The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a
Latin Catholic
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...
archdiocese
In 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 provinces were administratively associated ...
(969–1552) and
Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
centered on the city of
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...
on the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
River.
Planned since 955 and established in 967, the archdiocese had de facto turned void since 1557, when the last papally confirmed prince-archbishop, the Lutheran
Sigismund of Brandenburg
Sigismund of Brandenburg (1538–1566) was Prince-Archbishop of Magdeburg and Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt.
Life
Sigismund was born on 11 December 1538 in Cölln; the son of the Elector of Brandenburg, Joachim II (15 ...
came of age and ascended to the see. All his successors were only
administrators of the prince-archbishopric and Lutheran too, except the Catholic cleric
Leopold William of Austria (1631–1635). In ecclesiastical respect the remaining Catholics and their parishes and abbeys in the former archdiocese were put under supervision of the
Archdiocese of Cologne in 1648 and under the jurisdiction of the
Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern Missions in 1670.
In political respect the
''Erzstift'', the archiepiscopal and capitular
temporalities
Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
, had gained
imperial immediacy
In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...
as a prince-archbishopric in 1180. Its territory comprised only some parts of the archdiocesan area, such as the city of Magdeburg, the bulk of the
Magdeburg Börde, and the
Jerichow Land as an integral whole and
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
s in parts of the
Saalkreis including
Halle upon Saale,
Oebisfelde and environs as well as
Jüterbog and environs. The prince-archbishopric maintained its statehood as an
elective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by a monarch who is elected, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, ...
until 1680. Then the
Brandenburg-Prussia the prince-archbishopric of Magdeburg. After being
secularised, the state was transformed into the
Duchy of Magdeburg, a
hereditary monarchy
A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is ...
in
personal union
A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
with Brandenburg.
The 1994-founded modern
Diocese of Magdeburg is a diocese of the
Latin Church
The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
located in the
German states of
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
(bulk),
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
and
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
(smaller fringes each).
History
The town was one of the oldest emporia of the German trade for the
Wends
Wends is a historical name for Slavs who inhabited present-day northeast Germany. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people, tribes or groups depending on where and when it was used. In the modern day, communities identifying ...
who dwelt on the right bank of the Elbe. In 805 it is first mentioned in history. In 806 Charlemagne built a fortress on the eastern bank of the river opposite Magdeburg. The oldest church is also credited to this time.
[Löffler, Klemens. "Magdeburg." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 11 August 2023
Magdeburg first played an important part in the history of Germany during the reign of
Otto the Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Frankish ( German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son of Henry the Fowler and Matilda ...
(936-73). In 929 King Otto I granted the city to his English-born wife
Edith
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...
as dower. She had a particular love for the town and often lived there. The emperor also continually returned to it. In September 937, Otto and his wife founded a Benedictine monastery at Magdeburg, which was dedicated to Sts. Peter, Maurice, and the Holy Innocents. The first abbots and monks came from
St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier.
[
After the wars of the years 940 and 954, the ]Polabian Slavs
Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs
and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...
as far as the Oder
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...
, had been brought into subjection to German rule. However, the Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common culture, language and history. They also have a notable presence in former parts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian language belongs to the ...
had advanced so far into Germany, that Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
was threatened. At the Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld also known as the Second Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungaria ...
in 955 they were defeated and repelled. Otto immediately set to work to establish an archbishopric in Magdeburg, for the stabilisation through Christianisation
Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
of the eastern territories. He wished to transfer the capital of the diocese from Halberstadt
Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...
to Magdeburg, and make it an archdiocese. But this was strenuously opposed by the Archbishop of Mainz, who was the metropolitan of Halberstadt.[
]
When, in 962, Pope John XII
Pope John XII (; 14 May 964), born Octavian, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 16 December 955 to his death in 964. He was related to the counts of Tusculum, a powerful Roman family which had dominated papal politics for ...
sanctioned the establishment of an archbishopric, Otto seemed to have abandoned his plan of a transfer. The estates belonging to the convent founded in 937 were converted into a mense for the new archbishopric, and the monks transferred to the Berge Convent. The abbey church became the Cathedral of St. Maurice.
