Joseph Clemens of Bavaria (5 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) was a member of the Wittelsbach

Wittelsbach

The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...

 dynasty of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723.

Biography

The third son of Ferdinand Maria

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.-Biography:He was born in Munich...

 of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 and his wife, Henrietta Adelaide

Henriette Adelaide of Savoy

Henriette Adelaide of Savoy , was the wife of the Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria...

 of Savoy

Savoy

Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

, Joseph Clemens was designated by his parents for a life in the church. He became Archbishop of Cologne in 1688 after the death of Maximilian Henry of Bavaria

Maximilian Henry of Bavaria

thumb|154 px|Maximilian Heinrich of BavariaMaximilian Henry of Bavaria was the third son and fourth child of Albert VI, landgrave of Leuchtenberg and his wife, Mechthilde von Leuchtenberg. In 1650, he was named Archbishop of Cologne, Bishop of Hildesheim and Bishop of Liège succeeding his uncle,...

, and his appointment to that post by Pope Innocent XI

Pope Innocent XI

Blessed Pope Innocent XI , born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope from 1676 to 1689.-Early life:Benedetto Odescalchi was born at Como in 1611 , the son of a Como nobleman, Livio Odescalchi, and Paola Castelli Giovanelli from Gandino...

 was one cause of the War of the Grand Alliance

War of the Grand Alliance

The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...

. He later also served as Prince-Bishop of Liège, of Regensburg

Diocese of Regensburg

The Diocese of Regensburg is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory seated in Regensburg, Germany. Its district covers parts of northeastern Bavaria; it is subordinate to the archbishop of Munich and Freising. The diocese has 1.3 million Catholics, constituting 81% of its population...

, of Freising

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising

The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Bavaria, Germany. It is led by the prelature of the Archbishop of Munich, who administers the see from the mother church in Munich, the Frauenkirche, also known as Munich Cathedral...

 and of Hildesheim

Bishopric of Hildesheim

The Diocese of Hildesheim is a diocese or ecclesiastical territory of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in Germany. Founded in 815 as a missionary diocese by King Louis the Pious, his son Louis the German appointed the famous former archbishop of Rheims, Ebbo, as bishop...

.

He was a proposed groom for Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Mademoiselle de Chartres

Mademoiselle de Chartres

Mademoiselle de Chartres may refer to one of the following:*Marie Anne d'Orléans daughter of Gaston, Duke of Orléans and Marguerite de Lorraine...

and only daughter of Philippe de France

Philippe I, Duke of Orléans

Philippe of France was the youngest son of Louis XIII of France and his queen consort Anne of Austria. His older brother was the famous Louis XIV, le roi soleil. Styled Duke of Anjou from birth, Philippe became Duke of Orléans upon the death of his uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans...

 (brother of Louis XIV) and his second wife Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate

Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate

Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine was a German princess and the wife of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV of France. Her vast correspondence provides a detailed account of the personalities and activities at the court of her brother-in-law, Louis XIV...

. Joseph Clemens' own sister Maria Anna Victoria had married Élisabeth Charlotte's cousin le Grand Dauphin. Élisabeth Charlotte refused and was later married to the Duke of Lorraine

Leopold, Duke of Lorraine

Leopold , surnamed the Good, was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death.-Early life:Leopold Joseph Charles Dominique Agapet Hyacinthe was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria, a half-sister of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.At the time of...

.

As did his brother Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...

, Joseph Clemens allied with France during the War of Spanish Succession and was forced to flee his residence Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

 in 1702 and found refuge at the French court. Joseph Clemens was put under the ban of the Empire and deprived of his lands in 1706.

The war between France and the Empire was finally ended in 1714 with the Treaty of Baden

Treaty of Baden

The Treaty of Baden was the treaty that ended hostilities between France and the Holy Roman Empire, who had been at war since the start of the War of the Spanish Succession. It was signed on 7 September 1714 in Baden, Switzerland and complemented the Treaty of Utrecht, and the Treaty of Rastatt by...

, which restored Joseph Clemens. He died in Bonn, and was buried at the Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...

. Joseph Clemens was succeeded by his nephew Clemens August of Bavaria

Clemens August of Bavaria

Clemens August of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.-Biography:...

.