Lothar Franz von Schönborn-Buchheim (4 October 1655 – 30 January 1729) was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1694 to 1729 and the

Bishop of Bamberg This is a list of bishops and archbishops of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg and the modern Archdiocese of Bamberg in Germany. __TOC__ Bishops, 1007–1245 * Eberhard I 1007-1040 * Pope Clement II, Suidger von Morsleben 1040-1046 (Later Pope Clemen ...

from 1693 to 1729. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was also

Archchancellor An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries. The Car ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Lothar Franz von Schönborn is known for commissioning a number of Baroque buildings, such as the palace '' Schloss Weissenstein''.

Family

Lothar Franz was born in Steinheim am Main, now a suburb of

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

, on 4 October 1655 to Count Philipp Erwein von Schönborn (1607-1668) and Maria Ursula von . His elder brother was Melchior Friedrich von Schönborn-Buchheim, both nephews of

Johann Philipp von Schönborn Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious ...

, Archbishop of Mainz from 1647 until 1673, and, through their mother, grand-nephews of Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau, Archbishop of Mainz from 1626 until 1629. Through his brother Melchior, he was uncle to the Schönborn-Buchheim branch which included Johann Philipp Franz, Friedrich Karl, Damian Hugo Philipp and Franz Georg.

Life

He was educated at the

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

College in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

. In 1665, Lothar Franz was appointed ''Domizellar'' (canon) of

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

. In 1667, he was appointed to the same position in

Bamberg Cathedral Bamberg Cathedral (, official name Bamberger Dom St. Peter und St. Georg) is a church in Bamberg, Germany, completed in the 13th century. The cathedral is under the administration of the Archdiocese of Bamberg and is the seat of Archbishop of ...

. He received a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral ( or, officially, ') is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of th ...

in 1674. Lothar Franz made his Grand Tour through the Netherlands, France and Italy. His ''Biennium'' (two-year period of preparation) he attended from 1673 to 1675 in Vienna. During this time he maintained a pro-imperial

life stance A person's life stance, or lifestance, is their relation with what they accept as being of ultimate importance. It involves presuppositions and commitment to exercise it in theory and practice in one's life. It can connote an integrated perspect ...

. He was appointed canon of Bamberg in 1681 and in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

in 1683. For the Bishop of Bamberg, he travelled in various

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

s and was appointed President of the Court Chamber. In 1689 he was ''Scholastikus'' (schoolmaster) and curator in Bamberg and canon of Mainz. Still being a canon, he already influenced the artistic design of '' Schloss Gaibach'' at Volkach after 1694. In 1693, Lothar Franz was elected Bishop of Bamberg. In September 1694 he was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Anselm Franz von Ingelheim in rivalry with Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg. Despite an opposing recommendation by the Emperor he succeeded Anselm Franz in 1695. During his reign, he increased taxation of the cathedral chapter and eroded some of its rights. In 1707, he was instrumental in the conversion of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In 1711, he ensured the election of Charles VI of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

as the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, and crowned him in

Frankfurt Cathedral Frankfurt Cathedral (), officially Imperial Dome of Saint Bartholomew (), is a Roman Catholic Gothic church located in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. It is the largest religious building in the c ...

. Lothar Franz was rewarded by Charles for his loyalty with 100,000 guldens with which he began the construction of ''

Schloss Weißenstein Schloss Weißenstein is a ''Schloss'' or palatial residence in Pommersfelden, Bavaria, southern Germany. It was designed for Lothar Franz von Schönborn, Bishop of Bamberg, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Archbishop of Mainz, to designs by Johann ...

'' in

Pommersfelden Pommersfelden is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg in Germany. Geography The community lies north of Höchstadt an der Aisch on the river Reiche Ebrach. Constituent communities The community of Pommersfelden is subdivided ...

, a Baroque palace with the largest privately owned art gallery of Germany, still today owned by the Schönborn family. He also built the of the bishops at

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

(1697-1703) and Favorite Palace near

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

(1700-1722). In 1726, Charles VI granted

Palanok Castle The Palanok Castle or Mukachevo Castle (; or ; ) is a historic castle in the city of Mukacheve in the western Ukrainian oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belaru ...

with Mukacheve, Chynadiyovo and 200 villages in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(today part of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

), to Elector Lothar Franz who had sent him troops to defeat

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...

, whose property it had previously been, and then continued to give the emperor political support. The estate, one of the largest in Eastern Europe, remained in the family well into the 20th century. Lothar Franz von Schönborn died on 30 January 1729 at Mainz.

Literature

*R.H. Thompson: ''Lothar Franz von Schönborn and the Diplomacy of the Electorate of Mainz. From the Treaty of Ryswick to the Outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession'', Springer Netherland 1973;

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonborn, Lothar Franz von 1655 births 1729 deaths People from Hanau Archbishop-electors of Mainz Lothar Franz