Franz Ludwig von Erthal

Born into the House of Erthal, an ancient Franconian noble family, Franz Ludwig was the son of Baron Philipp Christoph von und zu Erthal (1689-1748), Lord Marshal and Vice-President of the Chamber of Electorate of Mainz, and his wife, Baroness Maria Eva von Bettendorf (d. 1738). He was younger brother of Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, Prince-elector and Archbishopric of Mainz.

From 1779 until his death, he was very prudent as the prince-bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg in personal union. He was permeated with the ideas of the Enlightenment and promoted the education of the clergy. In Bamberg, he built the first modern hospital and introduced a first public social insurance. The University of Bamberg received a chair for veterinary medicine under its government. Politically, he was loyal to the House of Habsburg and close to Emperor Joseph II.

Unlike his predecessor Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim, Erthal disapproved of worldly pleasures, and there were no hunts and opera performances at his court. The Würzburg Residenz was however completed during his reign.

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{{succession box| title = Prince-Bishop of Würzburg | years = 1779–1795 | before = Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim | after = Georg Karl Ignaz von Fechenbach zu Laudenbach}}

{{succession box| title = Prince-Bishop of Bamberg | years = 1779–1795 | before = Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim | after = Christoph Franz von Buseck}}

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Category:1730 births

Category:1795 deaths

Category:People from Lohr am Main

Category:People from the Electorate of Mainz

Category:Prince-bishops of Bamberg

Category:Prince-bishops of Würzburg

Category:German barons

Category:18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria

Category:Burials at Würzburg Cathedral

Category:Dukes of Franconia

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