Philipp Christoph von Sötern

Philipp Christoph von Sötern (born in Kastellaun the December 11th 1567 and died with Trier the February 7th 1652) was bishop of Whorl in 1610 then archbishop, Prince-Voter of Trier starting from 1623.

It carried out, during the Guerre Thirty Year old a policy definitely favorable to the French interests which were worth to him to be removed and imprisoned on order of the emperor Ferdinand II in 1635. This event determined the entry in war of France.

Youth and rise

The future prince-archbishop was the son of a Protestant father and of a catholic mother and he was baptized in the worship Lutheran. However, under the influence of his mother and of an uncle who was Chanoine of the cathedral of Trier, it converts any young person with the Catholicisme. During its adolescence, he was pupil in a school held by the Jésuite S. His studies led it to the doctorates in civil law and canon law. And, old only 17 years, he became canon of Trier and, later, of Mainz and Spire.

As a priest of the cathedral of Trier, load which it held starting from 1604, it showed qualities of diplomat and council in controversies of legal nature which concerned the Electorate. This is why it was had a presentiment of for high positions: first of all, in 1609, he became coadjutor and, in 1610, titular bishop of the seat of Spire. It accepted its épiscole dedication only in 1612.

First years as a bishop

In the évêché aim of protection of Whorl against the French companies, Sötern made build, inter alia, the fortress of Philippsburg. Here, as later in the archbishop's palace of Trier of which it became titular in 1623, it attempted to promote a policy favorable to the Counter-Reformation and of voluntarist Re-catholicisation, like its future adversary the emperor Ferdinand II.

In these two évêchés, and particularly in that of Trier, it establishes a heavy fiscal policy, to finance an administration tâtillonne and, especially, the construction of a palate sumptuous archiépiscopal which was to be finished only in 1629. Moreover, by a nepotism which was not dissimulated, it required the attribution of important stations to members of its family. All this leads to cause an opposition to him among the members of the chapter and the population of the archbishop's palace. Thus it ends up putting at back convinced catholics who joined the camp of the opponents to the emperor and became ipso facto objective allies of the Protestant powers in the developments of the Guerre Thirty Year old.

The Thirty Year old war

In order to free itself from this increasingly hated supervision, the inhabitants of the archbishop's palace of Trier, carried out by the Chancellor Jean von Anethan, invited some with the emperor. Troops come from the Spanish Netherlands occupied in 1630 the capital of the archbishop's palace. At this point in time Sötern turned to France which in 1632 took again Trier for its account. Richelieu saw there an occasion of indirect intervention in the electoral college of the Empire and to make favorable the Sweden and the Protestant opponents of the emperor.

Sötern concludes in 1631 a treaty from neutrality with the Sweden and France and made it possible to them to hold garrison in the fortresses of Ehrenbreitstein and Philippsburg. Ehrenbreitstein, just opposite Coblentz where the electoral residence of Trier was had a major strategic importance on the the Rhine. Moreover, Sötern supported in 1634 the candidature of Richelieu for the post of bishop-coadjutor of its archbishop's palace, and thus for its almost assured succession at its own station. This considerably would have reinforced the influence and the position of France in the Rhineland and threatens of the manner the most direct highly strategic transportation route which it constituted between the possessions of the Habsbourg to the Spanish Netherlands and in southernmost Germany. Moreover, by this stratagem, France could have made sure a place within the electoral college of the Holy roman Empire… Imperial and Spanish troops again occupied Trier and in 1635, Sötern was stopped before being imprisoned during ten years, with Linz in Austria. Cete arrest was the pretext sought by Richelieu which declared the war with the Spain. With the agreement of the emperor, the chapter of the cathedral took in hands the administration of the territories concerned with the archbishop. When this last was slackened, it tried to make detach the archbishop's palace of Trier Saint Empire. With this intention, it started secret negotiations with France which, unfortunately, were without effect.

After its return, its reconciliation somewhat forced with its chapter cathédral was put at evil when it named of its own boss a cleaned canon of the cathedral and bishop-coadjutor, little time before its death. The chapter made choice of another successor with Sötern in the person of Karl Kaspar von der Leyen.

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