Who is more powerful in Middle Ages? The German Emperor or the Pope?
This is one of the questions referring to history that cannot be answered in such a general way because the balance of power between the two constantly changed and fluctuated.
For the time we are entering now the secular rulers, that means the German Emperors and kings, hold the reins firmly in their hands. They are descendants of the mighty Emperor Otto the Great and they are the most powerful rulers in all of Europe. Under their reign, at the beginning of the 11th century, a son is born to the nobleman Konrad von Morsleben and Hornburg, his name is "Suitger". The boy is destined for a spiritual career, which he begins not far from here in Halberstadt, the seat of the local bishop. In 1032 he became court chaplain in the important archbishopric of Hamburg and Bremen and shortly afterwards he was already in the entourage of the German kings. In 1040 he was ordained bishop of the important bishopric of Bamberg, making him one of the leading figures in the empire.
When he accompanied King Henry III on his journey to Italy in 1046, he probably had no idea what was in store for him there. The church situation at this time was quite complicated. There were three popes at the same time who were at loggerheads with each other. King Henry therefore went to Rome for two reasons: on the one hand he wanted to put things in order in the church and on the other hand he wanted to be crowned emperor in St. Peter's Basilica like all his predecessors. In the end both could be arranged in one go. The three incumbent popes were promptly deposed and the king's favorite was hoisted onto the throne of St. Peter. In this way, Suitger - probably to his own surprise - became the spiritual leader of all Roman Catholic Christianity and from then on called himself Clement II. In return, he crowned Henry III as Roman-German Emperor on Christmas Day in 1046.
Pope Clement had big plans, as there were many things wrong with the church of his time. But for him as a German it wasn´t quite easy in Rome. And not everyone sympathized with his reform plans. After only 10 months, Clement fell seriously ill. He was traveling and found shelter in the monastery of San Tommaso in the present-day municipality of Montelabbate. After a short struggle, he died there. In accordance with his wishes, his body was taken to Bamberg, where it found its final resting place in the cathedral. Thus it is the only papal grave north of the Alps. In the 20th century, this grave was opened and examined. Clement was of a good stature and his hair was reddish-blond. An unusually high level of lead was also found in his bones, which may indicate that he was murdered by poison - but perhaps not, as there could be other explanations.
Beyond doubt is that Hornburg is very proud to be the birthplace of this pope. That is why, among other things, an entire section of the local museum is dedicated to him and the local Catholic church bears his name. So we can proudly claim: Hornburg stands in a row with Bamberg and Rome as papal cities!