Its ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
included the existing dioceses of Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
and Havelberg
Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...
and the newly founded dioceses of Merseburg
Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...
, Zeitz
Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony.
History
First a Slavic pagan settlem ...
, and Meißen. (Lebus
Lebus () is a historic town in the Märkisch-Oderland District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Amt Lebus, Lebus. The town, located on the west bank of the Oder river at the border with ...
was added in 1424.) The new archdiocese was close to the unsecured border regions of the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and Slavic tribes, and was meant to promote Christianity among the many Slavs and others. On 20 April 967, the archbishopric was solemnly established at the Synod of Ravenna in the presence of the pope and the emperor. The first archbishop was Adelbert, a former monk of St. Maximin's at Trier, afterwards a missionary bishop to the Ruthenians
A ''Ruthenian'' and ''Ruthene'' are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common Ethnonym, ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term ...
(Ruthenia
''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...
), and Abbot of Weissenburg in Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
. He was elected in the autumn of 968, received the pallium at Rome, and at the end of the year was solemnly enthroned in Magdeburg.
The archdiocesan area of Magdeburg was rather small; it comprised the Slavonic districts of Serimunt, Nudizi, Neletici, Nizizi, and half of northern Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, which Halberstadt resigned. The cathedral school especially gained in importance under Adalbert's efficient administration. The scholastic Othrich was considered the most learned man of his times. Many eminent men were educated at Magdeburg.
Othrich was chosen archbishop after Adalbert's death (981). Gisiler of Merseburg obtained possession of the See of Magdeburg by bribery and fraud. Upon his death in 1004, there followed a brief conflict between King Henry II and the cathedral canons before Tagino was installed as archbishop. Tagino and his suffragans were relied upon heavily for military service in the eastern marches.
Among successors worthy of mention are the zealous Gero (1012–23) and St. Norbert, prominent in the 12th century (1126–34), the founder of the Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...
order.
Archbishop Wichmann (1152–92) was more important as a sovereign and prince of the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
than as a bishop. Wichmann sided with the emperor in the Great Saxon Revolt and was rewarded by recognising the archepiscopal and the cathedral capitular temporalities
Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
as a state of imperial immediacy within the Holy Roman Empire, thus Wichmann was the first to add the title secular prince to his ecclesiastical archbishop. Albrecht II (1205–32) quarrelled with Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg (1198–1215), because he had pronounced the pope's ban against the latter and this war greatly damaged the archbishopric. In 1208 he began to build the present Cathedral of Magdeburg, which was only consecrated in 1263, and never entirely finished; Günther I (1277–79) hardly escaped a serious war with the Margrave Otto IV
Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218.
Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...
, who was incensed because his brother Eric of Brandenburg had not been elected archbishop. The Brandenburgers succeeded in forcing Günther I and Bernard III (1279–1281) to resign and in making Eric archbishop (1283–1295).
Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg (1513–45), on account of his insecure position, as well as being crippled by a perpetual lack of funds, gave some occasion for the spread of Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
in his diocese, although himself opposing the Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. It is not true that he became a Lutheran and wished to retain his see as a secular principality, and just as untrue that in the Kalbe Parliament in 1541 he consented to the introduction of the Reformation in order to have his debts paid. His successors were the zealous Catholics John Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1545–1550), who however could accomplish very little, and Frederick IV of Brandenburg, who died in 1552.
Administrators who were secular princes now took the place of the archbishop, and they, as well as the majority of the cathedral chapter and the inhabitants of the archdiocese, were usually Protestant. They belonged to the Hohenzollern House of Brandenburg, which had adopted Calvinism in 1613. Christian William was taken prisoner in 1631 after the sack of Magdeburg, and went over to the Catholic Church in Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. At the time of the Peace of Prague (1635), the Archbishopric of Magdeburg fell to August, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. In the Treaty of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...
