Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau ruled Salzburg from 1587 until his forced abdication in 1612, and his tenure was marked as much by architectural ambition — he razed the medieval cathedral to rebuild it in Italian Baroque style — as by political overreach. The klippe format, struck as a square flan rather than a round one, was not a production standard but a deliberate prestige choice, typically reserved for presentation pieces and gifts to powerful recipients. These were not intended for circulation.
Wolf Dietrich's downfall came after a prolonged conflict with Bavaria over the salt trade, which funded the archbishopric's wealth. He died a prisoner in the Hohensalzburg fortress in 1617.
Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau ruled Salzburg from 1587 until his forced abdication in 1612, and his tenure was marked as much by architectural ambition — he razed the medieval cathedral to rebuild it in Italian Baroque style — as by political overreach. The klippe format, struck as a square flan rather than a round one, was not a production standard but a deliberate prestige choice, typically reserved for presentation pieces and gifts to powerful recipients. These were not intended for circulation.
Wolf Dietrich's downfall came after a prolonged conflict with Bavaria over the salt trade, which funded the archbishopric's wealth. He died a prisoner in the Hohensalzburg fortress in 1617.