Karl Kaspar von der Leyen (18 December 1618 – 1 June 1676) was
Archbishop-Elector of Trier
The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Prince-Elector
The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops.
From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
from 1652 to 1676.
Life
A member of the noble
Leyen
The House of Leyen-Hohengeroldseck is an ancient German noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank.
As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel (high nobility).
History
The origin can be traced to t ...
family, Charles Kaspar was made a
coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese.
The coa ...
on 11 June 1650. He was elected the successor of the then 86-year-old Archbishop Philipp Christoph von Sötern, but this was rejected as Philipp Christoph was the favoured candidate.
After the death of the Archbishop, Karl Kaspar started his reign on 12 March 1652. The consequences of the recently ended
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
presented the new archbishop with many hard tasks, for example, the population of the archiepiscopal state had declined to approximately 300,000 people. His policy towards the Allies had destroyed many buildings; so he had to restore the country's infrastructure, especially the justice and agriculture systems, to promote development. He also had to repair the fortresses
Koblenz
Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
and
Ehrenbreitstein
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.
Occupying the position of an earlier fortress destroyed by ...
.
He founded an orphanage for boys in Trier and endowed scholarships for the training of nobles' sons to become priests, and in 1668, he had the ''Kurtrierische Landrecht'' ("Electoral-Trier Common Law") published.
Charles Kaspar promoted, in particular, the members of his aristocratic house, Von der Leyen (House of the Leyens).
In 1654 he made his younger brother Damian Hartard von der Leyen the Archbishop of
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
and Provost and
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...
Archbishopric of Trier
The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Schloss Philippsburg below the Ehrenbreitstein fortress.