The Bishopric of Utrecht (1024–1528) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it was ruled by the bishops of Utrecht. The Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht must not be confused with the Diocese of Utrecht, which extended beyond the Prince-Bishopric and over which the bishop exercised spiritual authority.
The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, also Archbishopric of Bremen, — not to be confused with the former Archdiocese of Bremen, and the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire, which after its definitive secularization in 1648, became the hereditary Duchy of Bremen. The prince-archbishopric, which was under the secular rule of the archbishop, consisted of about a third of the diocesan territory. The city of Bremen was de facto and de jure not part of the prince-archbishopric. Most of the prince-archbishopric lay rather in the area to the north of the city of Bremen, between the Weser and Elbe rivers. Even more confusingly, parts of the prince-archbishopric belonged in religious respect to the neighbouring diocese of Verden, making up 10% of its diocesan territory.
Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg was a German politician and the most important statesman in the Principality of Münster in the second half of the 18th century. Fürstenberg was committed to a cautious and enlightened course of reform.
The Prince-Bishopric of Münster was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, it was often held in personal union with one or more of the nearby ecclesiastical principalities of Cologne, Paderborn, Osnabrück, Hildesheim, and Liège.
The Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1225 until 1803. It should not be confused with the Diocese of Osnabrück, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the spiritual authority of an ordinary bishop. It was named after its capital, Osnabrück.
The Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire. It goes back to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bamberg established at the 1007 synod in Frankfurt, at the behest of King Henry II to further expand the spread of Christianity in the Franconian lands. The bishops obtained the status of Imperial immediacy about 1245 and ruled their estates as Prince-bishops until they were subsumed to the Electorate of Bavaria in the course of the German Mediatisation in 1802.
The Bishopric of Havelberg was a Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I of Germany in 946, from 968 a suffragan to the Archbishops of Magedeburg. A Prince-bishopric (Hochstift) from 1151, Havelberg as a result of the Protestant Reformation was secularised and finally annexed by the margraves of Brandenburg in 1598.
The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802.
The Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the Middle Ages until its dissolution in 1803. The Prince-Bishopric must not be confused with the Diocese of Hildesheim, which was larger and over which the prince-bishop exercised only the spiritual authority of an ordinary bishop.
Bernard III, Lord of Lippe was a German nobleman. He was the ruling Lord of Lippe from 1229 until his death.
Siegfried II of Querfurt was Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim from 1279 to 1310.
Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg was a Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, then Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, then Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.
Bernard VII of Lippe was the ruler of the Lordship of Lippe from 1429 until his death. Because of the many bloody feuds in which he was involved, he was nicknamed "the Bellicose". He is the longest-ever ruling European nobleman.
Eric of Brunswick-Grubenhagen was from 1508 to 1532 prince-bishop of Paderborn and Osnabrück. In 1532, he was elected bishop of Münster, however, he died before he could be consecrated.
Albert II of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a member of the House of Welf, was Prince-Bishop of Halberstadt from 1325 until his death. His regnal numbers indicate that he was the second Bishop Albert of Halberstadt. His reign can be characterized as an almost unbroken series of conflicts with the Pope, his cathedral chapter, the city of Halberstadt and various neighbouring Lords and Princes.
Simon I, Lord of Lippe ruled Lippe from 1273 until his death in 1344.
Günther I of Schwalenberg was a German nobleman. He was elected Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1277, but had to step down in 1278. He was Bishop of Bishopric of Paderborn from 1307 to 15 May 1310.
Hildebold of Wunstorf , also Hildbold , was the Prince-Archbishop of Bremen from 1258 until his death.
The Münster Diocesan Feud, or simply Münster Feud, was a dispute that took place between 1450 and 1457 over the appointment to the bishop's throne in Münster, and hence the rule of the diocese. The cause was the death of the previous prince-bishop, Henry II of Moers. The opposing candidates were his brother Walram of Moers, Eric of Hoya, and Conrad of Diepholz. They were supported by their families with Count John of Hoya, Archbishop Dietrich II of Moers and Prince-Bishop Rudolf of Diepholz at their respective heads. In addition, there were also external allies. Within the diocese the Stände, namely the cathedral chapter and the town of Münster, played an independent role at times. In the end neither candidate was able to succeed to the office.
Ferdinand of Fürstenberg, contemporaneously also known as Ferdinandus liber baro de Furstenberg, was, as Ferdinand II, Prince Bishop of Paderborn from 1661 to 1683 and also Prince Bishop of Münster from 1678 to 1683, having been its coadjutor since 1667/68. He was brought almost complete restoration to the Bishopric of Paderborn after the devastation of the Thirty Years' War.
