Bishopric of Speyer
Encyclopedia
The Bishopric of Speyer was a state, ruled by Prince-Bishops, in what is today the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate
. It was secularized
in 1803. Its capital was Speyer
until the 14th century when the prince-bishop moved his residence to Uddenheim (Philippsburg
) then Bruchsal
.
of the Holy Roman Empire
and encompassed an area of 28 square miles (about 1540 km²) on both sides of the Rhine. It included the towns of Bruchsal (on the right bank) as well as Deidesheim
, Herxheim bei Landau, and Lauterburg
(on the left bank). Around 1800 the bishopric included about 55,000 people.
. From then until the dissolution of the bishopric in 1803, Speyer belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz
.
The history of the Bishopric of Speyer began latest in the late 7th century when the bishop of Speyer
received royal domains in the neighboring Speyergau
. In the 10th and 11th centuries, the diocese received additional lands, including gifts by emperor Otto I
. In 1030 the building of the cathedral
was begun. In 1061 the cathedral was consecrated. In 1086 emperor Henry IV
granted the bishopric the remaining parts of the county of Speyergau.
From 1111 the citizens of the city of Speyer began to increasingly loosen their bonds to the rulership of the bishop. In 1230 a Bürgermeister was mentioned for the first time. 1294 Speyer became a Free Imperial City
. The bishop moved his palace in 1371 to Udenheim. At the beginning of the 17th century bishop Philipp Christoph von Sötern
expanded as the fortress of Philippsburg
. The prince-bishops reigned from there from 1371 to 1723. Afterwards the prince-bishop moved his seat to Bruchsal.
From 1681 to 1697, at the end of the War of the Grand Alliance
, part of the bishopric's left-bank territories went to France
. In 1801/1802, the remaining left-bank territories
were conquered by French troops as part of the French Revolution
. The right-bank territories went to margraves of Baden.
This ended the worldy responsibilities of the bishop of Speyer. The bishopric was secularized and continued ecclesiastically as the Diocese of Speyer
.
s of Speyer, whom were worldly as well as ecclesiastical rulers.
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
. It was secularized
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
in 1803. Its capital was Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
until the 14th century when the prince-bishop moved his residence to Uddenheim (Philippsburg
Philippsburg
Philippsburg is a town in Germany, in the district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg.-History:Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718...
) then Bruchsal
Bruchsal
Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
.
Geography
The bishopric of Speyer belonged to the Upper Rhenish CircleUpper Rhenish Circle
The Upper Rhenish Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former Duchy of Upper Lorraine and large parts of Rhenish Franconia including the Swabian Alsace region and the Burgundian duchy of Savoy....
of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and encompassed an area of 28 square miles (about 1540 km²) on both sides of the Rhine. It included the towns of Bruchsal (on the right bank) as well as Deidesheim
Deidesheim
Deidesheim is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with some 3,700 inhabitants.The town lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration and since 1973 it has been the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Deidesheim. The most important industries are tourism...
, Herxheim bei Landau, and Lauterburg
Lauterbourg
Lauterbourg is a commune and Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. Situated on the German border and not far from the German city of Karlsruhe, it is the easternmost commune in Metropolitan France...
(on the left bank). Around 1800 the bishopric included about 55,000 people.
History
A Diocese of Speyer has possibly existed since the 3rd or 4th centuries. It was first mentioned in historical documents in 614. Until 748 it belonged to the Archbishopric of TrierArchbishopric of Trier
The Archbishopric of Trier was a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany, that existed from Carolingian times until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Its suffragans were the dioceses of Metz, Toul and Verdun. Since the 9th century the Archbishops of Trier were simultaneously princes and since the 11th...
. From then until the dissolution of the bishopric in 1803, Speyer belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
.
The history of the Bishopric of Speyer began latest in the late 7th century when the bishop of Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
received royal domains in the neighboring Speyergau
Speyergau
Speyergau was a medieval county in the stem duchy of Franconia around the administrative centre of Speyer, Germany. It roughly covered the former Roman administrative area of Civitas Nemetum which is now the south-eastern portion of the Palatinate between Rhine and Palatinate Forest and some parts...
