The foundation stone for the Franciscan monastery in Forchheim was laid in 1684 on behalf of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Marquard Sebastian Schenk von Stauffenberg. On 6 April the following year, building work on the monastery church began in the presence of the prince-bishop himself. Marquard Sebastian was also the benefactor of the Sebastian Chapel that was dedicated to his namesake. The completed monastery church and the chapel were inaugurated on 9 October 1693, five months before the prince-bishop’s death. On his deathbed Marquard Sebastian stipulated that his heart be interred in the monastery church in his chapel.
Fig. 1. Church of the Franciscan convent in Forchheim, entrance with the coat of arms of the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, Marquard Sebastian Schenk von Stauffenberg: parted quarterly; alternately the coat of arms of the Stauffenberg family (lion top and bottom, bar in the middle) and the coat of arms of the bishopric of Bamberg (lion diagonally crossed by bar)
Above the portal of the monastery church that is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua, the founder’s coat of arms can be seen and the Latin form of his name read in the inscription ‘Marquardo Sebastiano’ on the frieze behind. The coat of arms shows the two lions from the Stauffenberg family crest as well as a single lion for the bishopric of Bamberg in keeping with the arms of alliance at Schloss Seehof. As already mentioned, the coat of arms of the Schenk von Stauffenberg family, with an imperial crown above, decorates the pedestal on which our figure of Sebastian stands. This symbolises the diocese of Bamberg as an imperial prince-bishopric. By reason of the inclusion of the family coat of arms, this figure of the princebishop’s namesake was probably intended for Marquard’s private apartments although a place on an altar in the Sebastian Chapel would also be plausible.
The inscription ‘Vorch’ that can be seen on the coat of arms is an abbreviation of the name of the town Forchheim – the most important fortified settlement within the prince-bishopric of Bamberg. As Bamberg did not offer sufficient protection from enemy attacks, the prince-bishops of Bamberg withdrew to Forchheim in unsettled times together with the cathedral treasure. Erected as an imperial stronghold, Forchheim became a seat of the prince-bishops in the late 14th century. Prince-Bishop Marquard’s sister, Katharina Sophie von Eyb, had a large residence built there in 1685 with her brother’s help that, from 1694 onwards, was used as an official seat of the prince-bishops.
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The name of the artist who carved this figure of the saint with such masterly skill is unknown. Prince-Bishop Marquard would certainly not have commissioned artists from Bamberg or Forchheim alone. He maintained close contact with his family’s roots in Swabia, so it is equally possible that it was made by an unknown sculptor from that region.
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