(1648), the expectancy to the archbishopric was promised to Brandenburg-Prussia upon the death of August. When the Saxon prince died in 1680, the archbishopric was secularised by Brandenburg and transformed into the Duchy of Magdeburg.
The remaining Catholics in the area were under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of the Northern Missions between 1670 and 1709, and again
from 1780 to 1821. Between 1709 and 1780 the Apostolic Vicariate of Upper and Lower Saxony was the competent Catholic jurisdiction. In 1821, the area was transferred in Catholic respect to the Diocese of Paderborn. In 1994, the Diocese of Magdeburg was founded in the area.
Archbishops and administrators
Archbishops of Magdeburg
* Adalbert 968–981
* Giselmar 981–1004
* Tagino 1004–1012
* Waltaro 1012
*Gero
Gero I ( 900 – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great (),Thompson, 486. Also se was a nobleman from East Francia who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he ...
1012–1023
* Humfrid 1023–1051
* Engelhard 1052–1063
* Werner of Steutzlingen 1064–1078
*Hartwig of Spanheim 1079–1102
*Henry I of Assel 1102–1107
*Adalgod of Osterberg 1107–1119
*Rudigar of Baltheim 1119–1125
*Norbert of Xanten
Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (c. 1080 – 6 June 1134), also known as Norbert Gennep, was a German Catholic bishop who was the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, Archbishop of Magdeburg, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is ...
1126–1134
* Conrad I of Querfurt 1134–1142
*Frederick of Wettin 1142–1152
*Wichmann von Seeburg
Wichmann von Seeburg ( – 25 August 1192) was Bishop of Naumburg from 1150 until 1154 and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1154 until his death. He became the first Magdeburg prince-archbishop in 1180
Life
Wichmann was the second son of the Saxon ...
1152–1180; ''prince-archbishop to 1192; Bishop of Naumburg, 1150–54''
''1180: Gained Imperial immediacy
In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...
on breakup of duchy of Saxony
The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...
''
Prince-archbishops of Magdeburg
*Wichmann von Seeburg
Wichmann von Seeburg ( – 25 August 1192) was Bishop of Naumburg from 1150 until 1154 and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1154 until his death. He became the first Magdeburg prince-archbishop in 1180
Life
Wichmann was the second son of the Saxon ...
1180–1192; ''archbishop from 1152''
*Ludolf of Koppenstedt 1192–1205
* Albert I of Käfernburg 1205–1232
*Burkhard I of Woldenberg 1232–1235
*Wilbrand of Kasernberg 1235–1254
*Rudolf of Dinselstadt 1254–1260
*Rupert of Mansfeld 1260–1266
*Conrad II of Sternberg 1266–1277
* Günther I of Schwalenberg 1277–1279
*Bernhard III of Wolpe 1279–1282
* Eric of Brandenburg 1282–1295
*Burkhard II of Blankenburg 1295–1305
* Henry III, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben 1305–1307
*Burkhard III of Mansfeld-Schrapglau 1307–1325
*Heideke of Erssa 1326–1327
* Otto of Hesse 1327–1361
*Dietrich Kagelwit 1361–1367
*Albert II of Sternberg 1367–1372
*Peter Gelvto 1372–1381
* Louis of Meissen 1381–1382
*Frederick II of Hoym 1382
*Albert III of Querfurt 1382–1403
*Günther II of Schwarzburg 1403–1445
*Frederick III of Beichlingen 1445–1464
* John II of Palatinate-Simmern 1464–1475
* Ernest II of Saxony 1475–1480; ''prince-archbishop to 1513''
''1480: Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt administered by archbishops of Magdeburg''
Prince-archbishops of Magdeburg, administrators of Halberstadt
* Ernest II of Saxony 1480–1513; ''prince-archbishop from 1475''
* Albert IV of Brandenburg 1513–1545; ''also archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
-elector of Mainz from 1514–1545''
* John Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1545–1551
* Frederick IV of Brandenburg 1551–1552; ''Frederick III as administrator of Halberstadt''
* Sigismund of Brandenburg
Sigismund of Brandenburg (1538–1566) was Prince-Archbishop of Magdeburg and Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt.
