House of Schönborn

History

Early history

The Schönborn family first appeared in the Rheingau region with H. von Sconenburne in 1275. Their original seat was Schönborn in the County of Katzenelnbogen. A secondary source of 1670 mentions an earlier Eucharius von Schönborn of the mid 12th century, however without documentary proof. The lion in their coat of arms may derive from the Katzenelnbogen as well as from the nearby Diez counts whose vassals they were. By the end of the 14th century, the family had split into three branches one of which extinguished soon. The elder branch resided at Schönborn and held the office of Burgmann at Burgschwalbach, a castle built between 1354 and 1371 by count Eberhard V. of Katzenelnbogen. Gilbrecht of Schönborn was mentioned there in 1373. They were also Burgmanns at Hahnstätten in the County of Nassau. Several of them became abbots, one a grand bailiff of the Knights Hospitaller. The younger branch were vassals in the Westerwald region, in the service of the Barony of Westerburg, the Electorate of Trier, the Electorate of Mainz and the county of Wied.

In the 16th century many younger sons of the family became Domherren (canons), leading to the extinction of both branches, with the exception of a side line of the younger branch that had received the fiefs of Freienfels (near Weinbach) and Eschbach (near Weilmünster).

Later history

Johann Philipp von Schönborn of Eschbach, son of a minor nobleman in the employ of the then Lutheran counts of Wied, became a Catholic priest in the impoverished times of the Thirty Years' War. He was admitted as a minor canon by the cathedral chapter of Wurzburg. At the time, the Schönborn family consisted only of himself and his brother, a rather poor knight with limited estates. These two initially quite insignificant brothers brought the family to power and fame, and the new branches emanating from the non-celibate brother were to become widely known throughout Europe.

Johann Philipp became a priest at Wurzburg Cathedral at the age of 16, translated to Mainz Cathedral in 1625, and to Worms Cathedral in 1630. He became a provost and, in 1642, was elected prince-bishop of Wurzburg. His ruthless prosecution of the Counter Reformation eliminated Lutheranism from the territory he controlled. His diplomatic skills made him an important mediator during the negotiations that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648. As a result, he was additionally elected Archbishop of Mainz in 1647, thus also ruler of the Electorate of Mainz and archchancellor of the Holy Roman empire. In 1663, he also received the princely-bishopric of Worms. He was an effective administrator of his principalities and was able to bring about economic recovery. He fortified the city of Mainz and founded hospitals and high schools. His court was a center of German politics in the post-war era. Johann Philipp was the first of six members of the Schönborn family who, in the course of more than three generations, were to rule over eight of the most prestigious ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire.

He made his brother Philip Erwein (1607–1668) a Vogt in the Electorate of Mainz where the latter acquired the castles of Gaibach in 1650, of Geisenheim in 1654 and of Heusenstamm (where he built a new castle) in 1661. In 1635, he married Maria Ursula von Greiffenclau-Vollraths, a close relative of the late archbishop and elector of Mainz Georg Friedrich von Greiffenklau; the couple had 12 children. In 1663, Philip Erwein became a baron. The family thus shifted its focus from its regions of origin, which had become predominantly Protestant, to the Catholic ecclesiastical principalities of the empire.

Philip Erwein's son, Lothar Franz von Schönborn, also became a prince-bishop of Wurzburg in 1693 and an elector-archbishop of Mainz in 1695. The latter's brother Melchior (1644–1717) acquired the fief of Reichelsburg (near Aub) from the prince-bishop of Wurzburg in 1671, giving him access to the Franconian Circle of the imperial knights.

Rulers of Schönborn

Lords of Schönborn (1385–1663)

Gerard (1385–1416)

Gerard (1416–1460)

John II (1460–1490)

John IV (1490–1529)

George II (1529–1560)

Philip (1560–1589)

George IV (1589–1613)

Philipp Erwein (1613–1668), since 1663 Baron

Barons of Schönborn (1663–1701)

Philipp Erwein (1663–1668)

Johann Erwein (1668–1705), since 1701 Count, jointly with:

Counts of Schönborn (1701–1717)

Johann Erwein (1701–1705)

Melchior Friedrich (1705–1717)

Divided between the lines Heusenstamm and Wiesentheid.

