Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen (October 12, 1606–September 19, 1678), was prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family.
Reduced to poverty through the loss of his paternal inheritance, he took holy orders; but this did not prevent him from fighting on the side of the emperor Ferdinand III during the concluding stages of the Thirty Years' War. In 1650, he succeeded Ferdinand of Bavaria, archbishop of Cologne, as bishop of Münster.
After restoring some degree of peace and prosperity in his principality, Galen had to contend with a formidable insurrection on the part of the citizens of Münster; but in 1661 this was solved by occupying the city. The bishop, who maintained a strong army, became an important personage in Europe. In 1664, he was chosen one of the directors of the imperial army raised to fight the Turks, but his troops came to late to fight; after the peace which followed the Christian victory at the Battle of St. Gotthard in August 1664, he aided Charles II of England in his Second Anglo-Dutch War with the Dutch, until the intervention of Louis XIV and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg compelled him to make a disadvantageous peace in 1666 in Cleve.
When Galen again attacked the Dutch Republic six years later in the Franco-Dutch War, he was in alliance with Louis XIV, who helped him take Groenlo. His troops went more east and north and conquered not only Deventer and Coevorden. His army got stuck before the city of Groningen, failing to occupy the coast in the North, because of inundation of the fields on purpose and marshes that were almost impossible to cross. In October 1674 he withdrew his troops from the Dutch Republic and gave up his attempts to restore Catholic faith in the Eastern provinces. In 1675 he deserted his former ally, and fought for the emperor Leopold I against France. In conjunction with Brandenburg and Denmark he attacked Charles XI of Sweden, and conquered the Duchy of Bremen. Von Galen died at Ahaus.
He showed himself anxious to reform the church, and probably his chief energies were directed to increasing his power and prestige, but he succeeded in getting rid off foreign armies, occupying Westphalia since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
In popular culture
In the Netherlands he carries the nickname "Bommen Berend" (Bernhard Bombs) because he unsuccessfully lay siege to the Dutch city of Groningen using bombs. A holiday of this name is still celebrated in the city of Groningen on the 28th of August to commemorate the breaking of the siege.[1]
References
- This article incorporates text from the article "Galen, Christoph Bernhard, Freiherr von" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
| Preceded by Ferdinand of Bavaria |
Bishop of Münster 1650-1678 |
Succeeded by Ferdinand II of Fürstenberg |
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