Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/786

 WtRZBURG

720

WURZBURG

by a Protestant nobleman, William von Grumbach. Frederick von Wirsberg (1558-73) brought the Jesuits to Wiirzburg, and in 1570 gave them charge of the seminary for boys and a boarding-school which he had estabhshed. He was followed by the greatest bishop Wlirzhiu^g ever had, Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn (1573-1617), during whose episcopate the diocese took on fresh hfe. Of his labours the university, which he refounded, and the Julius Hospital, built by him, for hundreds of years the largest charitable institution in all Germany, still exist. John Gott- fried von Aschhausen (1617-22) united for the first time the dioceses of Wiu'zburg and Bamberg. Dming the episcopate of Philip Adolph von Ehi'enberg (1622- 31) many persons were put to death, among tiem the bishop's nephew, for superstitious belief in witches. This led the Jesuit Frederick von Spee to wTite his celebrated treatise against belief in witches.

In 1631 the Swedes conquered the diocese and city, which, united with Bamberg, was given to Duke Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar as tlie Duchy of Franconia. It was not until the imperial troops were victorious at Nfirdlingen in 1634 that Bishop Frederick von Hatzfeld (1631-42) could enter his diocese. Notwith standing their oppression by the Swedes, the popu- lation remained loyal to the Catholic Faith. During the reign of John Philip von Schonborn (1642-73) the diocese recovered from the injuries of the Thirty Years War. Francis PhiUp von Greiffenklau (1699 1717) had the cathedral and the Church of St. Pete ornamented in the Baroque style. The diocese and city prospered greatly under Philip Francis von Schonborn (1719-24), who laid the corner-stone of the episcopal palace at Wiirzburg, one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in the world, Christopher von Hutten (1724-29), and Frederick Karl von Schonborn (1729-46). Adam von Seins- heim (1755-79), during whose episcopate the Seven Years War caused the diocese great suffering, did much for the benefit of the primary schools. He was followed bv the excellent Bishop Francis Ludwig von Erthal (1759-95). The last Prince-Bishop of Wtirz- burg was George Karl von Fechenbach. In 1802 the diocese, which contained over 250,000 inhabitants, was secularized and given to Bavaria. After the Peace of Pressburg, Bavaria was obliged to cede it to the brother of Emperor Francis, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who ruled it as the Grand Duchy of Wiirzburg until 1814. After the fall of Napoleon the territory reverted to Bavaria. After the death of the bishop ecclesiastical affairs were administered by the auxiliary bishop, Zirkel, who courageously and successfully maintained the rights of the Church against the Governments and statesmen.

The Bavarian Concordat of 1817 and the Bull "Dei ac Domini nostri," of 1 April, 1818, established the Diocese of Wiirzburg with its present boundaries, and made it a suffragan of the smaller and less ancient Diocese of Bamberg; the Bishops of Wiirzburg, however, were granted the right to the pallium. The new bishop, Frederick Gross von Trockau (1818-40), did much for the reorganization of the diocese and for the training of the clerg\-. During the episcopate of George Anthony von Stahl (1840-70) there was held in 1848 at Wiirzburg the conference of German bishops which inaugurated a new development of Catholic life in Germany. Bishop von Stahl died at Rome during the Vatican Council, in which he had taken an active part. He was followed by Valentine von Reissmann (1871-75), his vicar-general for many years; von Reissmann took successful measures against the spread of the Old Catholic Church. Francis Joseph von Stein (1878-98), who laboured for the improvement of the education of the clergy and courageously defended the rights of the Church, was transferred to the archiepiscopal See of Munich- Freising (see Munich-Fbeising, Archdiocese of).

The present bishop, Ferdinand von Schlor, was appointed on 5 March, 1898, and consecrated on 22 iMay, 1898.

