Wilhelm Eder (Abbot)
Wilhelm Eder OSB (born June 9, 1780 in Feuersbrunn , Lower Austria ; † September 24, 1866 in Melk ad Donau ) was an Austrian Benedictine , theologian, politician and from 1838 until his death the 60th abbot of Melk Abbey and Primate of Lower Austria Prelate. From 1861 to 1866 he was a member of the state parliament of Lower Austria and a member of the Austrian Imperial Council .
Life
Eder was born in the Lower Austrian wine-growing town of Feuersbrunn and entered Melk Abbey in 1801, where he made his solemn profession in 1804 and was ordained a priest . He then taught for a few years at the collegiate high school and then pastoral and moral theology at the theological home school in Melk . In 1813 he was appointed administrator of the monastery, and in 1838 he was elected abbot by the convent. During his reign he had a moderating effect on the church reform efforts of the Salzburg Archbishop Cardinal Friedrich zu Schwarzenberg , but also implemented some of them himself in Melk. He was able to overcome the abbey’s financial difficulties through extensive consolidation and rational management of the estate's property. He acquired a large estate for the monastery in Marghita in Bihar County (today's Romania) and enabled significant construction work. During his reign, the monastery was renovated inside and out, and gymnasiums and parsonages were rebuilt.
From 1847 until the election of the first state committee, he was a state councilor as a primate of the prelate class. From 1861 until his death he was a member of the large estates in the Lower Austrian state parliament. He was also a member of the manor house of the Austrian Imperial Council in its first legislative period from 1861.
Wilhelm Eder was close friends with the multiple minister and brief prime minister Anton von Schmerling , a staunch opponent of Metternich. He died of cholera in Melk in 1866 .
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Eder, Wilhelm . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 14th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1865, p. 433 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Eder P. Wilhelm. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 1, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957, p. 217.
Web links
- Biographical data of P. Wilhelm Eder in the Biographical Handbook of the Lower Austrian Parliament 1861–1921
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Marian Zwinger |
Abbot of Melk Monastery 1838–1866 |
Clemens Moser |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Eder, Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian Benedictine abbot and politician, member of the state parliament |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 9, 1780 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fire well |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 24, 1866 |
| Place of death | Melk |