Prince-Bishopric Of Eichstätt
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The Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt (German: ''Hochstift Eichstätt, Fürtsbistum Eichstätt, Bistum Eichstätt'') was a small ecclesiastical principality 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 town of
Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...
, it was located in the present-day state of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, somewhat to the west of
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
, to the north of
Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, N ...
and
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...
, to the south of
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, and to the southeast of
Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...
.


Geography

Geographically, the territory of the Prince-Bishopric was very fragmented and, as of 1789, consisted of one main part to the east that was bordered by Bavaria in the north, east, and south, and by
Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within the Holy Roman Empire. It was ...
and
Brandenburg-Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...
in the west. The rest of the principality was located to the west and consisted of several fragments of various sizes enclaved mostly within Brandenburg-Ansbach. The total area was about 1100 km2, with a population of 58,000 (as of 1855).


History

The Diocese of Eichstätt was established in 746,Butler, Alban. "Saint Willibald, Bishop of Aichstadt, Confessor". ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints'', 1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 3 July 2013
/ref> when the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
missionary
Willibald Willibald (; c. 700 – c.787) was an 8th-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. Information about his life is largely drawn from the ''Hodoeporicon of Willibald'', a text written in the 8th century by Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon nun from Hei ...
was consecrated to the
episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
by
Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
and turned to the church of Eichstätt in the German
stem duchy A stem duchy (, from '':wikt:Stamm, Stamm'', meaning "tribe", in reference to the Franks, Saxons, Baiuvarii, Bavarians and Alemanni, Swabians) was a constituent duchy of the Kingdom of Germany at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dyna ...
of
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
. His successors achieved the status of a
Prince-Bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
, when they inherited the
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
n territories of their former ''
Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
'' officials, the extinct Counts of Hirschberg (at Hirschberg Castle in the present-day town of
Beilngries Beilngries (; ) is a town in the district of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 30 km north of Ingolstadt. Sons and daughters of the city * Rosa Aschenbrenner (1885-19 ...
). In reaction to the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
, Eichstätt joined the Catholic League in 1617. The lands of the bishopric were a centre of the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
and the site of numerous witchcraft trials.From 1532 to 1723 at least 249 people (219 women, 30 men) were accused of being witches and 224 of them were executed. For the others their execution is either not yet proven (12) or they died in prison (4) or were released (8) or expelled from the diocese (1). The majority of witch trails was driven between 1613 and 1630 under the
Prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
Johann Christoph von Westerstetten. During these 18 years at least 199 trails and 176 executions of 150 women and 26 men can be shown today.
In the course of the 1802
German mediatization German mediatisation (; ) was the major redistribution and reshaping of territorial holdings that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany by means of the subsumption and Secularization (church property), secularisation of a large number of ...
following the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
, the bishopric was secularized and was in 1803, along with the
Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...
, given in compensation to Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine, brother of Emperor Francis II and former
Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...
of
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
. Three years later, following Austria's defeat by
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
at the
Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...
, the area was given to the
Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
according to the Treaty of Pressburg. From 1817 to 1855, the
Principality of Eichstätt {{Infobox former country , native_name = , conventional_long_name = Principality of Eichstätt , common_name = Eichstätt , era = Early Modern Period , status = , status_text = ...
was recreated as a fief of Bavaria for the benefit of Napoleon's stepson
Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...
. Willibaldsburg über Eichstätt.JPG, Willibaldsburg, residence of the prince-bishops from 1360 until 1725 Schloss Hirschberg 07.JPG, Hirschberg Castle near
Beilngries Beilngries (; ) is a town in the district of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 30 km north of Ingolstadt. Sons and daughters of the city * Rosa Aschenbrenner (1885-19 ...
, secondary residence from 1305


See also

* List of Bishops of Eichstätt *
Roman Catholic Diocese of Eichstätt The Diocese of Eichstätt () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Bavaria. Its seat is Eichstätt, and it is subordinate to the archbishop of Bamberg. The diocese was created in 745; it was a state in the Holy Roman Empire (the ...


References


Sources

*
Eichstätt
in ''Meyers Konversationslexikon'', 1888 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eichstatt 745 establishments Former states and territories of Bavaria Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany Roman Catholic dioceses in the Holy Roman Empire Franconian Circle 8th-century establishments in Germany Eichstätt