Sigmund Alphons of Thun

Sigmund Alphons von Thun (born November 1, 1621 at Thun Castle in Nonsberg , † March 2, 1677 in Trient ) was Prince-Bishop of Brixen from 1663 to 1677 and Prince-Bishop of Trient from 1669 to 1677 .

Origin and education

Sigmund Alphons von Thun was born in 1621 on the family seat of Schloss Thun in Nonsberg. His parents were Wolfgang Dietrich von Thun and Margarete Countess von Castell Bragher. The Thun were a noble family from South Tyrol, originally ministerials of the Trento bishops. The main line to which Sigmund Alphons belonged was raised to the rank of imperial count in 1629.

Sigmund Alphons studied from 1641 to 1646 at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome. In 1637, after the resignation of his uncle Christoph Reinhard von Thun, he became domicellar in Brixen and Trient, and in 1641 in Brixen cathedral capitular . On August 24, 1646 he was ordained priest in Brixen. On July 5, 1652 he was appointed archdeacon by the Trento bishop Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo .

bishop

On May 21, 1663, Thun was elected Bishop of Brixen by the cathedral chapter . He took possession of his diocese on September 16, 1663, and received papal confirmation on December 10, 1663. On February 5, 1664, he was ordained bishop from Brixen Auxiliary Bishop Jesse Perkhofer . The regalia were to him on 1 April 1664 by Emperor Leopold I. granted.

Thun reintroduced the consistory , but in 1676 reappointed a vicar general . He had his diocese visited , he himself visited the Pustertal and the cathedral chapter. He was in a dispute with the cathedral chapter because he ignored the election surrender. The attempt to abolish the seminary in 1666 led to conflict . The award of the cathedral provost to Thun's candidates by the Pope, against the will of the cathedral chapter, led to new disputes. There was also a conflict with the Tyrolean sovereign who tried to restrict the sovereignty of the bishopric. When Sigismund Franz von Tirol wanted to redeem Michelsburg, Schöneck and the lower third of Rodeneck pledged by his predecessor to Brixen, Thun refused. The landscape took possession of the Brixen property in Tyrol when Bishop Thun refused to give presents to the imperial family, as is customary on festive occasions. Thun then gave in and also agreed to a tax increase for the landscape in 1776.

On January 9, 1669, under pressure from Austria, Thun was elected Bishop of Trento by the cathedral chapter with a narrow majority. It was not until September 9, 1669 that he received confirmation from the Pope and permission to keep the diocese of Brixen. The possession took place on March 31, 1670. His tenure in Trento was also marked by disputes.

Thun had the Palazzo Pretorio renovated and sponsored the Accademia degli Accesi. He died on March 2, 1677 in Trento and was buried in the Cathedral of Trento .

literature

• Josef Gelmi : Thun, Sigmund Alphons Reichsfreiherr (Reichsgraf since 1629) of. In: Erwin Gatz (Ed.): The Bishops of the Holy Roman Empire. 1648 to 1803. Dunker and Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-06763-0 , p. 507 f.

Web links

• Entry on Sigmund Alphons von Thun on catholic-hierarchy.org

predecessor	Office	successor
Anton Crosini from Bonporto	Prince-Bishop of Brixen 1663–1677	Paulinus Mayr
Ernst Adalbert von Harrach	Prince-Bishop of Trento 1669–1677	Francesco Alberti di Poja