Karl Kaspar von Siebold

Abstract

According to the taste of his time, Karl Kaspar von Siebold was certainly an attractive person. He was almost 2 m tall, stout, well-proportioned, broad-shouldered, a good dancer, and a man who moved elegantly (Fig. 1). He overcame an injury caused by the hoof of an imperial horse so well that 5 years later he no longer limped. Karl Kaspar von Siebold was a man of the world who was able to converse in four leading European languages: German, French, Dutch and English. In addition, he knew some Spanish. He also became a member of the inheritable nobility. Archduke Carl himself, the Salvator Germaniae, recommended that his imperial brother should make Siebold a knight. Archduke Carl took part in the battle of Würzburg, where the victorious French army (which was involved in the French Revolution) was defeated for the first time and where the French were pushed back beyond the Rhine. The little Archduke, of whom much fun was made and whose face was marked by epilepsy, also won the battle against the revolutionaries. His victory was so overwhelming that only a large number of German politicians could ruin his success. Two thousand French soldiers died and several thousand revolutionaries were seriously injured.