Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg, orchestrator of the Wurzburg witch-trials
Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg (1583–1631) was the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1622 to 1631.
Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg was born in Heinsheim, which is today a district of Bad Rappenau, on 23 September 1583, the son of Johann Heinrich von Ehrenberg (d. 1584).
His mother was the sister of Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, who was Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1573 to 1617, and led the massive witch-hunt of Würzburg
alongside his son.
The cathedral chapter of Würzburg Cathedral elected him to be Prince-Bishop of Würzburg on February 6, 1623, with Pope Urban VIII confirming his appointment on March 19, 1624.
As bishop, von Ehrenberg was a fierce supporter of the Counter-Reformation and supported re-Catholicization throughout his territories. He oversaw the Würzburg witch trials, a massive witch-hunt in his bishopric from 1626 to 1631, during which time some 900 alleged witches were burned at the stake. He died on 16 July 1631, aged 47.