prince-bishopric to promote trade - von Fürstenberg slightly loosened the previously strict restrictions relating to the trade guilds and promoted a more rational forestry policy, though the latter had little impact. His school reforms had a more lasting impact and were partly modeled on those of his brother Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Furstenberg in the Prince-Bishopric of Munster. Franz's reforms put in place a new system of schools, teaching and teacher training as well as replacing Latin with German as the main language in which students were taught. The overall economic position continued to be poor, however, leading to little lasting change and increasing criticism and rebelliousness against the prince-bishop. Hildesheim in particular became particularly tense, influenced by reports of the French Revolution. von Furstenberg made some peaceful attempts to resolve this but also used his troops to suppress riots if necessary - since he did not have enough soldiers himself he resorted to using troops from neighbouring Hesse. Secularisation The end of the Holy Roman Empire and the secularisation of the prince-bishoprics in 1802 were not entirely unexpected for von Fürstenberg - he attempted to block them both, but also cooperated with the new Prussian authorities. He lost his secular responsibilities but retained his spiritual ones and remained bishop. However, there were later tensions between him and Prussia, for example over whether schools should be under church or state supervision and control. von Fürstenberg gained a new overlord with the foundation of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1807 and had to take an oath of loyalty to Jerome Bonaparte. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, von Fürstenberg was one of the few surviving reigning bishops - in the peace settlement Paderborn was placed under the overlordship of Prussia and Hildesheim under that of Hanover. In his final years he went to Rome and managed to block Prussian and Hanoverian plans to dissolve the bishoprics of Hildesheim and Paderborn and transfer their responsibilities to the bishops of Osnabrück and Münster respectively. Instead, both bishoprics survived and Paderborn was extended to take on Sauerland (formerly under the control of Cologne) and the former bishoprics of Magdeburg and Halberstadt among others. He died at the prince bishops' residence in Hildesheim, which had been his permanent residence since 1802. He was buried in the central nave of Hildesheim Cathedral. References Bibliography (in German) Manfred Wolf: Franz Egon von Fürstenberg (1737–1825).