archbishop writer Catholic priest
Raitenau was born at Hofen Castle in Lochau near Bregenz in Further Austria, the son of the Habsburg colonel Hans Werner von Raitenau and Helene von Hohenems, a niece of Pope Pius IV and sister of Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps, who was consecrated Bishop of Constance in 1561, as well as sister-in-law of Cardinal Charles Borromeo.
His predecessor Archbishop George of Kuenburg had long time served as a coadjutor bishop and had found himself in constant conflict with the chapter. Upon his death in 1587, Raitenau was elected as a compromise candidate and was ordained by the Passau bishop Urban of Trennbach. In his later years however, he developed a milder attitude and initiated reforms of the liturgy and the administration of the episcopal lands, which however alienated the Roman Curia.
The new cathedral was however erected under Raitenau"s successor Mark Sittich von Hohenems and his architect Santino Solari.
In 1606 the archbishop had also a castle built for his mistress, Salome Alternate, mother of fifteen children, which later was converted into Mirabell Palace. Raitenau"s rule was brought down after he had entered into a fierce dispute with his mighty neighbour Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria: In 1609 the Archbishop refused to join Maximilian"s Catholic League and in October 1611 his forces invaded the Berchtesgaden Provostry, which was also claimed by the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach.
In the subsequent clashes of arms, Bavarian troops campaigned Salzburg.
He won fame not only an art collector but also as a builder, who significantly promoted the spread of the Baroque architecture north of the Alps: When Salzburg Cathedral was devastated by a fire on the night of December 11, 1598, had plans set up for a lavish reconstruction by the Venetian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi, who also drew up a master plan for the adjacent Residenzplatz square and designed the Salzburg Residenz.
Wolf Dietrich received an ecclesiastical education at the Collegium Germanicum in Rome and became a member of the Salzburg cathedral chapter in 1578.
