The '
Holy Roman Empire' was one of the strangest political structures in the world. Although in the earlier part of the Middle Ages, under the
Salian and
Hohenstaufen emperors, it was relatively centralized, as time went on the Emperor lost more and more power to the Princes. This article will attempt to sort out, to some extent, the political structure of the Empire, and list the various states it consisted of.
Structure of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in 1792
The year
1792, before the vast changes inspired by the
French Revolutionary incursions into Germany, is a good point in time to look at and examine the structure of the Empire. The empire was, at this time, divided into several thousand 'immediate' (''unmittelbar'') territories, but only about three hundred of these had ''Landeshoheit'' (the special sort of sovereignty enjoyed by the states of the Empire), and had representation in the ''
Reichstag'' (Imperial Diet). The Imperial Diet was divided into three so-called ''collegia'' — the Council of
Electors, the Council of Princes, and the Council of Cities. As who had votes had gradually changed over the centuries, many princes held more than one vote, as will be indicated. It also ought to be noted that certain territories which had once held votes in the diet, as for instance the County of Waldeck or the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Berg, no longer did so due to the extinction of an old dynasty, or for other reasons.
The Council of Electors
# The
King of Bohemia (also Archduke of
Austria and King of
Hungary)
# The
Archbishop of Mainz
# The
Archbishop of Cologne
# The
Archbishop of Trier
# The
Count Palatine of the Rhine (also
Duke of Bavaria)
# The
Duke of Saxony
# The Margrave of
Brandenburg ( King ''in''
Prussia)
# The Duke of
Brunswick-Lüneburg (Elector of
Hanover, King of
Great Britain)
The Council of Princes
[Note, this is ordered based on the official order of voting in the Diet]
★ The
Archduke of Austria (also King of Bohemia)
★ The
Duke of Burgundy (also King of Bohemia)
The Ecclesiastical Bench
# The
Archbishop of Salzburg
# The
Archbishop of Besançon
# The Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order
# The
Bishop of Bamberg
# The
Bishop of Würzburg
# The
Bishop of Worms
# The
Bishop of Eichstätt
# The
Bishop of Speyer
# The
Bishop of Strassburg
# The
Bishop of Constance
# The
Bishop of Augsburg
# The
Bishop of Hildesheim
# The
Bishop of Paderborn
# The
Bishop of Freising
# The
Bishop of Regensburg
# The
Bishop of Passau
# The
Bishop of Trent
# The
Bishop of Brixen
# The
Bishop of Basel
# The
Bishop of Münster
# The
Bishop of Osnabrück (notable as, after 1648, it alternated between
Protestant and
Roman Catholic incumbents)
# The
Bishop of Liège
# The
Bishop of Lübeck
# The
Bishop of Chur
# The
Bishop of Fulda
# The Abbot of
Kempten
# The Provost of
Ellwangen
# The Grand Master of the
Order of St. John
# The Prior of
Berchtesgaden
# The Abbot of
Weissenburg
# The Abbot of
Prüm
# The Abbot of
Stablo
# The Abbot of
Corvey
# A single vote for the College of the Prelates of
Swabia; ''see below''
# A single vote for the College of the Prelates of the
Rhine; ''see below''
:These last two were groups of lesser abbots, who together had a joint vote. Unlike those who had a full vote, they were not considered fully sovereign.
The Secular Bench
# The
Duke of Bavaria (the Elector of Bavaria)
# The Duke of
Magdeburg (also King of Prussia)
# The Count Palatine of
Kaiserslautern (also the Elector of Bavaria)
# The Count Palatine of
Simmern (also the Elector of Bavaria)
# The Count Palatine of
Neuburg (also the Elector of Bavaria)
# The Duke of
Bremen (also the Elector of Hanover)
# The Duke of
Zweibrücken
# The Count Palatine of
Veldenz (also the Elector of Bavaria)
# The Duke of
Saxe-Weimar
# The Duke of
Saxe-Eisenach (also Duke of Saxe-Weimar)
# The Duke of
Saxe-Coburg
# The Duke of
Saxe-Gotha
# The Duke of
Saxe-Altenburg (also Duke of Saxe-Gotha)
# The Margrave of Brandenburg-
Ansbach (also King of Prussia)
# The Margrave of Brandenburg-
Bayreuth (also King of Prussia)
# The Duke of
Brunswick-Celle (also Elector of Hanover)
# The Duke of
Brunswick-Kalenberg (also Elector of Hanover)
# The Duke of
Brunswick-Grubenhagen (also Elector of Hanover)
# The Duke of
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
# The Prince of
Halberstadt (also King of Prussia)
# The Duke of
Lower Pomerania (also King of Prussia)
# The Duke of
Upper Pomerania (also King of
Sweden)
# The Duke of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
# The Duke of
Mecklenburg-Güstrow (also Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
# The Duke of
Württemberg
# The Landgrave of
Hesse-Kassel
# The Landgrave of
Hesse-Darmstadt
# The Margrave of
Baden-Baden (the Margrave of
Baden)
# The Margrave of
Baden-Durlach (the Margrave of Baden)
# The Prince of
Verden (also Elector of Hanover)
# The Margrave of
Baden-Hochberg (the Margrave of Baden)
# The Duke of
Holstein-Gluckstädt (also King of
Denmark)
# The Duke of
Saxe-Lauenburg (also Elector of Hanover)
# The Prince of
Minden (also King of Prussia)
# The Duke of
Holstein-Gottorp-
Oldenburg
# The Duke of
Savoy (also King of
Sardinia)
# The Landgrave of
Leuchtenberg (also Elector of Bavaria)
# The Prince of
Anhalt (actually, there were four Prince of Anhalt at this time, who split the vote — the Princes of
Anhalt-Zerbst,
Anhalt-Dessau,
Anhalt-Bernburg, and
Anhalt-Köthen)
# The Princely Count of
Henneberg (this vote was divided among the various branches of the House of
Wettin, including the Elector of
Saxony, the Duke of
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the Duke of
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the Duke of
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg)
# The Prince of
Schwerin (also Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
# The Prince of
Kammin (also King of Prussia)
# The Prince of
Ratzeburg (also Duke of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
# The Prince of
Hersfeld (also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel)
# The Prince of
Nomény (to the House of
Lorraine; after 1780 also King of Bohemia, etc.)
# The Prince of
Mömpelgard (also Duke of Württemberg)
# The Duke of
Arenberg
# The Prince of
Hohenzollern-Hechingen
# The Prince of
Lobkowitz
# The Prince of
Salm (actually, there were two branches of this family, who split the vote — the Prince of
Salm-Salm and the Prince of
Salm-Kyrburg)
# The Prince of
Dietrichstein
# The Prince of
Nassau-Hadamar (also
Prince of Orange and
Stadtholder of the
United Provinces)
# The Prince of
Nassau-Dillenburg (also Prince of Orange)
# The Prince of
Auersperg
# The Prince of
East Frisia (also King of Prussia)
# The Prince of
Fürstenberg
# The
Prince of Schwarzenberg
# The Prince of
Thurn and Taxis
# The Prince of
Schwarzburg (divided into two branches,
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)
# A single vote for the College of the Counts of
Swabia; ''see below''
# A single vote for the College of the Counts of the
Wetterau; ''see below''
# A single vote for the College of the Counts of
Franconia; ''see below''
# A single vote for the College of the Counts of
Westphalia; ''see below''
The Council of Cities
The Council of
Imperial Free Cities was not actually equal to the others — its vote was only advisory. In 1792, there were 51 Free Cities, divided amongst six Circles.
Circle of Bavaria
#
Regensburg
Circle of Franconia
#
Nuremberg
#
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
#
Bad Windsheim
#
Schweinfurt
#
Weißenburg in Bayern (Nordgau)
Circle of the Lower Rhine-Westphalia
#
Cologne
#
Aachen
#
Dortmund
Circle of Lower Saxony
#
Lübeck
#
Goslar
#
Mühlhausen
#
Hamburg
#
Bremen
#
Nordhausen
Circle of the Upper Rhine
#
Worms
#
Speyer
#
Frankfurt am Main
#
Friedberg
#
Wetzlar
Circle of Swabia
#
Augsburg
#
Ulm
#
Esslingen am Neckar
#
Reutlingen
#
Nördlingen
#
Schwäbisch Hall
#
Überlingen
#
Rottweil
#
Heilbronn
#
Schwäbisch Gmünd
#
Memmingen
#
Lindau
#
Dinkelsbühl
#
Biberach
#
Ravensburg
#
Kempten
#
Kaufbeuren
#
Weil
#
Wangen im Allgäu
#
Isny im Allgäu
#
Leutkirch im Allgäu
#
Wimpfen
#
Giengen
#
Pfullendorf
#
Buchhorn
#
Aalen
#
Bopfingen
#
Buchau
#
Offenburg
#
Gengenbach
#
Zell am Harmersbach
Membership of single-vote colleges
The two benches of the Council of Princes each contained single-vote colleges. The membership of each of these was as follows:
The Prelates of Swabia
★ The Abbess of
Baindt
★ The Abbot of
