Prince-Bishopric of Brixen

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Bishopric of Brixen
)
For the diocese, see
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brixen
.
Prince-Bishopric of Brixen
Hochstift Brixen (German)
Principato Vescovile di Bressanone (Italian)
1027–1803
Coat of arms of Brixen
Coat of arms
Mediatised to Tyrol
1803
1814
CurrencyBrixen Thaler
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
County of Norital
Duchy of Bavaria
County of Tyrol

The Prince-Bishopric of Brixen (

Imperial Estate until 1803, when it was secularised to Tyrol. The diocese, however, existed until 1964, and is now part of the Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen
.

History

The Diocese of Brixen is the continuation of that of Säben Abbey near Klausen, which, according to legend, was founded about 350 as Sabiona by Saint Cassian of Imola. As early as the 3rd century, Christianity had penetrated Sabiona, at that time a Roman custom station of considerable commercial importance. It may have been a retreat of the bishops of Augusta Vindelicorum, the later see of Augsburg, during the Migration Period.

Middle Ages

View of Brixen, early 17th century

The first Bishop of Sabiona vouched for by history is

Archbishopric of Salzburg in 798. After King Louis the Child in 901 granted Säben the demesne of Prichsna, part of the estates held by his mother Ota, Bishop Rihpert (appointed 967) or Bishop Albuin I (967-1005) had the seat of the diocese transferred to Brixen
.

Bishop Hartwig (1020–39) raised Brixen to the rank of a city, and surrounded it with fortifications. The diocese received many grants from the

Papacy and the Empire, the Bishops of Brixen like the neighbouring Trent bishops generally took the part of the emperors. Particularly notorious is the case of Altwin, during whose episcopate (1049-1091) the ill-famed synod of 1080 was held in Brixen, at which thirty bishops, partisans of the emperor, declared Pope Gregory VII deposed, and set up as antipope the Bishop of Ravenna, with the name of Clement III
.

Brixen Cathedral

The temporal power of the diocese soon suffered a marked diminution through the action of the bishops themselves, who bestowed large sections of their territory in fief on temporal lords: as for example, in the 11th century courtships in the

Nicholas V as Bishop of Brixen, and the Austrian Archduke Sigismund of Habsburg
were also unfortunate; the cardinal was made a prisoner, and although the pope placed the diocese under an interdict, Sigismund came out victor in the struggle.

Reformation and Austrian influence

The Reformation was proclaimed in the Diocese of Brixen during the episcopate of Christoph I von Schrofenstein (1509-1521) by German emissaries, like Strauss, Urban Regius, and others. In 1525, under Bishop

Georg III of Austria (1525-1539), a peasants' uprising broke out in the vicinity of Brixen, and several monasteries and strongholds were destroyed. The promise of German king Ferdinand I of Habsburg
, civil ruler of Tyrol, to redress the grievances of the peasants restored tranquility, and at a diet held at Innsbruck, the most important demands of the peasants were acceded to. Although in 1532 these promises were withdrawn, peace remained undisturbed.

The prince-bishoprics of Brixen and Trent interwoven with the County of Tyrol. Mid-18th. century.

Ferdinand I of Habsburg and his son Archduke

Franciscans, and Servites. Bishops of the period include: Cardinal Andrew of Austria
(1591-1600), and Christoph IV von Spaur (1601-1613), who in 1607 founded a seminary for theological students; enlarged the cathedral school, and distinguished himself as a great benefactor of the poor and sick.

The 17th and 18th centuries many monasteries were founded, new missions for the

Maria Theresa; Joseph Philipp, Count von Spaur (1780-1791), a friend of learning, who, however, in his ecclesiastical policy, leaned towards Josephinism. The Government of Emperor Joseph II
dealt roughly with church interests; about twenty monasteries of the diocese were suppressed, a general seminary was opened at Innsbruck, and pilgrimages and processions were forbidden. The Prince-Bishopric of Brixen as such was not affected.

Under Prince-Bishop Franz Karl, Count von Lodron (1791-1828), the temporal power of the prince-bishopric collapsed. In 1803 the principality was secularized, and annexed to Austria, and the cathedral chapter dissolved. During the brief rule of Bavaria after the 1805 Peace of Pressburg, the greatest despotism was exercised towards the Church; the restoration of Austrian supremacy in 1814 improved conditions for the former bishopric territory.

Bibliography

  • Helmut Flachenecker, Hans Heiss, Hannes Obermair (eds.) (2000). Stadt und Hochstift, Brixen, Bruneck und Klausen bis zur Säkularisation 1803 – Città e Principato, Bressanone, Brunico e Chiusa fino alla secolarizzazione 1803 (= Veröffentlichungen des Südtiroler Landesarchivs 12), Verlagsanstalt Athesia, Bozen,
    ISBN 88-8266-084-2
    .
  • Rudolf Leeb (2003). Geschichte des Christentums in Österreich. Von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Uebereuter, Wien 2003,
    ISBN 3-8000-3914-1
    .
  • Anselm Sparber (1957). Kirchengeschichte Tirols, im Grundriß dargestellt. Innsbruck-Wien-München (online).
  • Wolfgang Wüst (2005). Sovranità principesco-vescovile nella prima età moderna. Un confronto tra le situazioni al di qua e al di là delle Alpi: Augusta, Bressanone, Costanza e Trento – Fürstliche Stiftsherrschaft in der Frühmoderne. Ein Vergleich süd- und nordalpiner Verhältnisse in Augsburg, Brixen, Eichstätt, Konstanz und Trient, in: Annali dell’Istituto storico italo-germanico in Trento – Jahrbuch des italienisch-deutschen historischen Instituts in Trient 30, Bologna,
    ISBN 88-15-10729-0
    , pp. 285–332.

See also

References

Diocese of Brixen, catholic.com. Accessed 23 February 2024.

External links

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