Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg

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The Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg (German: Fürstbistum Regensburg; Hochstift Regensburg) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire located near the Free Imperial City of Regensburg in Bavaria. It was elevated to the Archbishopric of Regensburg in 1803 after the dissolution of the Archbishopric of Mainz. The Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg must not be confused with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg, which was considerably larger.

Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg
Fürstbistum/Hochstift Regensburg (German)
13th century–1803
Flag of Regensburg, Bishopric
Flag
Coat of arms of Regensburg, Bishopric
Coat of arms
StatusPrince-Bishopric
CapitalRegensburg Cathedral
GovernmentElective principality
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Founded by St Boniface
739
• Gained Reichsfreiheit
13th century
• Regensburg Reichsfrei
    as Imperial City
 
1245
• City annexed to Bavaria
1486–1496
• City adopted Reformation
1542
• City made permanent
    seat of Reichstag
 
1663–1806
• Mediatised to new
    Archbishopric¹
1803
• Ceded to Bavaria on
    Imperial collapse
 
January 6, 1806
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Duchy of Bavaria
Principality of Regensburg
1: The Bishopric, the Imperial City and all three Imperial Abbeys were mediatised simultaneously.

History

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The Prince-Bishopric (purple) in the 18th century

The diocese was founded in 739 by Saint Boniface;[1] it was originally subordinate to the archbishop of Salzburg. In the 13th century, the bishop of Regensburg became a prince of the Holy Roman Empire with a seat and vote at the Imperial Diet. As an enclave of the Duchy of Bavaria, the prince-bishopric was not able to expand territorially and remained one of the smallest of the Empire.

In the course of the German mediatization of 1803, the prince-bishopric was united with the Free Imperial city of Regensburg and other territories to form the Principality of Regensburg. Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg was the first prince-archbishop. In 1810, the principality became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria, although it retained archiepiscopal status. This followed the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 during the War of the Third Coalition.

The Bavarian Concordat of 1817 following Dalberg's death downgraded the Archdiocese of Regensburg into a suffragan diocese subordinate to the archbishop of Munich and Freising.

Famous prince-bishops

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See also

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Further reading

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  • Josef Staber: Kirchengeschichte des Bistums Regensburg. Regensburg 1966 (in German)
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References

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  1. ^ Manfred Müller (ed.): Register of the diocese of Regensburg. Publishing house of the Episcopal Ordinariate Regensburg, 1997, pp. XXXIX, XLVII