Kaspar of the Rhine

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Kaspar zu Rhein (* 1433 in Mulhouse ; † November 8, 1502 in Porrentruy ) was Prince-Bishop of Basel from 1479 until his death .

Kaspar comes from the Mühlhausen branch of the Basel ministerial family Zu Rhein . His parents were Bernhard zu Rhein-Häsingen and Brigitte von Reinach. The Basel bishop Friedrich zu Rhein was his great-uncle. He studied from 1451 to 1452 at the University of Heidelberg , and in 1457 in Pavia . In the winter semester of 1460/61 he was rector of the newly founded University of Basel .

Kaspar had since 1452 canon in Basel, in 1459, he was domkustos . He was also a canon in Moutier and Montbeliard and 1459-1479 dean of the canons of Saint-Ursanne . On January 4th, 1479 he was elected Bishop of Basel by the cathedral chapter. The papal confirmation followed on March 5th, the episcopal ordination on May 30th in Basel Minster . Emperor Friedrich III. awarded him the regalia on November 10th .

In 1481 Kaspar tried unsuccessfully to redeem the mayor's office and other pledges from the city of Basel . When there was a dispute over the office of provost of Moutier-Grandval in 1486, Bern occupied the provost and pushed through his candidate as provost. Under pressure from the Swiss Confederation, Bern had to recognize the suzerainty of the Bishop of Basel over the provost, but concluded a castle rights agreement with Moutier-Grandval. The monastery tried to obtain exemption , and in 1498 Kaspar was able to secure higher jurisdiction in a settlement .

During the Swabian War, the diocese and the city of Basel remained neutral, but the Laufental valley and the provosts that were entrusted to the diocese were looted. The city of Basel joined the Swiss Confederation in 1501. Due to the high indebtedness of the diocese, Kaspar was forced by the cathedral chapter in 1499 to transfer the administration to the vicar general Christoph von Utenheim . The bishop then withdrew to Delémont . On September 24, 1502 he had to recognize Christoph von Utenheim as coadjutor . Before the plague that broke out in Delémont, Kaspar fled to Porrentruy, where he died on November 8, 1502. He was buried in the Lützel monastery.

literature

predecessor Office successor
Johann V. von Venningen Bishop of Basel
1479–1502
Christoph von Utenheim