Kingdom of Würtemberg

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In area the third and in population the fourth of the states of theGerman Empire. It is situated betweenBavaria and Baden. Its area is 7534 sq. miles; in 1910 it had 2,437,574 inhabitants. In 1905 there were 695,808Catholics, 1,583,745Protestants, 11,107 otherChristians, and 12,053Jews. The capital is Stuttgart. The kingdom is divided into four circles: Neckar (in which 11 per cent of the inhabitants areCatholics); Black Forest (26 per cent); Jagst (32 per cent); and Danube (62 per cent). The southern part of the country is largelyCatholic, as is also the majority of the higher nobility, the members of which were formerly immediate princes of the empire.

The territory includes a part of the old tribal duchy of Alamannia or Swabia (Suevia). The original nucleus of the present kingdom was a Countship of Würtemberg, at the junction of the small rivers Rems and Fils with the Neckar. The nameWürttemberg, originallyWirtenberc, is derived from a castle of the same name on the Roten Berg (red mountain) south of Stuttgart. The first known ancestor of the present rulingfamily is Count Konrad (1081-92); the unbroken succession of rulers began with Count Ulrich I (1241-65). The possessions of the Counts of Würtemberg grew steadily larger. Contrary to the custom in other German states, the principle of primogeniture was established at an earlydate. Count Eberhard the Bearded (1450-96) was made a duke in 1495 by the Emperor Maximilian I. In 1803 Würtemberg received the electoral dignity, and in 1805Napoleon raised it to a kingdom. Like the other states of southernGermany, Würtemberg became a member of the Confederation of the Rhine, and until after the battle of Leipzig (1813) it was an ally ofFrance. In 1815 it entered the German Confederation, in 1866 it supportedAustria in thewar withPrussia. At the close of the Austro-Prussianwar it wasobliged, like the other states of SouthGermany, to form an offensive and defensive alliance withPrussia. When theGerman Empire was founded in 1871, Würtemberg became a member of the confederation, and was granted, likeBavaria, certain special privileges. The present ruler is King William I (b. 1848), who is childless. Since theReformation the royal family has beenProtestant. Duke Charles Alexander (1733-37) had become aCatholic in 1712, when a general in theAustrian army, before he ascended the throne; he was succeeded in the government successively by his sons, alsoCatholics: Duke Charles Eugene (1737-93), a despot, spendthrift, and profligate, Duke Louis Eugene (1793-95), and Duke Frederick Eugene (1795-97). The last-named duke married aPrussian princess, and, through the influence of Frederick the Great ofPrussia, permitted his children to be brought up asProtestants. The succession ofProtestant rulers began with DukeFrederick II (1797-1816), who was made King of Würtemberg in 1805 and after that was called Frederick I. On the death of the present king theProtestant line becomes extinct. The succession to the throne is in a collateral branch descended from Duke Alexander (d. 1833), a brother of the first King of Würtemberg. The son of this Alexander, also named Alexander (d. 1881), married aCatholic princess of the Orléansfamily and allowed his children to be brought up asCatholics. The heir to the throne is a grandson of this latter Alexander, Duke Albert (b. 1865), or, in case of his death, his son Duke Philip Albert (b. 1893). In 1898 a law bearing upon theCatholic succession to the throne was enacted, which regulated the relations of aCatholic king to theProtestant State Church.

