Franz Wilhelm (Wartenberg) von Wartenberg (1593 - 1661)

Born 1 Mar 1593 in München, Bayern, Heiliges Römisches Reich

Ancestors

Died 1 Dec 1661 at age 68 in Regensburg, Heiliges Römisches Reich

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Biography

Franz Wilhelm (Wartenberg) von Wartenberg is Notable.

Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg was Prince-Bishop of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück between 1625 to 1661.

Franz Wilhelm Wartenberg was born on 1 March 1593 in München, Bayern, Heiliges Römisches Reich, son of Ferdinand von Bayern (1550–1608) and the common Maria Pettenbeck (~1573–~1619).^[1]

Between 1601 to 1604 Franz Wilhelm attended the St. Ignatius Jesuit College in Ingolstadt.^[2] During this time, in 1602, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire raised Franz' father and their entire family to the rank of Count of Wartenberg. The Counts of Wartenberg is a noble house of the Holy Roman Empire that branched from the House of Wittelsbach. Their name was chosen after the dominion of Wartenberg in Upper Bavaria.

Franz Wilhelm's siblings, who all held the title of a Count or Countess of Wartenberg, were:

• Maria Maximiliana (1589–1638),
• Maria Magdalena (1590–1620),
• Maria Anna (1594–1629),
• Sebastian (1595–1596)
• Ernst (1596–1597)
• Ferdinand (1597–1598)
• Maria Elisabeth (1599–1600)
• Maria Renata (1600–1643),
• Albrecht (1601–1620)
• Maximilian (1602–1679),
• Ernst Benno (1604–1666)
• Maria Katharina (1605–1606)
• Ferdinand Lorenz (1606–1666)

Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg was still a boy when he became the provost of the collegiate church of Altöttingen in 1604.^[2] In 1611, he attended the University of Perugia. In 1614 he received the lower orders from Cardinal Robert Bellarmin.^[3]

In 1608 Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg graduated from the Jesuit Grammar School in Munich and then studied philosophy, theology and canon law at the Pontificium Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum de Urbe^[4] in Rome.^[2]

In 1614, his cousin, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, named him president of the Clergy Privy Council (Geistlicher Rat) in Munich,^[2] and in 1619, he became President of the Bavarian Privy Council.^[2] It was at this time that the conflict which would later become known as the Thirty Years War had already started and Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg played a key role on the side of the catholic.

Franz Wilhelm's influence and power continued to increase when he moved to the Bonn court of the Elector of Cologne, where his cousin, Ferdinand of Bavaria^[5], was a leading representative of the Counter-Reformation and authoritative promoter of witch trials in Northwest Germany. Franz Wilhelm was put in charge of the governmental affairs of his cousin Elector Ferdinand in 1621. Until 1640 he determined politics here as Prime Minister of the Electorate of Cologne.^[3]

After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Osnabrück was not a pleasant sight and was heavily indebted, with debts exceeding 5 million talers. The Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück had been gifted to Gustaf Gustavsson by the Swedish Queen. In exchange for its transfer back to Bishop Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg, Gustavson was supposed to receive 80,000 talers, which had to be paid in four annual instalments. Since Gustavson was only obliged to leave after the full repayment of the debt, the Osnabrück government offered to pay 85,000 talers immediately when he left instantly. In October 1649, Bishop Franz Wilhelm held a Landtag (=assembly) under the tree Hohe Linde near the Oesede Monastery, where it was decided that every person over the age of 12 in the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück had to pay a double head tax.^[6] This affected not only the cathedral provost, monks, nuns and priests but also farmers and peasants.^[6] The October 10, 1649 decree did not spare even the poor and homeless.^[6] After receiving his compensation, Gustavsson and the Swedes left the diocese on 30 November 1650.

Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück (1650): Osnabrugensis episcopatus. Auctore Joanne Gigante.

Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg died between 7 and 8 a.m. on Thursday 1 December 1661 in Regensburg, Heiliges Römisches Reich, aged 68.^[7] On 2 December 1661 the corpse was brought to Michaelis-chapel for public prayers and remembrance.^[7] On 14 December 1661, the corpse was put into a tin casket, and the memorial service was held in Regensburg Cathedral the very next day.^[7] Afterwards, the corpse was brought to Altötting where Wartenberg's body was buried under the choir on 22 December 1661^[8] , his heart was buried under the entrance from the outer nave of the chapel into St Mary's chapel and the entrails were buried in the cloister of the Franciscan church in Stadtamhof.^[7]

Research Notes

Death/Burial

What do we know about the death/burial of Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg?

• Transcription of death/burial record: (Annus 1661) 22. (Decembris) Illustr:mus ad Rever:mus Princeps ac Dominus Eminentissimus D(omi)nus Franciscus Guilielmus S: Romana Ecclesia Presbyter Cardinalis, Cathedralium Ratisborg, Onsnabrugi (sic!), nec non Minda ac Verda Episcopus: Collegiataturm Veteris oetinga et Bonns Pra(e)positus; Comes de Wartenberg et Schaumburg, D(omi)nus in Wald et Hachenburg, (lugubri ?) pompa, uisendo (moenore ?), octo Fratribus ex Covencu Patrum Reformatoturm S. Francisci funus poetantibus, Comitantibus Ill:(ustrissi)mis (ddmis ?) Fratribus ac nepotibus comititibus de Wartenberg, Venerabili Capitulo et Clero loci, per Rever: Dominum Praesulem de Raitenbastach, in medis Chori Collegiata Electoratis Ecclesia N. Apostolorum Philippi et Jacobi loco eminentiore, cor autem in (semine ?) Introitus Interioris S. Capella B: Virginis Sepultura traditum est. Septuaginta duob. de plebe Oetingensi, optimi sui Principis 1mo Parentis ut tra 40 dies (dum interea praetor Vistum quotidianum argento donati, ac principati mumificientia nigram quisq(uam) Vestem una cum pallio (returit ?)) mortem non tam matutinis quam et Vespertinis horis plangentibus, Divinaque Miserie(n?)ordiam piis manib.(us) exponantibus.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Goldschmidt, Bernhard A.: Lebensgeschichte des Kardinal-Priesters Franz Wilhelm, Grafen von Wartenberg etc., Fürstbischofs von Osnabrück und Regensburg, Minden und Verden, Verlag von F. W. Richard, Osnabrück, 1866, page 22, 23 in the digital copy at Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, accessed 15 July 2023.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Biographical Dictionary, Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667), Consistory of April 5, 1660 (III), Celebrated at the Quirinal Palace, Rome, 14) WARTENBERG, Franz Wilhelm von (1593-1661)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} German Wikipedia: Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg, accessed 13 July 2023.
4. ↑ German Wikipedia: Pontificium Collegium Germanicum et Hungaricum de Urbe.
5. ↑ German Wikipedia: Ferdinand von Bayern (1577-1650).
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Osnabrück (1649): Veranschlagung eines außerordentlichen Kopfschatzes zur Abfindung der Schweden, NLA OS Rep 100 Abschnitt 88 Nr. 44, foil 132, image 134 in the digital copy at Arcinsys.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Bernard Anton Goldschmidt: Lebensgeschichte des Kardinal-Priesters Franz Wilhelm, Grafen von Wartenberg, Fürstbischof von Osnabrück und Regensburg, Minden und Verden. Richard, Osnabrück 1866, page 233, image 233 in the digital copy at Google Books.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Sterbefälle Altötting: Matricula online > Deutschland > Passau, rk. Bistum > Altoetting > Sterbefälle (Jan. 1, 1659 – Dec. 31, 1719, 001_05) > picture 001-05 0003.

Wikidata: Item Q84750, de:Wikipedia