Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich

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Painting in Aschaffenburg
Coat of arms of the Archbishop of Mainz
Tomb of Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich in Mainz Cathedral

Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich (born October 26, 1665 at Kempenich Castle ; † March 21, 1743 in Mainz ) was Elector and Archbishop of Mainz and Imperial Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation .

Life

He was the son of Johann Anton von Eltz and his wife Anna Maria Antonie Schenk von Schmittburg .

In contrast to his direct and many other of his predecessors, Philipp Karl went through a well-founded theological training. In 1686 he entered Rome in the Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum , the German seminary in the city. Later he became cathedral capitular in Mainz and Trier . In Mainz he also acted as cathedral cantor.

Archbishop of Mainz

After the death of Archbishop Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg , the Mainz cathedral chapter unanimously elected Philipp Karl von Eltz as the new archbishop on June 9, 1732. As archbishop, he was primarily concerned with spiritual matters such as the new edition of liturgical books and the visitation system. The elector, who was almost seventy when he was elected, had a hard time on the political stage.

But it was precisely there that decisions were required of him. In the year of his election, the archbishop had already committed himself, against the granting of a pension of 100,000 guilders per year, to vote for Franz Stephan of Lorraine in a possible king election . This was the husband of the Habsburg emperor's daughter Maria Theresa , to whom after the death of the reigning emperor Charles VI. according to the " Pragmatic Sanction " of 1713 the Austrian succession should fall.

With this commitment, a clear siding with the Habsburgs, Archbishop Kurmainz drew himself into the conflict between Austria and France. The two states initially fought in the War of the Polish Succession from 1733. The war mainly took place on the Rhine border. Because of the danger of being overrun by the overpowering French, Philipp Karl von Eltz had the fortifications of the city of Mainz reinforced and the new armory built (only with great reluctance) . In the years 1733 and 1734, in addition to the Fort Joseph , which had already been built , the forts Welsch , Elisabeth , Philipp and the double pliers to connect the forts Elisabeth and Joseph were built.

In 1736 he bought the Vukovar estate in the eastern Croatian historical region of Slavonia, on which a castle of the Eltz family was later built. From 1736 to 1738 he had the Mainz Castle built in Heiligenstadt im Eichsfeld, which had belonged to the Electorate of Mainz since 1022 , as the residence of the local archbishop's governor.

In 1738, France gave in in the Peace of Vienna , but only to save its economic strength for the war of Austrian Succession, which was emerging as a result of the partial non-recognition of the “Pragmatic Sanction” . This began with the death of Emperor Charles VI. on October 28, 1740. The Prussians under the new King Friedrich II intervened in the following military conflicts . He was allied not only with France, but also with the Electorate of Saxony and Bavaria .

This political constellation let Philipp Karl von Eltz break the promise he had made because he was unable to push through the Habsburg candidate against such resistance. On January 14, 1742, the Wittelsbacher Karl Albrecht of Bavaria was elected as the new emperor. In the same year Austria brought about a coalition against France and Prussia. The elector did not live to see the outcome of this conflict. He died on March 21, 1743 in his episcopal city and was buried in Mainz Cathedral .

literature

  • Heinz Duchhardt : Philipp Karl von Eltz. Elector of Mainz, Arch Chancellor of the Empire (1732–1743). = Sources and treatises on church history in the Middle Rhine region 10. Mainz 1969. ( digitized version )

Web links

Commons : Philipp Karl von Eltz-Kempenich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Alfred Börckel : Mainz as a fortress and garrison from Roman times to the present . Published by J. Diemer, Mainz 1913 (p. 71).
  2. Plan de Mayence de ses nouvelles fortifications et de ses environs - 1736 by Bernard-Antoine Jaillot
predecessor Office successor
Franz Ludwig of Pfalz-Neuburg Elector Archbishop of Mainz
1732–1743
Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein