1.
Prince-elector
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The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the Prince-Electors had the privilege of electing the King of the Romans, Charles V was the last to be a crowned Emperor, his successors were elected Emperors directly by the electoral college, each being titled Elected Emperor of the Romans. In practice, all but one Emperor from 1440 onwards came from the Austrian House of Habsburg, the dignity of Elector carried great prestige and was considered to be second only to that of King or Emperor. The Electors had exclusive privileges that were not shared with the princes of the Empire. The heir apparent to a secular prince-elector was known as an electoral prince, the German practice of electing monarchs began when ancient Germanic tribes formed ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. Elections were irregularly held by the Franks, whose successor states include France, the French monarchy eventually became hereditary, but the Holy Roman Emperors remained elective, at least in theory, although the Habsburgs provided most of the later monarchs. While all free men originally exercised the right to vote in such elections, in the election of Lothar II in 1125, a small number of eminent nobles chose the monarch and then submitted him to the remaining magnates for their approbation. Soon, the right to choose the monarch was settled on a group of princes. The college of electors was mentioned in 1152 and again in 1198, a letter of Pope Urban IV suggests that by immemorial custom, seven princes had the right to elect the King and future Emperor. The seven have been mentioned as the vote-casters in the election of 1257 that resulted in two kings becoming elected, the Count Palatine of the Rhine held most of the former Duchy of Franconia after the last Duke died in 1039. The Margrave of Brandenburg became an Elector when the Duchy of Swabia was dissolved after the last Duke of Swabia was beheaded in 1268, Saxony, even with diminished territory, retained its eminent position. The Palatinate and Bavaria were originally held by the same individual, meanwhile, the King of Bohemia, who held the ancient imperial office of Arch-Cupbearer, asserted his right to participate in elections. Sometimes he was challenged on the grounds that his kingdom was not German, though usually he was recognized, instead of Bavaria which after all was just a younger line of Wittelsbachs. The Declaration of Rhense issued in 1338 had the effect that election by the majority of the electors automatically conferred the title and rule over the empire. The Golden Bull of 1356 finally resolved the disputes among the electors, in 1621, the Elector Palatine, Frederick V, came under the imperial ban after participating in the Bohemian Revolt. The Elector Palatines seat was conferred on the Duke of Bavaria, originally, the Duke held the electorate personally, but it was later made hereditary along with the duchy. When the Thirty Years War concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, since the Elector of Bavaria retained his seat, the number of electors increased to eight, the two Wittelsbach lines now sufficiently estranged so as not to pose a combined potential threat. In 1685, the composition of the College of Electors was disrupted when a Catholic branch of the Wittelsbach family inherited the Palatinate
2.
Archbishop of Cologne
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Since the early days of the Catholic Church, there have been ninety-four bishops and archbishops of Cologne. Seven of these ninety-four retired by resignation, including four resignations which were in response to impeachment, eight of the bishops and archbishops were coadjutor bishops before they took office. Seven individuals were appointed as coadjutors freely by the Pope, one of the ninety-four moved to the Curia, where he became a cardinal. Additionally, six of the archbishops of Cologne were chairmen of the German Bishops Conference, currently, Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki is the Archbishop of Cologne, since his 2014 transfer from Berlin, where he had been Cardinal Archbishop. All names before Maternus II are to be approached with considerable skepticism, Maternus was present at a council in Rome in 313. The bishops between Severinus and Charentius are also apocryphal, Domitianus was the Bishop of Maastricht. The given dates of office before Gunther are also conjectural, at best, 88–128 Paulinus Marcellinus Aquilinus Levoldus c. 470–500 Domitianus fl. c.535 Charentinus fl. c.570 Eberigisil II
3.