UsSERMANN, Episcopntus Wirceburgensis (St. Blasien, 1794); ScHOPF, H UtorUch-statistiache Beschreibung des Hochstifts Wurz- burg (Hildburghausen, 1802); Himmelstein, Synodicon Herbi- polense. Gesch, u, StattUen der im Bislum Wiirzburg abgehaltenen Konzilien u. Diozesansynoden (Wiirzburg, 1855) ; Stdupp- Brentano, Die Wilrzburger Immunildtsurkunden des X. u. XL Jahrhunderts (Innsbruck, 1874-76); Link, Klostcrbuck der Diozesa Wiirzburg (2 vols., Wiirzburg, 1873-76); Wegele, Geschichle der Vniversitdt Wiirzhuro (2 vols., Wiirzburg, 1882); Braun. Gesch, der Heranbilititng dffi Klerus in der Diozese Wiirzburg (2 vols., Wiirzburg, 1889-97); Ulrich, Die kathol. Kirchen WUrzburg (Wiirzburg, 1897); Wixterstein, Die kalhol. WohUdtigkeils- anstalteri u, Vereine sowie das katholisch-soziale Vereimve!>en in der Diozese Wiirzburg (Freiburg, 1897); Stamminger, Franconia sacra (Wiirzburg, 1889), r-,,iitinu«I bv .\mrhein (Wiirzburg, 1896—); Man. episc. H',.,',, ;. in V. Boica, XXXVII-

XLVI (Munich); .4bkui /' '. v der WUrzburger

Bisch6}e 1225-1698 (Wni ,i i ' U <tnat u. WirtschaSt

in den Bisliimern Bam:,,,' 11 II. :.:i iberg, 1906); Die

Kunstdenkmdlcr des Ki'rniirfirli.^ tiniitrn lo vols., Unterfrauken, Aschaffenburg, and Munich. 1911); Gbeiner, Altu-lir:burg (Wurzburg, 1912); .4r<-/iir des Hislor. Vereins von Unlerfr.uiken und Aschnffenhurg (Wurzburg, 1833); AU/rdnkische Bilder. ed.

Henner 'Wiirzburg, 189.^ ); Sckerruitismus fiir die Diozese

Wiirzburg (W^iirzburg, 1911).

Joseph Lins. University of Wurzbueg. — John I of Egloff- stein (1400-1411), Bishop of Wiirzburg, obtained from Pope Boniface IX a charter, dated 10 December, 1402, for the university. The university was designed after that of Bologna, and gave special attention to the faculties of theology and canon and civil law. After the death of its founder it began to decay, as the cathedral chapter, which was composed of members of the nobility, withdrew its means of support. More than a century later. Bishop Julius Echter vonMes- pelbrunn re-established it, and on 28 March, 1575, Pope Gregory XIII issued the Bull granting the charter to the new university, which was to have the privileges of the universities of Paris and Bologna. The build- ings were erected during 1582-91, and the university was opened on 2 January, 1582. The Julius Hospital came into close connexion with the university, and thus gave the medical faculty a large field for observa- tion and practice. In the eighteenth century the bishops who did most for the encouragement of learn- ing were Frederick Charles Count von Schonborn, Adam Frederick Count von Seinsheim, and Francis Louis von Esthal. At the close of the eighteenth century the university was characterized as "the best Catholic university in the whole of Germany "by Magister F. C. Laukhard, a man who was weU known in the universities both of Germany and of foreign countries. In its subsequent development also the university sought to maintain this reputation. The faculties of theology and jihilosophy were entrusted to the Jesuits until the suppression of the Society; from that time the Jesuit professors remained as secular priests. In 1803 the ecclesiastical principality of Wiirzburg was secularized, and after a short period," during which it was ruled by the Grand Duke of Tuscany (180(5-14), it was united with Bavaria. The reputation of the university grew, especially of the medical faculty, which ranked very high. Since the middle of the nineteenth century separate buildinga have been built for the departments of medicine and natural sciences; in 1897 the new academic building was erected. The theological faculty also has included names of note; of those in modern times mention may be made of (^ardinal Joseph Hergenriither, Francis Seraph Hettinger, Anton Scholz, and Her- mann Schell. The Bishops of Wiirzburg during 1840-1898 (von Stahl, von Reissmann, and von Stein) had all been members of the theological faculty of the univer.sity. In the summer of 1911 the students numbered 1509.

Weqele, Oesch. der Universildl WUrzhurg (WOrzburg. 1882); Idem, Die Reformation der Vniversilat Wiirzburg (1863); Die Atlribulc der Universildl Wflrsburg im JubiUumsjahr tSSS: Alma Julia, illuslrierte Chronik ihres drillen SSkular/eier (WUn- burg, 18S2); von Horstig, Die Anslalten der Universildt Warz-