Portraits of Prince-Bishops and Schönborn Medallion @museum.de

F: Let's take a step back to where it all began:

M2: In the year 1056, that was. As part of a gift from the emperor, Bruchsal fell to the bishops of Speyer. And for the next 750 years, they were its spiritual and secular rulers.

F: We'd like to give you a more detailed account of four of those bishops. The portrait on the far left shows Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn. According to his contemporaries, he built walls and improved moral standards. And although he came from a powerful and wealthy noble family, the prince-bishop was extremely frugal. In fact, almost ascetic.

M: In 1722, Schönborn decided to move the episcopal residence from Speyer to Bruchsal—and to that end, he ordered the construction of Bruchsal Palace. At the bottom of the display case, you can see the Schönborn medal, which was issued in 1993 to mark the 250th anniversary of the cardinal's death.

F: The next portrait shows Schönborn's successor: Franz Christoph von Hutten zu Stolzenberg. He governed the prince-bishopric from 1743 to 1770. Hutten had the interior of the residence redecorated in the Rococo style.

M2: And although the palace was actually completed during his period of office, he had his predecessor's coat of arms mounted on the façade. Which was rather nice of him, don't you think?

F: Hutten was renowned for his sense of humour, and was approachable and affable. He was elected prince-bishop at the age of just 37, and didn't have much in common with his frugal predecessor. During Hutten's time, the number of servants at court doubled, and the wage bill increased six-fold. He was generous with gifts and pay rises. When he died, the prince-bishopric had run up debts of almost half a million guilders. Hutten was laid to rest in the crypt of St. Peter's Church, but his heart was buried in the church at Waghäusel, in accordance with his explicit wishes.

M: Let's now turn to Prince-Bishop August of Limburg-Stirum. He governed from 1770 to 1797, was considered a frugal ruler and scaled back his predecessor's household. The building projects he tackled during his reign included a hospital, an orphanage and an alms house. He extended compulsory education to the age of 16 and also built several schools.

M2: However, the bishop was also known to be extremely combative and litigious, as exemplified by the Stirumsche Mauerstreit (the Stirum Wall Dispute). The point of contention was a defensive wall that needed to be repaired. The city of Bruchsal was supposed to bear the costs. However, it refused, filed a lawsuit – and lost. The dispute dragged on for years, and eventually the city paid up, albeit reluctantly. In the end, the wall was completed and the bishop was dead. And what did his successor do? His first order of business was – to tear down the wall.

M: And that brings us to Bishop Wilderich von Walderdorf. You can see his portrait on the far right. He ruled from 1797 to 1802 and was the last of the prince-bishops. In the course of secularisation, he was obliged to cede his territory to the Margraviate of Baden. Walderdorf died in 1810. His will was signed with the words: "The last unfortunate bishop and prince of Speier."