Plazidus Zurlauben

Plazidus Zurlauben

Plazidus Zurlauben (born August 13, 1646 in Bremgarten ; † September 14, 1723 at Sandegg Castle ) was a Swiss Benedictine monk . From 1684 to 1701 he was abbot , then until his death first prince abbot of the Muri monastery in the free offices (in today's canton of Aargau ).

biography

Coat of arms of Prince Abbot Plazidus

Plazidus Zurlauben came from the respected Zug family of Zurlauben . His parents were Beat Jakob Zurlauben, Landschreiber of the Free Offices in Bremgarten and later Ammann in Zug, as well as his first wife Maria Barbara Reding von Biberegg, sister of the Hermit Abbot Augustin Reding . On June 17, 1663, Zurlauben made his profession in Muri , and was ordained a priest on March 22, 1670 . From 1672 he worked as a teacher at the monastery school , whose preceptor he became in 1674. From 1680 to 1684 he was secretary of the Swiss Benedictine Congregation . Five days after the death of Hieronymus Troger , he was elected the new abbot on March 14, 1684.

Zurlauben was very much concerned with representation. Just a few months after his election, he decided to completely rebuild the monastery complex. He commissioned the architect Caspar Moosbrugger , who at that time lived in Einsiedeln Abbey as a lay brother, to do the planning . The beginning was made in 1685/86 the abbot's chapel and abbot's apartment in the east wing. A new west wing followed in 1694 with study rooms and a cabinet of art and rarities, and in 1696 a new south wing with a monastery school, kitchen and refectory . In addition, various economic buildings were built around the turn of the century. The most important building project concerned the monastery church , which no longer met the needs of the time. According to plans by the Ticino plasterer Giovanni Battista Bettini, Zurlauben had the nave replaced between 1694 and 1697 by an octagon modeled on Northern Italy. The Loreto Chapel was built in the cloister . The renewed and expanded monastery complex was now predominantly characterized by baroque architecture. In 1700/01 Zurlauben also had Horben Castle built on the Lindenberg near Muri , which subsequently served as the monks' summer residence and rest home.

From 1686 to 1709 Zurlauben was one of the visitors of the Benedictine Congregation. He also expanded the existing court and land rule of the Abbey in Thurgau : in 1693 he acquired the rule of Sandegg in Salenstein , and five years later the rule of Eppishausen in Erlen . At the end of 1699 he was visiting Rome .

Pectorals from Abbot Placidus Zurlauben. Gift from Emperor Charles VI. around 1723

He achieved the greatest gain in prestige in 1701. In mid-June, Count Franz Ehrenreich von Trautmannsdorf, Austrian ambassador to the Diet , was a guest in Muri. He suggested to the abbot to buy the title of prince for himself and his successors. The usual tariff at the time was 45,000 guilders ; Zurlauben received it for 12,000 guilders due to the historical relationship between the Habsburgs and the abbey. The letter of arms issued on December 20, 1701 and sealed by Emperor Leopold I confirmed the elevation to the rank of high nobility. The umbrella locations reacted skeptically at first, as the Confederation had not formally belonged to the Holy Roman Empire since 1648 . Only when Trautmannsdorf gave the assurance that their rights would not be curtailed could the umbrella locations decide to congratulate the new prince abbot. Lucerne took its time the longest, until 1705 . The solemn inauguration took place on March 26, 1702. As members of the imperial prince Council had the prince abbots of Muri the right to diets take what nor his successors ever took neither Zurlauben to complete.

Zurlauben built a rulership territory on the upper Neckar for the abbey , consisting of goods and rights that impoverished Imperial Knights of the knightly canton of Neckar-Black Forest sold out of financial distress. The territory included several villages around Horb am Neckar and Sulz am Neckar . It all began in 1706 with the acquisition of the Glatt estate with Glatt Castle . The villages of Diessen, Dettlingen and Haidenhof followed in 1708, and finally Dettensee in 1715 . In 1725, Zurlauben's successor acquired the village of Dettingen , and in 1743 the Neckarhausen manor. The total cost of buying the territory was 310,000 guilders.

During the Second Villmerger War in 1712, the monks sought refuge in Lucerne. The monastery treasure, archive and library were also transferred there, while Zurlauben himself traveled as far as Milan . The monastery remained undisturbed, but war taxes, confiscations and damage to the collatures caused considerable financial losses. Muri, which was considered to be the richest abbey in Switzerland, was soon able to make amends. On the occasion of his golden jubilee as a priest, Zurlauben had various ducats minted in 1720. In the same year he was the godfather of the future abbot Martin Gerbert von St. Blasien, who was born in Horb am Neckar . Zurlauben died on September 14, 1723 in Sandegg Castle in Thurgau. His body was buried in the Rheinau monastery church , the heart in the Muri monastery church.

Works

• Moral sermons of praise and honor. Train 1691.

literature

• Martin Kiem: History of the Benedictine Abbey Muri-Gries. Volume 2: The History of Muri in Modern Times. Stans 1891, pp. 138-177.
• Bruno Meier: The Muri Monastery - History and Present of the Benedictine Abbey . here + now , Baden 2011, ISBN 978-3-03919-215-1 .
• Pascal Pauli: The Muri monastery becomes a prince abbey. An act with political explosive power? In: Our home . tape 80 , 2013, p. 59-76 .
• Rainer Stöckli: The Zurlauben family and the free offices. In: Our home 50 (1978) pp. 12–37.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Albert Iten, Tugium Sacrum 2, Zug 1973, p. 194.
2. ↑ Staub, De Origine Congregationis, p. 67.
3. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. Pp. 85-89.
4. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. P.56.
5. ↑ Staub, De Origine Congregationis, p. 66.
6. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. P. 40.
7. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. Pp. 103-105.
8. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. P. 40.
9. ↑ Meier: The Muri Monastery. P. 89.
10. ^ Georg Germann: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Aargau, Vol. 5: Der Bezirk Muri, Bern 1967, p. 222.
11. ^ Georg Pfeilschifter, Correspondence of Prince Abbot Martin II. Gerbert, 1st volume, Karlsruhe 1931, No. 386.

predecessor	Office	successor
Hieronymus II. Troger	Abbot of Muri 1684–1701	----
----	Abbot of Muri 1701–1723	Gerold I. Haimb