. In the 10th and 11th centuries, the diocese received additional lands, including gifts by emperor Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
. In 1030 the building of the cathedral
Speyer Cathedral
The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St...
was begun. In 1061 the cathedral was consecrated. In 1086 emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
granted the bishopric the remaining parts of the county of Speyergau.
From 1111 the citizens of the city of Speyer began to increasingly loosen their bonds to the rulership of the bishop. In 1230 a Bürgermeister was mentioned for the first time. 1294 Speyer became a Free Imperial City
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
. The bishop moved his palace in 1371 to Udenheim. At the beginning of the 17th century bishop Philipp Christoph von Sötern
Philipp Christoph von Sötern
Philipp Christoph von Sötern was the Prince-Bishop of Speyer from 1610 to 1652 and the Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1623 to 1652.-Biography:...
expanded as the fortress of Philippsburg
Philippsburg
Philippsburg is a town in Germany, in the district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg.-History:Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718...
. The prince-bishops reigned from there from 1371 to 1723. Afterwards the prince-bishop moved his seat to Bruchsal.
From 1681 to 1697, at the end of the War of the Grand Alliance
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...
, part of the bishopric's left-bank territories went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1801/1802, the remaining left-bank territories
Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany. It is named after the highest point in the Rhenish Palatinate, the Donnersberg. It was the southernmost of four départements formed in 1798, when the west bank of the Rhine was annexed by France...
were conquered by French troops as part of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. The right-bank territories went to margraves of Baden.
This ended the worldy responsibilities of the bishop of Speyer. The bishopric was secularized and continued ecclesiastically as the Diocese of Speyer
Diocese of Speyer
The Diocese of Speyer is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz district in the east of the Saarland. The bishop's see is in the Palatinate city of Speyer.The current bishop is Karl-Heinz...
.
Prince-bishops of Speyer
The following were prince-bishopPrince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
s of Speyer, whom were worldly as well as ecclesiastical rulers.
| Name | From | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Jesse of Speir | circa 346 | |
| Hildericus episcopus | circa 613 | |
| Atanasius | 610 | 650 |
| Principius | 650 | 659 |
| Dragobodo | 659 | 700 |
| Otto | 700 | 709 |
| Siegwin I | 709 | 725 |
| Luido | 725 | 743 |
| David | 743 | 760 |
| Basinus | 760 | 775 |
| Siegwin II | 775 | 802 |
| Otto I | 802 | 810 |
| Fraido | 810 | 814 |
| Benedikt | 814 | 828 or 830 |
| Bertin, also Hertinus | 828 or 830 | 845 or 846 |
| Gebhard I | 845 or 847 | 880 |
| Goddank | 881 | 895 or 898 |
| Einhard, also Eginhard | 895 or 898 | 913 |
| Bernhard | 914 | 922 |
| Amalrich | 913 or 923 | 943 |
| Reginwalt I, also Reginhard | 943 or 944 | 950 |
| Gottfried I | 950 | 960 |
| Otgar | 960 | 970 |
| Balderich | 970 | 987 |
| Ruprecht | 987 | 1004 |
| Walter Walter of Speyer Walter of Speyer was a German bishop and poet.-External links:*... |
1004 | 1031 |
| Siegfried I | 1031 | 1032 |
| Reinher, also Reginher | 1032 | 1033 |
| Reginhard II of Dillingen, also Reginbald | 1033 | 1039 |
| Sigbodo I, also Siegbodo | 1039 | 1051 |
| Arnold I of Falkenberg | 1051 | 1056 |
| Konrad I | 1056 | 1060 |
| Eginhard II of Katzenelnbogen | 1060 | 1067 |
