Due to the questionable Nazi past of its namesake, a square in Würzburg is being renamed. The city council unanimously decided to rename Kardinal-Faulhaber-Platz to Theaterplatz, a city spokesman said on Friday. “Faulhaber is accused of not taking action against National Socialist crimes – despite his powerful position within the Catholic Church,” explained Green Party parliamentary group leader Konstantin Mack.
Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber (1869-1952) came from Lower Franconia and became known as Archbishop of Munich-Freising. A street in downtown Munich is named after Faulhaber. In 2015, Würzburg began checking streets and squares for possible Nazi involvement of namesakes. As early as 2022, there was a majority in the city council in favor of renaming Kardinal-Faulhaber-Platz.
Bishop Franz Jung subsequently criticized the decision and instead advocated a classification using publicly available information. There were further discussions about possible new names. The square is located opposite the Mainfranken Theater, which has been undergoing extensive renovation and reconstruction for years.