The Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg (german: Fürstbistum Ratzeburg) was an

ecclesiastical principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

that was located in what is today the states of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

(the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Herzogtum Lauenburg Herzogtum Lauenburg ( en, Duchy of Lauenburg; ) is the southernmost ''Kreis'', or district, officially called Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg (), of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bordered by (from the west and clockwise) the district of Stormarn ...

) and

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

(the district of

Nordwestmecklenburg Nordwestmecklenburg (''Northwestern Mecklenburg'') is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north-western part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea and borders on Schleswig-Holstein to the west. Neighboring dis ...

) in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was established in 1236 and disestablished following the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

in 1648. The state capital was the city of

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

. The

Diocese of Ratzeburg The Diocese of Ratzeburg (german: Bistum Ratzeburg, la, Dioecesis Ratzeburgensis) is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected from the Diocese of Oldenburg c. 1050 and was suppressed in 1554. The diocese was originally a suffragan ...

had originally been established as a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the 11th century but had fallen into abeyance; as a result of the

Wendish Crusade The Wendish Crusade (german: Wendenkreuzzug) was a military campaign in 1147, one of the Northern Crusades and a part of the Second Crusade, led primarily by the Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire and directed against the Polabian Sl ...

, the diocese was re-created in the middle of the 12th century. The territory of the prince-bishopric was managed by secular lords on behalf of the Bishop of Ratzeburg. As a Prince-Bishopric of the Empire, the territory of the state was not identical with that of the bishopric, but was located within its boundaries and made up about a quarter of the diocesan area. When the Prince-Bishopric was disestablished, a new entity was established — the

Principality of Ratzeburg The Principality of Ratzeburg was a former state, existing from 1648 to 1918. It belonged to the imperially immediate territory of Duchy of Mecklenburg and was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Mecklenburg was split up in the third partition of Meckle ...

. The principality became an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the

Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), ...

Background

County of Ratezeburg and the Land of Butin

Count

Henry of Badewide Henry of Badewide (or Badwide) (german: Heinrich von Badewide) (died ca. 1164) was a Saxon Count of Botwide (after 1149) and Count of Ratzeburg (after 1156). Henry came from a knightly family from Lüneburg. He took his name from Bode near Ebstor ...

feuded with Count Adolf II of Schauenburg over the counties of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

and Wagria. In 1143, the

Duke of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

—

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

— mediated between the two counts, granting Wagria and

Segeberg Segeberg (; frr, Segebärj) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Osthol ...

to Adolf. Henry was granted

Polabia :''"Polabian Slavs" is often used as a general term for the West Slavs of Germany. This article is about the specific tribe called "Polabians".'' The Polabians (german: Polaben; la, Polabi) were a constituent Lechitic tribe of the Obotrites who ...

and Ratzeburg. The newly created County of Ratzenburg included Ratzeburg, Boitin,

Gadebusch Gadebusch () is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg. Halfway between Lübeck, Schwerin and Wismar, it is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The town is known for two notable monuments: the ''Stad ...

Wittenburg Wittenburg () is a town in the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Population 6,092, area 80.0 km². Wittenburg has been the seat of the Amt of Wittenburg since January 2004. It is in the west of Mecklenburg-Vo ...

, and

Boizenburg Boizenburg () is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, 53 km west of Ludwigslust, 25 km northeast of Lüneburg and 50 km east of ...

. The count pursued a policy of expelling the native Slavs and inviting

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

ns to settle in the conquered territory. Henry received the titles ''Comes Polaborum'' (1154), ''Graf von Ratzeburg'' (1156), and ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

von Ratzeburg'' (1162). He was succeeded by his son, Bernard I, Count of Ratzeburg. The title died out at the beginning of the thirteenth century with the death of Bernard's grandson, Bernard III. The Land of Boitin was first mentioned in 1158 in the endowment document by Henry the Lion as ''Butin''.. The name goes back to the Bytiner Polabian people. As a result of a sound change still detectable in the Drawenopolabian language, ''y'' became ''oi'', Bytin became Boitin. The boundaries of the Land of Boitin are described in the endowment deed as follows: :::''...from Lübecker Landgraben up to a heap of stones near Bünstorf and from there further through the middle of the Menzendorfer See and from there in a straight line to a large stone, from this in the common forestThe countries of Boitin and Gadebusch together to a place popularly called Mannhagen, near

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

and in the forest called Riepser Sumpf, in the direction of Schlagsdorf and from there along of the Lenschower Bach up to its confluence with the

Wakenitz The Wakenitz is a river in southeastern Schleswig-Holstein and at the border to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Wakenitz's source is the Ratzeburger See in Ratzeburg. It is about long and drains into the Trave in Lübeck. The majority of its eas ...

.'' The Land of Boitin thus roughly encompassed the area of today's municipalities of

Selmsdorf Selmsdorf is a municipality in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany located east of Lübeck. It is also close to the cities of Wismar and Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Su ...

, Schönberg (Mecklenburg), Siemz-Niendorf and Lüdersdorf in the Northwest Mecklenburg district.

Erection of prince-bishopric

In 1236 the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, Frederick II, created a new prince-bishopric with

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

which had temporal jurisdiction over the land of Butin and a number of villages outside it. Bishop Peter was the first prince-bishop and his successors inherited the titles ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

''. Succeeding prince-bishops retained this jurisdiction despite attempts by the dukes of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a '' reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme so ...

made to deprive them of it. At the beginning of the 14th century, under Bishop Markward von Jesowe, the Ratzeburg bishops began to round off the Boitin region.

Disestablishment

During the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

adhered to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. They began to elect candidates who did not conform to

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

(i.e. they were not validly

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

or they failed to secure papal confirmation). Such candidates only held the title of "Diocesan Administrator" but were colloquially called "Prince-Bishop". Five such Diocesan Administrators were elected between 1554 and 1648. When the last Catholic bishop apostacised in 1554, he retained possession of the prince-bishopric. The capitulars deliberately ignored the ducal Saxe-Lauenburgian candidates, sons of the duke, fearing the prince-bishopric would then be incorporated into Saxe-Lauenburg. Prince-Bishop

Georg von Blumenthal Georg von Blumenthal (1490 – 25 September 1550) was a German Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg and Bishop of Lebus. He also served as a Privy Councillor of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Chancellor of the University of Frankfurt (Oder), common ...

(1524–50), who feuded with

Thomas Aderpul Thomas Aderpul was a preacher of the Protestant Reformation who taught an extreme form of egalitarian religious polity; consequently, the German Democratic Republic admired him as a proto-communist. Aderpul came to public notice in 1529 in the Kl ...

, was the last Catholic bishop. In 1552, the cathedral was plundered by Count Volrad von Mansfeld. By the terms of the

, the prince-bishopric was secularized in 1648 becoming the

. The principality was under the control of the Dukes of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

. In 1701 the principality became an exclave of

Mecklenburg-Strelitz The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard), ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratzeburg Prince-Bishopric of Ratzeburg Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany Ratzeburg Former states and territories of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Former states and territories of Schleswig-Holstein Former monarchies of Europe 1230s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1236 establishments in Europe States and territories established in 1236 1648 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories disestablished in 1648