Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg
Franz Ludwig von Pfalz- Neuburg ( born July 18, 1664 in Neuburg an der Donau, † April 6, 1732 in Breslau) was Prince-Bishop of Breslau and at the same Elector and Archbishop of Trier, Elector and Archbishop of Mainz and Bishop of Worms and Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Prince Provost of Ellwangen and Reichserzkanzler of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.
Origin and Youth
Franz Ludwig was born the ninth of seventeen children of Elector Philipp Wilhelm of the Palatinate and Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse- Darmstadt Magdalena. His humanist education was marked by the Brothers of Charity and the Jesuits on his father's court in Dusseldorf and Neuburg. At the age of 14, he received a canonry in Olomouc, a year later, those in Münster, Speyer and Strasbourg. More high church offices followed:
Prince-Bishop of Breslau
For this office actually Franz -Ludwig brother Wolfgang Georg Friedrich was provided, but he died before the election. With the support of the Vienna Court - Franz Ludwig's sister Eleonore Magdalene, the third wife of Emperor Leopold I. was - he was elected in 1683 to the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, which was to be center of his life. Two years later he became Imperial high Governor of Silesia, which he had the supreme spiritual and temporal power for decades. Only in 1687 was the Subdiakonatsweihe. For the Bishopric of Breslau in 1694, he led a reorganization of the seminary by, founded in 1702, the University of Breslau " Leopoldina ", in 1711 the Hospital Brothers of Charity and 1702 the electoral orphanage " Orphanotropheum ". In Neisse he left the Knights of the Cross pen and 1729 to build the new building of the bishop's residence. In Ottmachau the dilapidated parish church of St. Nicholas was under his reign torn down and built a new Baroque church built in 1706-1707 as well as the so-called Lower Castle.
Bishop of Worms
Following in the footsteps of his late brother's 1694 Ludwig Anton von Pfalz- Neuburg, he was Bishop of Worms. He caused, inter alia, the restoration of the Worms Cathedral and founded an orphanage. Also, an office he held until his death.
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
The Office of the Grand Master, he was also in 1694 in the wake of his brother Ludwig Anton. He led the reorganization of the Order and fought against the illegal collection of the Elector of Brandenburg, King of Prussia, which was a fief of the Teutonic Order. In the position of Grand Master Franz Ludwig founded the Imperial Infantry Regiment " Pfalz- Neuburg -Teutsch master " and left in 1730 to build the German religious house in Mainz in baroque forms. Although head of the Order, he never took off profession.
Prince Provost of Ellwangen
Again, he was in 1694 succeeded his late brother Ludwig Anton. He led a judicial reform through, prompting a new forest and hunting rules and renewed the Councilor order. 1702-1729 the Jesuit College and the Jesuit church was erected. 1709-1729 the pilgrimage church on the Schoenberg was rebuilt, which was burnt out in 1709 after a lightning strike.
Archbishop of Trier
1716-1729 he held the office of the Elector and Archbishop of Trier and arranged in particular the jurisdiction of the diocese. Under his rule, the ruined Trier was rebuilt, built the bridge over the Moselle and Trier Cathedral Baroque style.
Archbishop of Mainz
After Franz Ludwig was in 1710 appointed as Coadjutor Reichserzkanzlerstiftes Mainz, he was in 1729 in the wake of Lothar Franz von Schönborn Elector and Archbishop of Mainz, and thus also Lord Chancellor. As to unite in one hand both offices Elector violated imperial law, he had to give an elector - archbishopric; Franz -Ludwig decided against Trier and Mainz for the more prestigious. In Mainz he began reforms in the administrative and legal fields.
Coat of arms
The state coat of arms of Franz Ludwig von Pfalz -Neuburg documented in an impressive manner the extent of its territorial possessions.
German religious house in Weinheim
Rectory in Ellwangen, built in 1717
Grave laying
Returning from a trip to Vienna, Franz Ludwig died unexpectedly on April 18, 1732 in Breslau. Already from 1716 to 1724 he was at the Wrocław Cathedral, designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to build the Elector 's Chapel as his mausoleum, where he was buried.
Importance
Although he - with simultaneous possession of five ecclesiastical - did not achieve any higher orders, Franz Ludwig is one of the most important personalities of the imperial church of the early 18th century. In all regions, over which he presided, he led numerous administrative and legal reforms, fought for the interests of the Church and supported the Counter Reformation measures. In addition, he was a great patron of the arts.