page_title: Ferdinand of Fürstenberg (1626–1683)
section_title: Foreign policy
hierarchical_section_title: Ferdinand of Fürstenberg (1626–1683) / Time as a bishop / Foreign policy
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Wappen auf der Vorhalle der Busdorfkirche Paderborn 1667
context_page_description: Ferdinand of Fürstenberg, contemporaneously also known as Ferdinandus liber baro de Furstenberg, was, as Ferdinand II, Prince Bishop of Paderborn from 1661 to 1683 and also Prince Bishop of Münster from 1678 to 1683, having been its coadjutor since 1667/68. He was brought almost complete restoration to the Bishopric of Paderborn after the devastation of the Thirty Years' War.
  In foreign policy, he followed the principle of armed neutrality, but tended increasingly clearly to lean towards the French position. He distinguished himself as an author of historical works, a poet of Latin poetry and a correspondent with the great scholars of his time. He also emerged as a patron of the arts and religion and had numerous churches built or renovated. He is considered one of the most outstanding representatives of Baroque Catholicism.
context_section_description: Overall Ferdinand pursued a peaceful foreign policy of armed neutrality, which avoided direct participation in war whenever possible. But Ferdinand's foreign policy swung between loyalty to the emperor and the leaning towards France. Ferdinand was greatly impressed by the personality of Louis XIV. Yet, following a family tradition, he initially remained a Habsburg adherent. Later on, his policy was oscillated before increasingly leaning towards the French side.
  Despite his tendency to take a neutral stance, in 1665 he sent a small contingent of troops to support the war by the Bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen, who attacked the Netherlands together with Charles II of England. He opposed the war itself, but felt compelled to support von Galen, in order to be appointed by him as coadjutor of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. Behind the scenes, Ferdinand tried to end the war, which ended with the Treaty of Cleves in 1666.
caption: Coat of arms of Ferdinand of Fürstenberg on the portal of the Busdorf Church in Paderborn (1667). The Furstenberg arms are quartered with those of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn.
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