Counts of Schönborn-Buchheim

Counts of Schönborn-Heusenstamm (1717–1801)

Schönborn-Heusenstamm was a German statelet that was ruled by the Schönborn family and located in the south of modern-day Hesse, Germany. Schönborn-Heusenstamm was a partition of Schönborn, and it was inherited by Schönborn-Wiesentheid in 1801.

Anselm Franz (1717–1726)

Eugen Erwein the Posthumous (1727–1801)

Counts of Schönborn-Wiesentheid (1717–1806)

Schönborn-Wiesentheid was a county in Lower Franconia, the northwestern region of modern-day Bavaria, Germany. It comprised various isolated districts spanning from the Regnitz River to the Main River east of Würzburg. Schönborn-Wiesentheid was a partition of Schönborn, and it inherited the territory of Schönborn-Heusenstamm in 1801. Schönborn-Wiesentheid was mediatised to Bavaria in 1806.

Rudolf Franz Erwein (1717–1754)

Joseph Francis Bonaventura (1754–1772)

Hugo Damian Erwein (1772–1806)

Prelates of the family

This family counts several prelates of the Catholic Church:

Johann Philipp von Schönborn (1605–1673), Prince-elector and Archbishop of Mainz, Bishop of Würzburg and Worms. His contemporaries gave him the honourable titles of "the Wise", "the German Solomon", and "the Cato of Germany".

Lothar Franz von Schönborn, nephew of the above, was Prince-elector and Archbishop of Mainz (1695–1729) and Bishop of Bamberg (1693).

Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn, Prince-Bishop of Speyer (1719–1743) and of Konstanz (1740), and was also a cardinal. He did much for the Diocese of Speyer, and was conspicuous for his culture, learning, and piety.

Franz Georg von Schönborn, Prince-elector and Archbishop of Trier (1729–1756) and Bishop of Worms (1732). Both Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa praised him as an excellent ruler.

Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn, Bishop of Würzburg (1719–1724).

Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (3 March 1674 – 26 July 1746) was Bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg (1729–1746). He was born at Mainz. He spent most of his time at the Imperial court in Vienna, serving as Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1705 to 1734. The last three prelates were brothers, and nephews of Lothar Franz.

Franziskus von Paula Graf von Schönborn. (24 January 1844 – 6 June 1899). Born in Prague, he became Archbishop of Prague in 1885, and was created cardinal in 1889.

Christoph Cardinal Schönborn (born 1945) is the current Archbishop Emeritus of Vienna.

Baroque architecture

The House of Schönborn, especially its ruling prelates of the Catholic Church, were among the most important builders of Southern German baroque architecture. While the private estates, at a large part still today owned by the family, were of more modest size, sometimes of elder origin, churches, monasteries, ecclesiastical residences and hospitals built by the Schönborn bishops were of immense grandness and splendor. Financing these was only possible with flourishing economies, which the Schönborn bishops did their best to uphold and enhance. Court architect Balthasar Neumann was responsible for many of these buildings, others were Johann Dientzenhofer, Maximilian von Welsch and Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. The family gave the name Schönbornzeit (Age of the Schönborns) to an era (1642–1756) which spanned more than a century and is sometimes nostalgically remembered in the popular consciousness as an era of marked prosperity. Today, the term Schönbornzeit denotes a particular style of Rhenish and Franconian baroque.