Christianity spread rapidly in the territory of the present Kingdom of Würtemberg in the seventh and eighth centuries. As early as the Roman era it had found a foothold at scattered spots in the second and third centuries, but was not permanently established until the reign ofCharlemagne (d. 814). The care both ofreligious life and of the entireintellectual life was exercised by themonasteries, especially by those of theBenedictines. Probably the most celebratedBenedictineabbey was that of Hirsau, which was founded about 850 and reorganized to conform to the Rule of Cluny by theabbot Blessed Wilhelm (d. 1091). After theReformation theabbey was aProtestant institution, and in 1692 it was destroyed by the French. Other importantBenedictineabbeys were: that at Alpirsbach, in the Kinzigtal, founded in 1095 and existed until 1648; its fine Romanesqueabbey church is now used by theProtestants; theabbey atEllwangen, founded in 764, from 1460 a house of secularAugustinian Canons which was directly dependent on the Empire, and which was suppressed in 1803; its fineabbey church is in the Romanesque style; theabbey at Murrhardt, founded by the Emperor Louis the Pious, suppressed during theReformation; a part of it was the celebrated late Romanesquechapel, now used by theProtestants, called Walderichskapelle; theabbey atWeingarten (1052-1802), the richestabbey in Swabia; theabbey at Wiblingen (1093-1806); that at Sweifalten (1089-1803), etc. Two notedCistercianabbeys which have preserved almost entirely their typicalmedieval form are: theabbey at Maulbron, founded in 1146, became aProtestanttheologicalseminary in 1556, and theabbey at Bebenhausen, founded in 1185, made aProtestantmonasteryschool in 1560, and since 1807 a royal hunting castle. Among theproofs of the flourishingcondition ofCatholic life in the cities during the era before theReformation are some of the celebrated monuments ofGothic architecture, as: the minster at Ulm, now used by theProtestants, which next to Colognecathedral is the largest church building inGermany, and has an area of about 75,778 sq. feet; theChurch of the Holy Cross and of Our Lady, at Schwäbisch-Gmund, without a tower; and theChurch of Our lady at Reutlingen, now used by theProtestants. Among the notedCatholicchurches of a later date special mention should be made of theCatholiccathedral atRottenburg (seventeenth century), and the church atWeingarten, a structure of the eighteenth century in thebaroque style. This latter church is distinguished for arelic of the Holy Blood, inhonour of which a large equestrian procession, called theBlutritt, is held annually on the Friday afterAscension Day.

As early as the years 1520-30 theReformation found entrance into Würtemberg. The extravagance and cruelty of a number of the rulers and the harsh oppression of the people had led to several fiercewars with the cities and revolts of the peasantry; all this prepared the way for the newdoctrine. Duke Ulrich (1498-1550), who had been driven from the country on account of his acts ofviolence and had been put under the ban of the empire in 1519 formurder, became aProtestant. With the aid of Landgrave Philip ofHesse, who is well known on account of his twomarriages, Ulrich acquired possession of his territories once more, and introduced theReformation throughout them, while at the same time he confiscated all the lands of the churches andmonasteries. The work of theReformation was completed by Ulrich's son Duke Christopher (1550-1568). Würtemberg suffered terribly in the great religious struggle known as theThirty Years War. At the beginning of the nineteenth century it had an area of 2093 sq. miles and 650,000 inhabitants. Owing to the great changes brought about inGermany byNapoleon, Würtemberg obtained during the years 1802-1810 an increase of population that doubled the number of its inhabitants and an increase of territory that gave the country its present extent. This increase addedCatholic districts once more to the state, which up to then had been entirelyProtestant. The additions were, mainly, a large part of the Austrian possessions in Swabia, the lands of theTeutonic Knights, which up till then had been held immediately from the empire, the lands belonging to the provostship ofEllwangen, the lands of variousmonasteries which had held their territories directly from the empire, etc. A state board called the spiritual council was at once appointed to protect the sovereignrights of the State as against theCatholicChurch; since 1816 this board has been called the church council. The newly acquiredCatholic districts, however, belonged to differentdioceses, e.g. thedioceses ofConstance,Augsburg, Wurzburg, and Speyer, consequently a vicar-generalate was created which was provided with aseminary forpriests and aCatholictheological faculty atEllwangen. In 1817, however, the office of the vicariate general and theseminary forpriests were transferred toRottenburg, where they were established in theCarmelitemonastery of that place, and theCatholictheological faculty was united with theUniversity of Tübingen.

On 16 Aug., 1821, thepapal Bull "Provida sollersque" erected the newDiocese of Rottenburg for the entire territory of Würtemberg; it was united with theChurch province of the Upper Rhine and was made suffragan to theArchbishop ofFreiburg. TheBull "Ad dominici gregis custodiam", of 11 April, 1827, regulated theright to the appointment of thebishop and of thecathedral canons, and in 1828Vicar-General von-Keller wasenthroned as firstbishop. The list ofbishops is: Johann Baptist von Keller (d. 1845), Joseph von Lipp (d. 1869), Karl Joseph von Hefele (d. 1893), William von Reiser (d. 1898), Franz Xaver von Linsenmann (d. 1898); since 18 Jan., 1899, Paul Wilhelm von Kepler (b. 1852;ordainedpriest, 1875). During the decade of 1840 a dispute arose between thebishop and the State concerning the limits of the State'srights of sovereignty and supervision. In 1854 the Government made an agreement with thebishop which, however, was not recognized by thepope. A concordat between thepope and the kingdom, which was made in 1857, was not accepted by the Diet. After this thelaw of 30 Jan., 1862, made a one-sided adjustment of the relations between State and Church. In most particulars thislaw repeated the contents of the Concordat, so that up to now actual conflict has been avoided. Würtemberg was spared the violent conflict betweenChurch and State, known as theKulturkampf, which raged in almost all of the German countries of the empire during the years directly following 1870. This peace was due to the kindliness of the king, the good sense of the Government, and the moderate position taken by the Diet. It is only of late years that religious differences have become more evident in political life. Much is said in thehistory of the Church of Würtemberg of theRottenburg dispute. This was a quarrel between thebishop, theCatholictheological faculty, and the director of the Wilhelm School atTübingen on the one side, and the heads of theseminary forpriests and a large body of thepriests on the other side, as to the religious, scholarly, and moral training of theclergy. The matter was settled by the intervention of theHoly See.