Life
Sigismund was born on 11 December 1538 in Cölln; the son of the Elector of Brandenburg, Joachim II (15 ...
1552–1566; papally confirmed as archbishop although Lutheran, since the Holy See still expected the new schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
to be a temporary phenomenon
''1566: Archdiocese ruled by Lutheran administrators''
Administrators of Magdeburg
* Joachim Frederick of Brandenburg 1566–1598
* Christian William of Brandenburg
Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg (28 August 1587 – 1 January 1665) was a titular Margrave of Brandenburg, and from 1598 to 1631 Archbishop of Diocese of Magdeburg, Magdeburg.
Life
Christian Wilhelm was a son of Elector Joachim Frederick, ...
1598–1631
* Leopold William of Austria, a layman, Catholic administrator, 1631–1638; ''also administrator of the prince-bishoprics of Passau (1625–1662), of Strasbourg (1626–1662), of Halberstadt (1628–1648), of Olmütz (1632–1662) and of Breslau (1656–1662) and'' de jure of the ''prince-archbishopric of Bremen
The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditary Bremen-Verden, Duchy of ...
(1635–1645)''
* Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels (13 August 1614 in Dresden – 4 June 1680 in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle), was a Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg.
He was the fourth (but s ...
, Count of Barby, 1638–1680
''1680: Prince-Archbishopric secularised to duchy''
Ecclesiastical Province of Magdeburg
The archbishop of Magdeburg was the metropolitan of the ''Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...
of Magdeburg'' (de facto dissolved in 1648), with the archbishops also holding – besides the archbishop-elector of Mainz – the honorary title Primas Germaniae. The suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
s of Magdeburg were:
* Diocese of Brandenburg, Lutheran since 1539, the pertaining prince-bishopric secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the fifth-largest German state b ...
in 1571.
* Diocese of Havelberg, Lutheran since 1558, the pertaining prince-bishopric secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1598.
* Diocese of Lebus since 1424 (before suffragan to Gniezno
Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...
), Lutheran since 1555, pertaining temporalities
Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
(County of Beeskow
Beeskow (; , ;) is a town in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, and capital of the Oder-Spree district. It is situated on the river Spree (river), Spree, 30 km southwest of Frankfurt an der Oder.
History
In 1518 the town was purchased by the Di ...
) secularised and merged into the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1598.
* Diocese of Merseburg, Lutheran since 1544, the pertaining prince-bishopric secularised and merged into the Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...
in 1565
* Diocese of Naumburg-Zeitz, Lutheran between 1542 and 1547 and from 1562 on, the pertaining prince-bishopric secularised and merged into the Electorate of Saxony in 1615
Residences
Residences of the Archbishops of Magdeburg were:
File:Giebichenstein4.jpg, Giebichenstein Castle in Halle (Saale)
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...
File:Moritzburg-neu.jpg, Moritzburg in Halle
File:Neue_residenz.jpg, The New Residence in Halle
File:Schloss_Calbe.jpg, Calbe Castle (secondary residence)
File:Ministerium der Justiz (Ministry of Justice) - geograph.org.uk - 5295.jpg, The Archbishop's Palace in Magdeburg
See also
* Bull of Gniezno
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magdeburg, Archbishopric
States and territories established in 1180
States and territories disestablished in 1680
Archbishopric
Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt
968 establishments
1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1180 establishments in Europe
1680 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
960s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
962 establishments
Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany
Otto the Great