The
Bishopric of Würzburg () was a
prince-bishopric in the
Holy Roman Empire, located in
Lower Franconia, around the city of
Würzburg,
Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its
bishop was often also
Bishop of Bamberg. The last few prince-bishops resided at the
Würzburg Residence, which is one of the grandest
baroque palaces in Europe.
As a consequence of the 1801
Treaty of Lunéville, the Bishopric of Würzburg was secularized in 1803 and annexed by the
Elector of Bavaria. In the same year
Ferdinand III, former
Grand Duke of Tuscany, was compensated with the
Electorate of Salzburg. In the 1805
Peace of Pressburg, Ferdinand lost Salzburg to the
Austrian Empire, but was compensated with the new
Grand Duchy of Würzburg, Bavaria having relinquished the territory in return for the
Tyrol. This new state lasted until 1814, when it was once again annexed by Bavaria.
The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg was reestablished in 1821 without temporal power.
Duke in Franconia
In 1115,
Henry V awarded the territory of Eastern Franconia (
Ostfranken) to his nephew
Conrad of Hohenstaufen, who used the title "Duke of Franconia." Franconia remained a Hohenstaufen power base until 1168, when the Bishop of Würzburg was formally ceded the ducal rights in Eastern Franconia. The name "Franconia" fell out of usage, but the bishop revived it in his own favour in 1442 and held it until the reforms of
Napoleon Bonaparte abolished it. It should be noted that the Bishop of Würzburg was more properly the Duke
in Franconia (
Herzog in Franken) rather than the Duke
of Franconia (
Herzog von Franken) during this time although both titles were used.
Coat of arms
In 741 or 742 the first bishop of Würzburg was consecrated by
St Boniface.
The charge of the original coat of arms showed the “Rennfähnlein” a banner, quarterly argent and gules, on a lance or, in bend, on a blue shield.
In 14th century another coat of arms was created. The coat of arms represents the holism of heaven and earth. The three white pikes represent the trinity of god and the four red pikes, directed to earth, stand for the four points of the compass, representing the whole spread of earth. The red colour represents the blood of Christ.
The Prince-Bishops used both within their personal coat of arms. The Rechen and the Rennfähnlein represented the diocese, while the other (usually two) fields showed the personal coat of arms of the bishop’s family. The coat of arms showed the Rechen in the first and third field, the Rennfähnlein in the second and fourth field.
Bishops of Würzburg, 743–1808
right|thumb|180px|Julius Echter von Mespelbrunnthumb|right|180px|Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn- St. Megingold von Rothenburg 755–769
- Hugo von Rothenburg 983–990
- Bernward von Rothenburg 990–995
- Heinrich I von Rothenburg 995–1018
- Meinhard I von Rothenburg 1018–1034
- Meinhard II von Rothenburg 1085–1088
- Einhard von Rothenburg 1089–1105
- Rupert von Tundorf 1105–1106
- Erlung von Calw 1106–1121
- Rudiger von Vaihingen 1122–1125
- Emicho von Leiningen 1125–1146
- Siegfried von Truhendingen 1146–1150
- Heinrich II von Stuhlingen 1159–1165
- Herold von Hochheim 1165–1170
- Reginhard von Abenberg 1171–1186
- Gottfried I von Spitzenberg-Helfenstein 1186–1190
- Philipp of Swabia 1190–1191
- Heinrich III of Berg 1191–1197
- Konrad von Querfurt 1197–1202
- Heinrich IV von Katzburg 1202–1207
- Otto von Lobdeburg 1207–1223
- Dietrich von Homburg 1223–1225
- Hermann I von Lobdeburg 1225–1254
- Iring von Reinstein-Homburg 1254–1266
- Heinrich V von Leiningen 1254–1255
- Poppo III von Trimberg 1267–1271
- Berthold II von Sternberg 1274–1287
- Mangold von Neuenburg 1287–1303 (Bishop of Bamberg 1285)
- Andreas von Gundelfingen 1303–1313
- Friedrich von Stolberg 1313–1317
- Wolfram Wolfskeel von Grumbach 1322–1332
- Hermann II Hummel von Lichtenberg 1333–1335
- Albrecht III von Katzburg 1372–1376
- Johann I von Egloffstein 1400–1411
- Johann II von Brunn 1411–1440
- Sigmund of Saxony 1440–1443
- Gottfried I von Limpurg 1443–1455
- Johann III von Grumbach 1455–1466
- Konrad II von Thungen 1519–1540
- Melchior Zobel von Giebelstadt 1544–1558
- Friedrich von Wirsberg 1558–1573
- Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen 1617–1622 (Bishop of Bamberg 1609–1622)
- Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg 1622–1631
- Franz von Hatzfeld 1631–1642 (Bishop of Bamberg 1633–1642)
- Johann Hartmann von Rosenbach 1673–1675
- Peter Philipp von Dernbach 1675–1683
- Konrad Wilhelm von Wernau 1683–1684
- Johann Philipp von Greiffenklau 1699–1719
- Christoph Franz von Hutten 1724–1729
- Anselm Franz von Ingelheim 1746–1749
- Karl Philipp von Greiffenklau 1749–1754
- Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim 1755–1779 (Bishop of Bamberg 1757–1779)
- Georg Karl von Fechenbach 1795–1808
See also
- Ebrach Abbey Beginning with the 13th century, the bishops of Würzburg had their hearts brought to the monastery in Ebrach (entrails to the chapel of the Marienburg, bodies to the St. Kilian cathedral). About 30 hearts of bishops, some of which had been desecrated during the Peasant Wars, are said to have found their final resting place at Ebrach. The prince-bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn broke with this tradition and had his heart buried in the Neubaukirche.
