Sigmund Christoph von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg

Sigmund Christoph Reichserbtruchseß von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg ; Also Sigmund Christoph Graf von Zeil and Trauchburg (* 28. August 1754 in Munich , † 7. November 1814 in Salzburg ) was from 1797 to 1808 Prince Bishop of Chiemsee , 1797-1812 Vicar General , 1808-1812 coadjutor and 1812-1814 Administrator of Salzburg . During the French occupation of Salzburg in 1809, he was appointed President of the General State Administration.

Life

Pedigree

Grave of Sigmund Christoph

Memorial plaque in the Salzburg Cathedral

His parents were the Reichserbtruchsess Franz Anton von Waldburg-Zeil and his wife Maria Anna Countess von Waldburg zu Trauchburg . They determined Sigmund Christoph to the clergy, which is why he became canon in Cologne in 1768 . At first he studied philosophy privately at the Swabian family castle Zeil and from 1770–1772 law in Salzburg . In 1776 he became a member of the cathedral chapters in Salzburg and Constance . 1777–1778 he studied theology in Salzburg, where he was ordained a priest on March 19, 1779 and in 1781 rose to the position of cathedral dean.

Like his uncle, the Chiemsee bishop Ferdinand Christoph von Waldburg-Zeil , he was a moderate supporter of the Enlightenment .

After the death of the Chiemsee Prince-Bishop Franz Xaver von Breuner , Archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo appointed Sigmund Christoph von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg as his successor on April 1, 1797. The episcopal ordination by the archbishop took place on April 7th of the same year in Salzburg Cathedral . Like several of his predecessors, he also held the office of Vicar General in Salzburg.

Since his possibilities of action were limited by the archbishop's legal and administrative sovereignty and electoral regulations in the Bavarian part of his district , he dedicated himself above all to the administration of the sacraments and catechesis . He attached importance to the reporting of his pastors and allowed religious customs.

Before the Archbishopric of Salzburg was occupied by the French during the Napoleonic Wars in 1800 and Archbishop Colloredo's fled to Vienna, Sigmund Christoph von Zeil und Trauchburg was appointed President of the Lieutenancy left by the Archbishop, where he represented the interests of the state towards the occupying power . As a result of these events there were protests in Brixental . Since Archbishop Colloredo did not want to return, Sigmund Christoph von Zeil and Trauchburg had to continue to lead the Lieutenancy until the secularization in 1803. In fact, he was also responsible for the ecclesiastical affairs of the archdiocese (the consistorial council minutes were nevertheless signed by Archbishop Colloredo until 1808).

After the Chiemsee diocese had been dissolved as a result of the secularization in Bavaria and Sigmund Christoph von Zeil and Trauchburg resigned to his episcopate on August 11, 1808, Emperor Franz I , to whose countries the Archbishopric Salzburg had belonged since 1806, appointed him coadjutor " cum spe successionis ”( with the hope of a successor ) of the Archbishop of Salzburg. In 1809 he was appointed President of the General Regional Administration appointed by the recent French occupiers of Salzburg. As such, he enforced the oath of loyalty to Napoleon Bonaparte in the consistory . As a result, and also when Salzburg fell to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1810 , it lost popularity and trust in the Salzburg region. The Kingdom of Bavaria awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown .

After Archbishop Colloredo's death in 1812, Sigmund Christoph von Zeil und Trauchburg acted as administrator of the Archdiocese of Salzburg until his death on November 7, 1814. The prospect of becoming archbishop, which had already been promised in 1806 together with his appointment as coadjutor, could not be enforced. His body was buried in the mausoleum of Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau on the Sebastian Cemetery in Salzburg .

literature

• Hans Spatzenegger : Zeil and Trauchburg, Sigmund Christoph Graf von (1754-1814). In: Erwin Gatz (Ed.): The bishops of the German-speaking countries 1785/1803 to 1945. A biographical lexicon. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1983, ISBN 3-428-05447-4 , pp. 832-833.
• Christian Greinz: The prince-archbishop's curia and the city dean of Salzburg . Publishing house of the Archbishop's Consistory, Salzburg 1929
• Sigmund Christoph, Prince-Bishop of Chiemsee, bored Count Reichserbtruchseß von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg etc. A biographical sketch . Thomann, Landshut 1815 ( digitized )

Web links

Commons : Sigmund Christoph von Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Sigmund Christoph von Waldburg zu Zeil and Trauchburg on catholic-hierarchy.org