Roman Catholic Diocese of Chiemsee

Bishopric of Chiemsee
Bistum Chiemsee
1216–1808
Coat of arms

Capital
Circle
Bench
Herrenchiemsee
Bavarian until ?
none
Established 1216
Abolished 1808
Herrenchiemsee (left); Engraving by Merian, c. 1644
Chiemseehof, Salzburg

The Bishopric of Chiemsee was a Roman Catholic diocese. While based on the islands of the Chiemsee in Bavaria, Germany, most of its territory lay in the County of Tyrol, Austria. The bishopric ceased to be a residential see in 1808. and accordingly is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[1]

Establishment

The Bishopric of Chiemsee was established by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Eberhard II of Regensberg, on the islands of the Chiemsee in 1215. It followed the precedent set by his predecessor Gebhard, who had established the Bishopric of Gurk in 1072. This system of founding quite small suffragan dioceses was to be completed by the setting up of the bishoprics of Seckau in 1218 and Lavant in 1225. It was caused by the fact, that, after a large increase in size, stretching its borders from the Inn river in Bavaria to the Hungarian border, the archdiocese of Salzburg became hard to govern. Both the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope gave their consent and support to the establishment of the bishopric in 1213.

Structure

All bishops of Chiemsee were selected by the Archbishops, for the bishops were the most important supporters of the archbishops. The bishops usually served as auxiliary bishops or fulfilled other duties for the archbishops. Locally the ruling of the bishopric rested mostly with the archdeacons who, supported by the Dukes of Bavaria, prevented the bishops from residing in the bishopric. Therefore, the Bishops never became prince-bishops of the Empire, unlike most other ecclesiarchs. Thus the bishopric should not be considered as a state of the Holy Roman Empire, but as a territory within the state of the archbishopric. Accordingly, the bishops held a seat in the archbishoprics diet.

At first, the nuns monastery of Frauenchiemsee was to be the seat of the bishopric, but subsequently, the monks monastery church of the nearbyBenedictine Abbey of Herrenchiemsee was chosen to be the diocesan cathedral. In fact, the seat of the bishopric was the so-called Chiemseehof in the city of Salzburg. This building nowadays is used by the parliament and the government of the State of Salzburg.

The bishopric was rather small, consisting of 10 parishes when it was created, and finally 11in 1804, mostly consisting of exclaves in the vicinity of St. Johann in Tirol.

The best known bishop was Berthold Pürstinger (1508 - 1525) who twice used his influence to save innocent people from (the town-councillors in 1511, and the peasants in 1524); after retiring from office became a noted humanist.

Abolition

Together with the secularisation of the archbishopric in 1803, the bishopric also lost its territorial function. In 1808 the diocese was abolished after the last bishop waived his rights. Temporarily under the rule of the Ordinariate of the Bishopric of Freising, the Austrian parts returned to Salzburg and were added to the Bishopric of Brixen in 1817/18, the rest becoming regular part of newly renamed Archbishopric of Munich-Freising.

List of Bishops of Chiemsee (1216 - 1808)

Name

Reign

Notes

Rudiger of Bergheim-Radeck1216–1233
Albert1234–1244
vacant1244 - 1246
Albert Suerbeer1246 - 1247Administrator; Archbishop of Armagh
Henry of Bilversheim1247 - 1252Administrator
Henry I1252–1262
Henry II of Lützelburg1263–1274
John I of Ennstal1274–1279
Conrad I of Hintberg1279–1292
Frederick I of Fronau1292–1293
Adalbert of Fohnsdorf1293–1322
Ulrich I of Montpreis1322–1330
Conrad II of Liechtenstein1330–1354
Gerhoh of Waldeck1354–1359
Hugo of Schärfenberg1359
Louis I Radelkofen1360–1361
Frederick II1361–1387
George I of Neuberg1387–1393
Eckart of Pernegg1393–1399
Engelmar Chrel1399–1422
Frederick III Theis of Thesingen1423–1429Bishop of Lavant
John II Ebser1429–1438
Sylvester Pflieger1438–1453
Ulrich II of Plankenfels1453–1467
Bernard of Kraiburg1467–1477
George II Altdorfer1477–1495
Louis II Ebmer1495–1502
Christopher I Mendel of Steinfels1502–1508
Berthold Pürstinger1508–1525
Ägidius Rehm1525–1536
Hieronymus Meittinger1536–1557
Christopher II Schlattl1557–1589
Sebastian Cattaneus1589–1608
Ernfried of Khünburg1608–1619
Nicholas of Wolkenstein1619–1624
Christopher III John of Liechtenstein1624–1643
Francis Vigilius of Spaur1644–1670
John of Preysing1670–1689
Sigismund Ignatius of Wolkenstein1689–1696
Sigismund Charles of Castel-Barco1696–1708
John Sigismund Grag of Khünburg1708–1711Bishop of Lavant
Francis Anthony Adolph of Wagensberg1712–1723Bishop of Seckau
Charles Joseph of Khünburg1724–1729Bishop of Seckau
Joseph Francis Valerian of Arco1730–1746
Francis Charles Eusebius of Friedberg and Trauchburg1746–1772
Ferdinand Christopher of Zeil and Trauchburg1772–1786
Francis Xavier of Breuner1786–1797
Sigismund Christopher of Zeil und Trauchburg1797–1805Archbishop of Salzburg
vacant1805 - 1808

References

  1. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), "Sedi titolari", p. 868

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