Konrad von Hüneburg

Konrad von Hüneburg (or Hunenburg), (* before 1170; † October 29, 1202 in Strasbourg ) was from 1190 to 1202 Elect and Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg under the rule of Emperor Heinrich VI. , the Roman-German King Philip of Swabia and Emperor Otto IV. , under the pontificate of Clement III. , Celestine III. and Innocent III.

Origin and family

Hunebourg Castle today

He came from the Lower Alsatian family of the Lords of Hüneburg or Hunenburg, who provided landgraves in Lower Alsace in the 12th century , and first appeared in a document from 1185 as archdeacon of the Strasbourg church. The Lords of Hüneburg were patrons of the Abbeys of Neuwiller and Honau .

His father Eberhard von Hüneburg received the castle on the red sandstone cliffs of the Lower Vosges of Folmar, Count of Metz and Vogt von Neuwiller, who Eberhard built the castle in 1122 left behind four sons: Eberhard, Konrad, Otto and Werner. The eldest continued the family, but it died out in 1351 with Johann von Hüneburg. The youngest founded the monastery of the Holy Trinity in Strasbourg. and was buried there. Otto was killed.

The Hüneburg inherited the title of episcopal arch marshal, which was then passed on to the Lords of Lichtenberg . The arch marshal commanded the episcopal forces.

Spiritual and worldly sovereignty

Dioceses on the Rhine

The Strasbourg bishop had been Prince of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation since the early Middle Ages . In personal union with his spiritual power, as sovereign he exercised a secular rule over the bishopric of Strasbourg , which over the centuries developed into an institutional, but territorially fragmented state.

The spiritual influence of the Strasbourg bishop went beyond the bishopric, because only two dioceses administered the Alsatian territory with numerous independent imperial cities, ecclesiastical and secular dominions: the Strasbourg diocese in the north and the Basel diocese in the south.

Live and act

In the spring of 1190, after Heinrich von Hasenburg's death, he was elected bishop . He accompanied King Henry VI. on his journey to Rome as bishop and received on April 17, 1191 in the camp near Frascati from the emperor a considerable donation for his diocese. Konrad remained a loyal supporter of the emperor and supported his plans for a reform of the imperial constitution. However, he had been feuding with Heinrich's brother, Count Palatine Otto of Burgundy , since 1196 .

With the emperor's death he converted from the Hohenstaufen to the Guelph party. Konrad now attacked beyond Otto's territory also the imperial estate in Alsace, which he considered ownerless. So he openly converted to the opposing party and became the leader of the hostile league on the Upper Rhine. He also supported the election of the Guelph Otto IV in the summer of 1198 as German king.

While Konrad was staying with King Otto in Cologne and Aachen, King Philip of Swabia broke into Alsace and burned several episcopal cities and castles. The bishop's position became more isolated and desperate every day. When Philip appeared again in Alsace in the summer of 1199 and reached the walls of Strasbourg, Conrad was forced to submit by the citizens of Strasbourg, as no help could be expected from King Otto. From Philip he received the task of the Strasbourg church loan. Nevertheless, Konrad remained a supporter of the Guelphs. However, he no longer dared to openly resist. He could no longer escape the Hohenstaufen sphere of influence.

Under Konrad the development of the Strasbourg community made considerable progress. A significant expansion of the city is linked to its name. Until the summer of 1199, Konrad appeared as lord of the city. It was only during the siege of Philip that the citizens made themselves mistress of the situation and forced the bishop to surrender the city. In the last years of his government, the beginnings of an independent, communal regiment can then be documented with certainty. The city council was made up of ministers and citizens and had its own seal . Around the turn of the century, the second Strasbourg city law was probably created, which specified the criminal and administrative powers of that council.

This loss of episcopal rights is offset by large land acquisitions for the diocese. These include acquisitions in Breisgau and the contract with Otto von Geroldseck on the ownership of Zabern . On October 29, 1202, Konrad ended his eventful life and was buried in the St. Andrew's Chapel in the minster .

literature

• Wilhelm Wiegand:  Konrad von Hunenburg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, pp. 621-623.
• Franz Joseph Fuchs:  Konrad II. Hunenburg. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 12, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1980, ISBN 3-428-00193-1 , p. 528 ( digitized version ).
• Ludwig Gabriel Glöckler: History of the diocese of Strasbourg. Printed by Le Roux, Strasbourg 1879, pp. 215-223.
• Hermann Bloch: Regests of the bishops of Strasbourg. published by the Commission for the Editing of Alsatian Historical Sources, Part 1: The Annals of the Alsatian Staufer Period. Publishing house of the Wagner University and bookstore. Innsbruck, 1908.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hermann Bloch: Regesten No. 657 to 661.
2. ↑ Hermann Bloch: Regest No. 660.
3. ^ ^{A b c} Glöckler: History of the diocese of Strasbourg. P. 215.
4. ↑ Dieter Mertens: The Prince. Medieval realities and ideas. Cologne, 1998, p. 71.
5. ^ Ernst Schubert: Reichsfürst In: Lexikon des Mittelalters. VII, p. 617 f.

Remarks

1. ↑ He is mentioned in April 1190 in Worms as "electus"
2. ↑ As such, he has to mediate between the von Honau brothers
3. ↑ This chapel was near the minster in Fladengasse. It was destroyed during the Reformation.
4. ↑ Around 1190 there were 92 ecclesiastical and 22 secular imperial princes, among them the Bishop of Strasbourg