The ecclesiastical residences were owned by the church, and continued to be inhabited by successive bishops, while the private estates remained inheritance of the family. They were mostly acquired by the ruling prelates' brothers through marriage or from the income of the high lay offices entrusted to them in the states of their brothers. Of the grand bishops' palaces, only Weissenstein Palace at Pommersfelden continues to be privately owned by the family, as it was built, from 1711, with an initial amount of 100.000 guilders which were personally granted to elector Lothar Franz by Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, in reward of his services and his continuous political support. It contains the largest private baroque art collection in Germany, including paintings by Breughel, van Dyck, Rubens, and Titian, among others. Large collections of furniture, glass, and porcelain are also preserved.

Private residences

Burg Schönborn (built around 1100)

Burgschwalbach castle (a fief of the County of Katzenelnbogen, administrated in the Middle Ages by the Lords of Schönborn)

Freienfels castle near Weinbach, 1466–1687 owned by the family

Schloss Gaibach (near Volkach), since 1650 to this day owned by the Counts of Schönborn-Wiesentheid

Schloss Geisenheim, since 1652 to this day owned by the Counts of Schönborn-Wiesentheid

Heusenstamm Castle (built from 1661)

Schönborner Hof in Mainz (built from 1668)

Schönborner Hof in Aschaffenburg (built from 1673)

Wiesentheid Castle, from 1701 to this day owned by the Counts of Schönborn-Wiesentheid and serving as their private residence

Weissenstein Palace at Pommersfelden (built from 1711 to 1718 for Lothar Franz von Schönborn), still owned by the Counts of Schönborn-Wiesentheid. The palace, which is open to the public, contains the largest private Baroque art collection in Germany, containing over 600 pictures. Baroque and Renaissance artists represented include Peter Paul Rubens, Albrecht Dürer, Titian, Rembrandt, Anthony van Dyck and Artemisia Gentileschi. It also houses a collection of 17th–19th century musical manuscripts and prints, the "Musical Collection of the Counts Schönborn-Wiesentheid", mainly acquired by Count Rudolf Franz Erwein von Schönborn (1677–1754), a talented amateur cellist who had ordered original cello compositions from various composers including Platti and Vivaldi. This is called the "elder repertoire" and consists of 147 prints and 497 mss. Its contents are listed with RISM. The "younger repertoire" was acquired by the cellist's grandson Hugo Damian Erwein (1738–1817) and great-grandson Franz Erwein von Schönborn (1774–1840). It consists of 141 prints and 98 mss. The whole library has been microfilmed.

Images of some private residences

(* means still family owned)

Churches

More than 100 churches were built during the rule of Schönborn bishops, many of them by their famous court architect Balthasar Neumann, among them:

Würzburg Residence court chapel

Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

Court chapel of Meersburg Residence

Pilgrimage church of the Holy Trinity at Gößweinstein

St Mauritius (Wiesentheid)

St Cäcilia (Heusenstamm)

Basilica of St. Paulinus, Trier

St Laurence at Dirmstein

St. Peter at Bruchsal

Prüm Abbey, new buildings from 1748

Ecclesiastical and official residences

Fortress of Mainz and Mainz Citadel (built between 1655 and 1675 for Johann Philipp)

New Residence in Bamberg (built from 1697 for Lothar Franz)

Favorite Palace in Mainz (built from 1700 for Lothar Franz)

The Federal Chancellery of Austria, built 1717–1719 for Vice-Chancellor Friedrich Karl von Schönborn

Blauer Hof Laxenburg (1710–1720 for Friedrich Karl)

Würzburg Residence (built from 1719 for Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn, accomplished under Friedrich Karl)

Bruchsal Palace (built from 1720 for Damian Hugo)

Imperial Chancellory Wing of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna (1723–30 under Vice-Chancellor Friedrich Karl von Schönborn)

Schloss Werneck (built from 1733 for Friedrich Karl)

Schloss Philippsburg (Dicasterial Building), Koblenz (1738–1749 for Franz Georg)

Neues Schloss (Meersburg), completion of the palace (from 1740 for Damian Hugo)

Schloss Schönbornslust at Koblenz-Kesselheim (1748–1752 for Franz Georg)