The relations betweenChurch and State are regulated by thelaw of 30 Jan., 1862. Both thebishop and thevicar-general appointed by him received the rank of nobles. Thebishop is elected from among theclergy of thediocese by thecathedral chapter, which consists of acathedral dean and six canons; the list of candidates is first handed to the ruler, who strikes off the names of the most distasteful to him. The members of thecathedral chapter are selected alternately by thebishop or chapter, the ruler having the samerights as in the election of abishop. The governmental right of supervision (jus circa sacra) is exercised by theCatholicChurch council, a board subordinate to the ministry of worship and consisting of secular andecclesiastical members, which is appointed by the Government. General ordinances issued by thebishop that are not purelyecclesiastical in character, andpapal Bulls, Briefs, etc., which touch upon governmental or civil affairs, are subject to the approval of the State. Episcopal orpapal decrees in regard to purelyecclesiastical matters need only to be submitted to the State authorities for inspection at the time of theirpromulgation. For admission to anecclesiastical office the candidate must have the civilrights of a citizen of Würtemberg, must have attended a gymnasium, have studied at theUniversity of Tübingen, and have passed the final examination of theCatholictheological faculty there. For the training of theclergy there areseminaries for boys connected with the gymnasium at Ehingen and Rottweil, and the Wilhelm School atTübingen for the students oftheology at theUniversity of Tübingen. These threeschools are supported by the State. In these institutions thebishop directs the religious training under the supervision of the State; in other respects they are under the direct control of the Government, which is exercised through theCatholicChurch council. In particular, the council controls the reception and dismissal of the pupils. The director and his assistants, calledrepetents, are appointed by thebishop. After passing the finaltheological examination at theuniversity, which comes at the close of a four-years course intheology, the candidates for thepriesthood are sent to theseminary forpriests atRottenburg, which is controlled by thebishop alone. Thebishop also has charge of theCatholic religious instruction in allschools.

The consent of the State, which can be recalled at any moment, isnecessary for the admission ofreligious orders and congregations and for every new house of an order or congregation. The State treats thevows of the members of the orders as revocable. Up to the present time onlyfemale orders have been permitted in Würtemberg. The largest number of houses (about 130) belong to theSisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the mother-house being at Untermarchtal; the Congregation of theThird Order of St. Francis has over 100 houses, the mother-house being at Reute. Up to now the Government has not granted the repeated requests of thebishop and of theCatholic portion of the population for the admission of male orders. The State granted the diocese an endowment from the formerproperty of the Church, e.g. in houses, lands, and revenues in money; thisproperty is administered by the episcopal court under the supervision of the Government. The sustentation fund established in 1808 received definite sums from the revenues of vacantecclesiastical positions; these amount serve to supplement the salaries ofparishpriests, to pension retiredpriests, etc. The fund is administered by the Government and Church together. The administration of theproperty of the local churches is also regulated by the State (laws of 14 June, 1887, and of 27 July, 1906). A definite allowance is added from the state treasury to the incomes of thepriests from theirbenefices; in 1911 the total amount of state aid was fixed at 225,000 marks annually. Measures are being taken for the reorganization of the financial relations betweenChurch and State. In 1910 the number of churches,chapels, and stations was 1031, of these 698 wereparishes; there were 1179priests, and 29 deaneries. The primaryschools are denominational. When the number ofCatholics in a commune falls below 60 theCatholics must support aCatholicschool out of their own means. The spiritual supervision of theschools was greatly limited in 1903 and 1909. Of the higherschools 4 classical gymnasia and 1 gymnasium with scientific instead of Classical courses are entirelyCatholic. AllCatholicschools are under a special government board, theCatholic higherschool council. There are a number ofCatholiceducational institutions for poor,orphaned, and sickCatholic children; these institutions are generally conducted by members of thefemale orders, as is also a government institution, the royalorphanage at Oxenhausen. Religious fraternities andsocieties are numerous.

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