LEOPOLD I: CONSTRUCTION OF THE ROADS AND BRIDGES IN LORRAINE

ST URBAIN, Ferdinand de: Lorraine, 1705, Bronze, 57 mm
Obv: Draped bust (r) of Leopold I     LEOP. I. D.G. LOT. BAR. D. REX. IER. P.P. ET. DELITIUM.
Rev: Hercules with his club breaks rocks from a cliff to open a passage for Mercury (Commerce), seen striding in the background    VITAE. CONSVLIT. ATQVE. VIAE (Lives and Roads for the Common Good)
Exergue:  .MDCCV.
Signed:  S.V.
Ref: Forrer V, p. 309 #3; Coll. Florange 171; Molinari 40/119;  Weiss BW357

Leopold Joseph Charles (Leopold I) (1679-1729), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1697), was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar (see above). Charles V, in turn, was the nephew of Charles IV (1604-1675), Duke of Lorraine. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), Charles IV had sided against France prompting Louis XIII of France to invade the duchy of Lorraine in 1633. However, defeats at the end of the 17th century forced the French to make concessions and by the treaty of Ryswick (1697) the duchy was restored to Leopold. Leopold, however, had to dismantle all his fortresses and to disband his army. Despite a new French occupation, Leopold's reign was a period of economic reconstruction. He attracted thousands of immigrants and fostered commercial and industrial development. This medal commemorates one of his projects, the opening of the road between Nancy and Toul in Lorraine.
In 1736, Leopold's son and heir, Francis III, married Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter and heiress of the emperor Charles VI.

LINK to History of Lorraine (from Proceedings of the Friesian School. Edited by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D.)

LINK to Thirty Years' War (from Wikipedia)

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