Johann Ernst Graf von Thun und Hohenstein (3 July 1643 – 20 April 1709) was

Bishop of Seckau The Roman Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau ( la, Dioecesis Seccoviensis, german: Diözese Graz-Seckau) is a diocese comprising the Austrian state of Styria. It is part of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. History The See of Seckau was fo ...

from 1679 to 1687 and Prince-archbishop of Salzburg from 1687 until his death.

Life and career

Born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Bohemia, he was a member of the Tyrolean

Thun und Hohenstein The House of Thun und Hohenstein, also known as Thun-Hohenstein, belonged to the historical Austrian and Bohemian nobility. There is one princely and several comital branches of the family. The princely branch of the family lived at Děčín (Te ...

noble family, elevated to the rank of

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s (''Reichsgrafen'') in 1629. His elder half-brother Guidobald was Archbishop of Salzburg from 1654 to 1668. Johann Ernst von Thun was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest in 1677. He was elected

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of Seckau in Styria on 29 December 1679 and consecrated by the Salzburg archbishop Max Gandolf von Kuenburg the next year. Thun succeeded Kuenburg by election on 30 June 1687, obtaining the prince-archiepiscopal dignities. COA archbishop AT Thun-Hohenstein Johann Ernst

COA archbishop AT Thun-Hohenstein Johann Ernst

The archbishop is best remembered as patron of the architect

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (20 July 1656 – 5 April 1723) was an Austrian architect, sculptor, engraver, and architectural historian whose Baroque architecture profoundly influenced and shaped the tastes of the Habsburg Empire. His inf ...

, a leading proponent of Austrian Baroque church architecture. Thun had his

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

residence lavishly rebuilt, including the

Collegiate Church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

, the Holy Trinity Church, and Schloss Klessheim. Throughout his reign, however, he displayed a marked antipathy to the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

designers and tastemakers that were emulated by many German monarchs at the time. Upon his accession, he halted work on a church being built for the Italian

Theatine The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

order and denied payment to Italian craftsmen, resulting in longstanding court proceedings. Thun, backed by

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

, prevailed in lengthy quarrels with the Salzburg cathedral chapter as well as with the neighbouring Bishops of Chiemsee and Passau. In 1697, he obliged all graduates of Salzburg's university to swear belief in the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. He remained a harsh persecutor of

Crypto-protestantism Crypto-Protestantism is a historical phenomenon that first arose on the territory of the Habsburg Empire but also elsewhere in Europe and Latin America, at a time when Catholic rulers tried, after the Protestant Reformation, to reestablish Catho ...

in his Salzburg lands; these measures were later once again intensified under his successor

Leopold Anton von Firmian Leopold Anton Eleutherius Freiherr von Firmian (11 March 1679 – 22 October 1744) was Bishop of Lavant 1718–24, Bishop of Seckau 1724–27 and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1727 until his death. Early life He was born in Munich, on his ...

. On the other hand, Thun supported the leading members of the

Braunau Parliament The Braunau Parliament (''Braunauer Parliament'') is the name of the congress on the defence of the state of Bavaria held at Braunau am Inn convened on 21 December 1705, during the War of the Spanish Succession and often seen as the precursor of ...

during the Bavarian uprising of 1705–06 against the occupying forces of the Habsburg emperor

Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 * Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...

. Archbishop von Thun was buried in

Salzburg Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Salzburg Cathedral 1.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin map ...

. By his will, he had his brain deposited in the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

chapel, his entrails (symbolizing compassion) deposited in his hospital church, and his heart interred at his favorite Holy Trinity Church.Blunt, Anthony, editor: "Baroque and Rococo Architecture and Decoration.", Grafton Books, 1978

References

External links

Entry
on Aeiou Encyclopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Thun, Johann Ernst von 17th-century Austrian people 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire 18th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Roman Catholic archbishops of Salzburg Counts of Austria Johann Ernst Clergy from Graz 1643 births 1709 deaths Bishops of Graz-Seckau Prince-archbishops of Salzburg