The Prince-Bishopric of Minden () was an 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 ...

. It was progressively secularized following the Protestant Reformation when it came under the rule of Protestant rulers, and by the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) 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 peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

of 1648 given to Brandenburg as the Principality of Minden. It must not be confused with the Roman Catholic diocese of Minden, which was larger, and over which the prince-bishop exercised spiritual authority.

History

The diocese was founded by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

in 803, after he had conquered the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

. It was subordinate to the Archbishopric-Electorate of Cologne. It became the Prince-Bishopric of Minden () in 1180, when the

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 ...

was dissolved. As to the diocese of Minden, it ceased to exist following the Swedish takeover of 1648. Prior to its dissolution, the diocesan area comprised, in addition to the temporal prince-bishopric, parts of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and all of Schaumburg-Lippe. The defunct diocese came under the care of by the Apostolic Vicariate of the Nordic Missions in 1667. Between 1709 and 1780 it formed part of the Vicariate Apostolic of Upper and Lower Saxony, before it was reincorporated into the Nordic Missions. In 1821 the former Minden diocesan area within the former prince-bishopric boundary became part of the

Diocese of Paderborn The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn () was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802. History The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to t ...

, whereas the Brunswickian part became part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Anhalt and Brunswick in 1825, only to join the Diocese of Hildesheim in 1834. The Schaumburg-Lippe area stayed with the Nordic Missions until their dissolution in 1930, becoming first part of the Diocese of Osnabrück and then of Hildesheim as of 1965.

Transition to a secular principality

In the 16th century, 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 ...

was starting to take hold in the state, under the influence of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Minden was occupied by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, and secularized. The

of 1648 gave it to the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

as the Principality of Minden (). After 1719 Minden was administered by Brandenburg-Prussia together with the adjacent

County of Ravensberg The County of Ravensberg () was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory was in present-day eastern Westphalia, Germany, at the foot of the Osning or Teutoburg Forest. History Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th c ...

Minden-Ravensberg Minden-Ravensberg was a Prussian administrative unit consisting of the Principality of Minden and the County of Ravensberg from 1719–1807. The capital was Minden. In 1807 the region became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a client state ...

. In 1807, it became part of the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

. In 1814, it returned to Prussia and became part of the

Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

. As of 1789, the principality had an area of . It was bordered by (clockwise from the north): an

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 ...

of the Landgraviate of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

(or Hesse-Cassel), the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover ( or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an Prince-elector, electorate of the Holy Roman Empire located in northwestern Germany that arose from the Principality of Calenberg. Although formally known as the Electorate of Brun ...

, the County of

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...

, another exclave of Hesse-Kassel, the

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

, the County of Ravensberg, and the

Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück The Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1225 until 1803. It should not be confused with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück, Diocese of Osnabrück (), which was lar ...

. Cities included

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

and

Lübbecke Lübbecke (; ) is a town in northeast North Rhine-Westphalia in north Germany. This former county town lies on the northern slopes of the Wiehen Hills (''Wiehengebirge'') and has around 26,000 inhabitants. The town is part of district of Minden- ...

Famous bishops

* Saint Erkanbert (803–813) * Saint Hardward (813–853) * Saint Theoderich (853–880) * Saint Thietmar (1185–1206) * Francis of Waldeck (1530–53) *

Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg (also known as Julius of Braunschweig; 29 June 1528 – 3 May 1589), a member of the House of Welf, was Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling List of rulers of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, ...

(1553–54) *

Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry Julius (; 15 October 1564 – 30 July 1613), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1589 until his death. He also served as administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of ...

(1582–85, Protestant) * Christian the Elder, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1599–1625, Protestant) * Francis of Wartenberg (1631–48)

Auxiliary bishops

* Johann Christiani von Schleppegrell, O.S.A. (1428–1468)"Bishop Johann Christiani von Schleppegrell, O.S.A."
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016 * Johannes Tideln, O.P. (1477–1501)"Bishop Johannes Tideln, O.P.
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016 * Johannes Gropengeter, O.S.A. (1499–1508)"Bishop Johannes Gropengeter, O.S.A.
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 28, 2016 *

Ludwig von Siegen Ludwig von Siegen (c. March 1609 Cologne – c. 1680 Wolfenbüttel, Germany) was a German soldier and amateur engraver, who invented the printmaking technique of mezzotint, a printing-process reliant on mechanical pressure used to print more com ...

, O.F.M. (1502–1508)"Bishop Ludwig von Siegen, O.F.M."
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016 * Heinrich von Hattingen, O. Carm. (1515–1519)"Bishop Heinrich von Hattingen, O. Carm.
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 28, 2016

References

At Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minden, Bishopric Subdivisions of Prussia Roman Catholic dioceses in the Holy Roman Empire Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia

Bishopric 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 associate ...

1807 disestablishments in the Confederation of the Rhine Dioceses established in the 9th century 800s in religion Religious organizations disestablished in 1648 Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle 1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1180 establishments in Europe 803 establishments

History

Transition to a secular principality

Famous bishops

Auxiliary bishops

See also

References