Elchingen
★ The Abbot of
Gengenbach
★ The Abbess of
Gutenzell
★ The Abbess of
Heggbach
★ The Abbess of
Irsee
★ The Abbot of
Kaiserheim
★ The Abbot of
Marchtal
★ The Abbot of
Neresheim
★ The Abbot of
Ochsenhausen
★ The Abbot of
Petershausen
★ The Abbot of
Roggenburg
★ The Abbot of
Roth
★ The Abbot of
Rottenmünster
★ The Abbot of
Salmannsweiler
★ The Abbot of
Schussenried
★ The Abbot of
Söflingen
★ The Abbot of
Ursperg
★ The Abbot of
Weingarten
★ The Abbot of
Weissenau
★ The Abbot of
Wettenhausen
★ The Abbot of
Zwiefalten
The Prelates of the Rhine
★ The Abbot of
Bruchsal and
Odenheim
★ The Abbess of
Buchau
★ The Abbot of
Burtscheid
★ The Abbot of Ballei of
Koblenz (Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order)
★ The Abbot of
St. Cornelismünster
★ The Abbot of Ballei of
Elsass and
Burgundy (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order)
★ The Abbess of
Essen
★ The Abbess of
Gandersheim
★ The Abbot of
St Georg in Isny
★ The Abbess of
Gernrode
★ The Abbess of
Herford
★ The Abbess of Niedermünster in
Regensburg
★ The Abbess of Obermünster in Regensburg
★ The Abbess of Quedlinburg
★ The Abbess of
Thorn
★ The Abbot of St. Ulrich and St. Afra in Augsburg
★ The Abbot of
Werden
The Counts of the Wetterau
★ The Princes and Counts of Solms
★ The Prince of
Nassau-Usingen
★ The Prince of
Nassau-Weilburg
★ The Prince of
Nassau-Saarbrücken
★ The Princes and Counts of
Isenburg
★ The Counts of
Stollberg
★ The Princes and Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein
★ The Counts of Salm
★ The Princes and Counts of Leiningen
★ The Counts of Westerburg
★ The Princes of Schönburg
★ The Count of Wied-Runkel
★ The Counts of Ortenburg
★ The Counts of
Reuss zu Plauen
The Counts of Swabia
★ The Prince of Fürstenberg
★ The Abbess of Buchau
★ The Commander of the Teutonic Knights
★ The Prince of Oettingen
★ The Count of Montfort (also King of Bohemia)
★ The Count of Helfenstein (also Elector of Bavaria)
★ The Prince of Schwarzenberg
★ The Count of Königsegg
★ The Count of Waldburg
★ The Count of Eberstein (also Margrave of Baden)
★ The Count von der Leyen
★ The Counts of
Fugger
★ The Lord of Hohenems (also King of Bohemia)
★ The Count of Traun
★ The Prince-Abbot of St. Blase
★ The Count of Stadion
★ The Prince of Thurn and Taxis
★ The Count of Khevenhüller
★ The Count of Kuefstein
★ The Prince of Colloredo
★ The Count of Harrach
★ The Count of Sternberg
★ The Count of Neipperg
The Counts of Franconia
★ The Princes and Counts of Hohenlohe
★ The Counts of Castell
★ The Counts of Erbach
★ The Princes and Counts of Löwenstein-Wertheim
★ The Heirs to the Counts of Limpurg
★ The Counts of Nostitz-Rieneck
★ The Prince of Schwarzenberg
★ The Heirs to the Counts of Wolfstein
★ The Counts of Schönborn
★ The Counts of Windisch-Grätz
★ The Counts Orsini von Rosenberg
★ The Counts of Starhemberg
★ The Counts of Wurmbrand
★ The Counts of Giech
★ The Counts of Gravenitz
★ The Counts of Pückler
The Counts of Westphalia
★ The Lord of Sayn-Altenkirchen (also Elector of Hanover)
★ The Count of Hoya (also Elector of Hanover)
★ The Count of Spiegelberg (also Elector of Hanover)
★ The Count of Diepholz (also Elector of Hanover)
★ The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
★ The Count of Tecklenburg (also King of Prussia)
★ The Duke of Arenberg
★ The Prince of Wied-Runkel
★ The Prince of Wied-Neuwied
★ The Count of Schaumburg (shared between the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and the Count of Lippe-Bückeburg)
★ The Counts of
Lippe
★ The Counts of Bentheim
★ The Princes and Counts of Löwenstein-Wertheim
★ The Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg
★ The Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
★ The Count of Toerring
★ The Count of Aspremont
★ The Princes of Salm
★ The Count of Metternich-Winnenburg
★ The Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg
★ The Counts of Plettenberg
★ The Counts of
Limburg Stirum
★ The Count of Wallmoden
★ The Count of Quadt
★ The Counts of Ostein
★ The Counts of Nesselrode
★ The Counts of Salm-Reifferscheidt
★ The Counts of Platen
★ The Counts of Sinzendorf
★ The Prince of Ligne
See also
★
Holy Roman Empire
★
Imperial Circle Estates
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