| Heinrich of Scharfenberg | 1067 | 1072 or 1073 |
| Rüdiger Hutzmann (Hußmann?) | 1073 | 1090 |
| Johann I of Kraichgau | 1090 | 1104 |
| Gebhard II, Count of Urach | 1105 | 1107 († 1110) |
| Bruno, Count of Saarbrücken (SaargauCounten) | 1107 | 1123 |
| Arnold II, Count of Leiningen | 1124 | 1126 |
| Siegfried I, Count of Wolffölden | 1127 | 1146 |
| Günther, Count of Henneberg | 1146 | 1161 |
| Ulrich I of Dürrmenz | 1161 | 1163 |
| Gottfried II | 1164 | 1167 |
| Rabodo, Count of Lobdaburg | 1167 | 1176 |
| Konrad II | 1176 | 1178 |
| Ulrich II of Rechberg | 1178 | 1187 |
| Otto II, Count of Henneberg | 1187 | 1200 |
| Konrad III of Scharfenberg Konrad III of Scharfenberg Konrad von Scharfenberg came from a family of knights that served the Holy Roman Empire. He came from the area around Trifels Castle. His family castle was Scharfenburg Castle .... |
1200 | 1224 |
| Beringer of Entringen | 1224 | 1232 |
| Konrad IV of Dahn | 1233 | 1236 |
| Konrad V, Count of Eberstein | 1237 | 1245 |
| Heinrich II, Count of Leiningen | 1245 | 1272 |
| Friedrich of Bolanden | 1272 | 1302 |
| Sigibodo II of Lichtenberg, also Siegbodo | 1302 | 1314 |
| Emich, Count of Leiningen, also Emicho | 1314 | 1328 |
| Berthold, Count of Bucheck | 1328 | 1328 |
| Walram, Count of Veldenz | 1328 | 1336 |
| Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier Baldwin of Luxembourg was the Archbishop-Elector of Trier and Archchancellor of Burgundy from 1307 to his death. From 1328 to 1336, he was the diocesan administrator of the archdiocese of Mainz and from 1331 to 1337 of those of Worms and Speyer... (Administrator) |
1332 | 1336 |
| Gerhard of Ehrenberg | 1336 | 1363 |
| Lambert of Born (Brunn?) | 1364 | 1371 |
| Adolf I, Count of Nassau | 1371 | 1388 |
| Nikolaus I aus Wiesbaden | 1388 | 1396 |
| Raban of Helmstatt | 1396 | 1438 |
| Reinhard of Helmstatt | 1438 | 1456 |
| Siegfried III Freiherr of Venningen | 1456 | 1459 |
| Johann II Nix of Hoheneck, aka Enzenberger | 1459 | 1464 |
| Matthias Freiherr of Rammingen | 1464 | 1478 |
| Ludwig of Helmstädt | 1478 | 1504 |
| Philipp I of Rosenberg | 1504 | 1513 |
| Georg, PfalzCount bei Rhein | 1513 | 1529 |
| Philipp II of Flörsheim | 1529 | 1552 |
| Rudolf of Frankenstein | 1552 | 1560 |
| Marquard Freiherr of Hattstein | 1560 | 1581 |
| Eberhard of Dienheim | 1581 | 1610 |
| Philipp Christoph von Sötern Philipp Christoph von Sötern Philipp Christoph von Sötern was the Prince-Bishop of Speyer from 1610 to 1652 and the Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1623 to 1652.-Biography:... |
1610 | 1652 |
| Lothar Friedrich of Metternich | 1652 | 1675 |
| Johann Hugo of Orsbeck | 1675 | 1711 |
| Heinrich Hartard of Rollingen | 1711 | 1719 |
| Hugo Damian of Schönborn | 1719 | 1743 |
| Franz Christoph of Hutten zu Stolzenberg | 1743 | 1770 |
| Damian August Philipp Karl, Count of Limburg-Vehlen-Stirum August Philip of Limburg Stirum August Philipp Karl of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, was born in 1721, son of Otto Leopold Count von Limburg Styrum und Bronckhorst, Lord of Gemen and Raesfeld and Anna Elisabeth countess of Schönborn .August Philipp was Prince-Bishop of Speyer and sovereign Lord zu... |
1770 | 1797 |
| Philipp Franz Wilderich of Walderdorf Wilderich of Walderdorf Philipp Franz Wilderich Nepomuk was count of Walderdorf and the last prince-bishop of Speyer.His reign was short, from 1797 until the secularization in 1803. In was unusual that during the secularization, Wilderich was able to live in the south wing of his official residence, the baroque palace in... |
1801 | 1802 († 1810) |
| Sede vacante Sede vacante Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church... |
1802 | 1818 |
| Secularization Secularization Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions... and division of the diocese |
1803 |