Friedrich II of Berg (1120 – 15 December 1158), was

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

from 1156 until his death in 1158.

Life

He was a son of

Adolf IV, Count of Berg Adolf IV of Berg count of Berg from 1132 until 1160 and of Altena (died after 1161), son of Adolf III of Berg count of Berg and Hövel. He married (1st) Adelheid von Arnsberg, a daughter of Heinrich count von Rietberg; then (2nd) Irmgard (?) von S ...

, and his second wife Irmgard von Wasserburg. He was the brother of Archbishop

Bruno III of Berg Bruno III of Berg (German: ''Bruno III von Berg'') was Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Westphalia from 1191 until 1193. The fifth son of Adolf IV, Count of Berg, he is first mentioned in 1156 as provost of St. George in Cologne, and in 1168 as p ...

, a nephew of Archbishop

Bruno II von Berg Bruno II of Berg (German: ''Bruno II von Berg'') (c. 1100 1137) was the Archbishop of Cologne from 1131 until 1137. Bruno II of Berg was a son of Count Adolf III of Berg. In 1119 he was mentioned as a Provost in Cologne, and he became the Provos ...

and an uncle of Archbishop and Saint

Engelbert II of Berg Count Engelbert II of Berg, also known as Saint Engelbert, Engelbert of Cologne, Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne or Engelbert I of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne (1185 or 1186, Schloss Burg – 7 November 1225, Gevelsberg) was archbishop of C ...

. In 1150 he was elected Bishop von Utrecht but that election was not accepted by

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

and he was never confirmed in the position. In May 1156 in another disputed election, this time in Cologne, the college elected Gerhard von Bonn while the young Domherren chose Frederick von Berg as Archbishop. In the end both parties asked the Emperor

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt o ...

to decide. The Emperor confirmed Frederick as new Archbishop, gave him the

Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Crown, the Imperial orb, the Imperial sce ...

, and sent him immediately to Rome for his Ordination, where

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian IV ( la, Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman t ...

confirmed him. Frederick has gone in History as an outstanding man, who had won the heart of many by his kindness and friendliness. The Xanten Totenbuch describes him as ''a Prince of the highest humanity''. He was always loyal to the Emperor and accompanied him during the second campaign in Italy. There he died on 15 December 1158 in Pavia following an accidental fall from his horse. He is buried in Altenberg .

References

* Friedrich Wilhelm Oediger: ''Geschichte des Erzbistums Köln.'' Band 1: ''Das Bistum Köln von den Anfängen bis zum Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts.'' 2. Auflage. Bachemn, Köln 1972, . * Stefan Burkhardt: ''Mit Stab und Schwert. Bilder, Träger und Funktionen erzbischöflicher Herrschaft zur Zeit Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossas. Die Erzbistümer Köln und Mainz im Vergleich'', Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2008, S. 35.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Ii 1120 births 1158 deaths House of Berg * House of Limburg-Stirum 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Archbishops of Cologne