Lothar Franz von Schönborn-Buchheim (4 October 1655 – 30 January 1729) was the

Archbishop-Elector of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The A ...

from 1694 to 1729 and the Bishop of Bamberg from 1693 to 1729. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was also Archchancellor of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. 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 town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the rive ...

, on 4 October 1655 to Count (1607-1668) and Maria Ursula von . He was a nephew of Johann Philipp von Schönborn, Archbishop of Mainz from 1647 until 1673, and a grand nephew of

Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads (also spelled ''Greiffenclau''; 8 September 1573 – 6 July 1629) was the Prince-Bishop of Worms from 1616 to 1629 and the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1626 to 1629. Biography Georg Friedrich von ...

, Archbishop of Mainz from 1626 until 1629. Furthermore, he was an 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 College in

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

. In 1665 Lothar Franz was appointed ''Domizellar'' (canon) of Würzburg Cathedral, 1667 in Bamberg Cathedral. He received a prebendary at Mainz Cathedral in 1674. Lothar Franz made his

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

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 kept a pro-imperial

life stance A person's life stance, or lifestance, is their relation with what they accept as being of Intrinsic value (ethics), ultimate importance. It involves the presuppositions and theories upon which such a stance could be made, a belief system, and a co ...

. He was appointed canon of Bamberg in 1681 and in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzbur ...

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 den ...

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 Volkach is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the ''Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken'' (Lower Franconia) in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Main and has a population of around 8,700. History Located outside the town but inside the mun ...

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) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "c ...

of Anselm Franz von Ingelheim in rivalry to 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 Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1711 he ensured the election of Charles VI of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

as the Holy Roman Emperor, and crowned him in Frankfurt Cathedral. Lothar Franz was rewarded by Charles for his loyalty with 100,000 guldens with which he began the construction of '' Schloss Weißenstein'' in Pommersfelden, 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 (1697-1703) and at

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

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

Mukacheve Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast ( province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion ( district), th ...

, 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 the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

(today part of the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

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