuit devotion.

For people influenced by the Enlightenment , “Jesuits” was a catchy word in the late 18th century , the time of the late Enlightenment . Commonly they recognized obscurantism and the advocacy of antiquated teaching methods in their teaching and work . Widnmann was also an opponent of the Jesuits. As such, he carried the code name of the Mexican / Spanish bishop Palafox (1600-1659), known for his struggle with Jesuitism, in the Munich Freemason lodge . The seminary of the Diocese of Freising was located in Maria Dorfen and from 1778 it was in the hands of ex-Jesuits. Conflicts between them and Widnmann could not be avoided, for example when he regarded the silver from the altar of grace as an unnecessary accessory for the veneration of the Mother of God and considered its removal.

The mendicants and members of the Third Order (hermits), who were accused of spreading superstition and - not least because of the begging way of life - harming the people , met with the same broad rejection of the enlightened contemporaries as the Jesuits .

After Widnmann became a member of the patriot party that was in opposition to Karl Theodor , who was Elector of Bavaria until 1777 and whose country swap projects were involved (as well as Johann Georg von Lori, Johann Euchar von Obermeyer, Joseph Ignaz von Leyden, Johann Kaspar Alois von La Rosée, Joseph von Tattenbach), he had no close contact with this prince or his confidante. Rather, he was pro-Prussian and anti-Austrian.

In 1788 the district judge tried in vain, together with others, to raise the Zweibrücken candidate to the office of bishop of Freising . There were major changes after the new Duke of Bavaria took office in 1999. Widnmann was very fond of the new ruling family around Maximilian IV. Joseph from the Pfalz-Zweibrücken branch and his employees, and not just since the change of government in 1799, but since 1770 / 1780s.

Widnmann was one of the men who, by participating in the great administrative, state and church reform, laid the foundation for modern Bavaria . As a district judge, as part of the reforms of Minister Maximilian von Montgelas in 1802/1803, he carried out the secularization of the Erdinger Capuchins and the Franciscans of Zeilhofen , but proceeded relatively considerately, especially since one of his brothers lived in the Capuchin Order as Father Karl Maria.

In his capacity as landscape ordinator (1803–1807), Widnmann had to deal again with the secularization of the landed monasteries and with the reform program of the Minister Montgelas, which more and more curtailed the rights of the state estates and ultimately led to the abolition of the landed system in 1808. With regard to the abolition of the prelate, he was not one of those decreed who wanted to “monitor” the sovereign because of this status or who wanted to present at least some monasteries to keep at least some monasteries. Unlike the majority of those in office, he did not want to reverse the reforms. Instead, the convinced landed aristocracy called for a state parliament to be convened, where the implementation of further reforms should be negotiated with the sovereign.

The image of priests represented by Widnmann corresponded to that of the Montgela government. The pastor should be a teacher of folk, virtue and morals. He abhorred spiritual "idleness" (he saw it especially in the collegiate pens ). If the priest were to grant spiritual and physical welfare to the people of the church, Widnmann was convinced that he would need an appropriate material supply. His view on this is comparable to the maxims of Josephinism . The parish regulation of Joseph II , which u. a. comprised the transition from being paid in kind to being paid in cash, corresponded to Widnmann's ideas. As a representative of the enlightened state church, he felt called to uphold the sovereign rights on site - in Erding. As a result, he had to recognize an opponent in the responsible office in Freising. During Widnmann's term in office in Erdingen, he and the ordinariate delivered some controversial correspondence. Not infrequently, he went very far in his reports, which were often heavily theoretical. The clergyman then gave the district judge no support. For his part, Widnmann was of the opinion that he was only acting for the benefit of the church. The Catholic Enlightenment quickly recognized that the establishment of a state rule in accordance with the ideas of Enlightened absolutism could only work with the involvement and cooperation of the clergy in the parishes. In particular, Widnmann cooperated, for example in the educational reform, with pastors who adhered to reform Catholic ideals. Since these were in the minority, however, he was able to rely on the orthodox, e.g. In some cases, there are camps organized in regular networks. Widman was particularly closely associated with the ("regulated") secular institute of the Bartholomeans , to which he B. gave his nephew Peter von Widnmann for education.

His understanding of church loyalty did not refer to the Pope or the ordinaries, but to his personal Christian religiosity . He ignored the papal condemnations of Freemasonry , rather he wanted to improve his morality through the Lodge and work charitable. For a short time he was also a member of the Illuminati Order , which was banned in Bavaria in 1785.

The basic aim of Widnmann's administration of Erdinger was to implement the demands resulting from the principles of the Enlightenment in his opinion in everyday life on site. He pursued this goal for a period of over 20 years. He had given up his prestigious post in the regional government for this. Widnmann tried to initiate and carry out reforms in almost all areas - and there were quite a few in a regional court . The Bavarian nursing commissioners and district judges (as well as those parts of the clergy who were willing to cooperate) were assigned an important role in the implementation of the reform program, as it primarily depended on them whether the many reform approaches and plans were able to take effect before 1799 or whether they were got stuck in the beginning.

The physiocrat Widnmann had a patriarchal interest in the welfare of the wealthy and poor rural population. He also expressed this interest through his membership in the field cultivation company of Seefeld am Pilsensee . Widnmann was known as the “king of the peasants” and the “bread father of the poor”. At the same time, however, he declared war on the beggars who, in his view, were not willing to work. An inflammatory article in the German viewer from 1785, which accused him of being a "peasant smuggler", must have hit him hard.

Widnmann devoted himself to the reorganization of agriculture with preference. For example, he cultivated the Erdinger Moos (with the distribution of new land to craftsmen, smallholders and day laborers ), promoted the mining of peat and tuff , initiated the drainage of the Erdinger Herzoggraben and the associated softening of the city.

During these measures Widnmann encountered the sometimes vehement resistance of the (property owners) farmers and, as a declared opponent of municipal violence, the citizens . His regional court had a pioneering position with regard to the spread of the lightning rod (from 1782) and the introduction of fire insurance (from 1800).

The partial realization of ideas of the Enlightenment remained elitist in the provinces (that is, in the central and subordinate authorities), ie the traditional elites tried to win the people over to some of these ideas and to push through government reform plans. Widnmann succeeded in making his ideals known to the citizens and farmers (e.g. to prevent cattle epidemics, he had a guideline printed for distribution among the people), but many things met with rejection, some were only accepted out of a favor to him, soon dropped again, few found lasting approval. There can only be limited talk of sustainable public education. The peasants had not yet heard anything good from the authorities and were also suspicious of measures that were taken for their and their community's benefit; they could hardly be induced to change their traditional management. Nevertheless, the reforms ordered from above were significant for the modernization of Bavaria.

Since Widnmann did not publish anything, he was well known among his contemporaries, but is largely forgotten today.

See also

• Widnmann Palace in Erding

literature

• Claudius Stein: State Church, Reform Catholicism and Orthodoxy in the Electorate of Bavaria of the Late Enlightenment. The Erdinger district judge Joseph von Widnmann and his environment (1781–1803) (series of publications on Bavarian regional history 157), Munich 2007

Web links

• Literature by and about Joseph von Widnmann in the catalog of the German National Library