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg
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Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. After pursuing a career, he won a close election in the Cathedral chapter of Cologne over Ernst of Bavaria. After his election, he fell in love with and later married Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben and his conversion to Calvinism and announcement of religious parity in the Electorate triggered the Cologne War. For the next six years, his supporters fought those of the Catholic cathedral chapter for the right to hold the electorship, after brutal fighting, plundering of villages, cities, and abbeys throughout the Electorate, Gebhard surrendered his claim on the electorate and retired to Strasbourg. He died there in 1601 and was buried in the Cathedral, gebhards conversion and marriage was the first major test of the principle of ecclesiastical reservation established in the Peace of Augsburg,1555. His family was an old Swabian house and he was descended from the Jacobin line of the House, Jakob I Truchseß von Waldburg, in the future, they would occupy and own the property as one, the inheritance of the daughters could not exceed 4000 gulden. They guaranteed each other the right of first refusal on potential property sales and his uncle, Otto, was the bishop of Augsburg, later a Cardinal, and founded University of Dillingen in Augsburg. His younger brother, Karl, trained for a military career, as a younger son, Gebhard was prepared early for an ecclesiastical career. He received a broad, Humanist education, learned several languages, including Latin, Italian, French, and German, and studied history and theology. After studying at the universities of Dillingen, Ingolstadt, Perugia, Louvain and elsewhere, he began his career in 1560 at Augsburg. In 1561, he became a deacon at the cathedral in Cologne, a canon of St. Gereon in Köln, a canon in Strassburg, in Ellwangen, in 1571, he became deacon of the Strassburg Cathedral, a position he held until his death in 1601. In 1576, by papal nomination, he became provost of the Cathedral in Augsburg and he would have drawn a stipend from all these positions. In December 1577, he was elector of Cologne after a contest with Ernst of Bavaria. He won the election by two votes, although it was not required of him, Gebhard agreed to be ordained a priest, which his predecessor had not done. The initial years of his office were relatively uneventful, Gebhard continued some of the work of his predecessor, Salentin, chiefly in the reconstruction of the Arnsberg castle in Westphalia. Gebhard is chiefly noted for his conversion to the doctrines, and for his marriage with the reportedly beautiful Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben. After living in concubinage with Agnes for two years, he decided, perhaps by the persuasion of her brothers, to marry her, the marriage with Agnes was celebrated on 4 February 1583, and afterward Gebhard remained in possession of the see. This affair created a stir in the Holy Roman Empire, the conversion of the ecclesiastic see to one ruled by a Calvinist prince challenged the principle of ecclesiastical reservation
4.
Ferdinand of Bavaria (bishop)
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This article covers the life and career of the archbishop, the Prince-elector of Cologne, Ferdinand of Bavaria. For the life and career of his uncle, Ferdinand of Bavaria, for the article on Ferdinand of Bavaria 1884-1958, Infante of Spain, see Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria. Ferdinand of Bavaria was Prince-elector archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1612 to 1650 and he was also prince-bishop of Hildesheim, Liège, Münster, and Paderborn. Ferdinand was born in Munich, one of the sons of William V and his parents decided early that he would have church life, and they sent him to the Jesuit College of Ingolstadt for education in early 1587. He quickly became a canon in Mainz, Cologne, Würzburg, Trier, Salzburg, in 1595 he became Prince-Provost of Berchtesgaden and the coadjutor of his uncle Ernest of Bavaria. His uncle retired from most duties associated with his office, leaving Ferdinand to run the many lands he ruled, when Ernest died in 1612, Ferdinand was elected the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne and the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Hildesheim, Münster, and, from 1618, Paderborn. Ferdinand never received ordination in his lifetime, though, Ferdinand is responsible for numerous executions due to fanatic witch-hunts in his dioceses. Ferdinand worked hard throughout his reign to promote Catholicism in his lands and he pushed reforms and adoption of the Council of Trents objectives, and improved the position of the Wittelsbachs in Germany. In 1612 he attempted to get his brother Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria elected the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1618 the Thirty Years War broke out. Ferdinand had initial success in supporting the Catholic leaders and keeping his dioceses safe from war with Spanish aid, by the end of the war, Swedish, Spanish, French and Imperial armies had all fought in and raided the bishoprics. In 1642 Ferdinand appointed his nephew Maximilian Henry coadjutor and he retired from most of the affairs of the dioceses. In the period of the persecution of witches 37 people were executed in Cologne, the most famous victim of his witch-hunt was Katharina Henot. Ferdinand died in 1650 in the ducal Westphalian capital Arnsberg and was buried in Cologne Cathedral and he was succeeded by Maximilian Henry of Bavaria
5.
Munich
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Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, the Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.8 million people. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute Munich is considered an alpha-world city, the name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning by the monks. It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich, Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes, black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the citys official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically. In 1918, during the German Revolution, the house of Wittelsbach, which governed Bavaria since 1180, was forced to abdicate in Munich. In the 1920s, Munich became home to political factions, among them the NSDAP. During World War II, Munich was heavily bombed and more than 50% of the entire city, the postwar period was characterised by American occupation until 1949 and a strong increase of population and economic power during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder after 1949. The city is home to corporations like BMW, Siemens, MAN, Linde, Allianz and MunichRE as well as many small. Munich is home to national and international authorities, major universities, major museums. Its numerous architectural attractions, international events, exhibitions and conferences. Munich is one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany and it is a top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location, despite being the municipality with the highest density of population in Germany. Munich nowadays hosts more than 530,000 people of foreign background, the year 1158 is assumed to be the foundation date, which is the earliest date the city is mentioned in a document. The document was signed in Augsburg, by that time the Guelph Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a bridge over the river Isar next to a settlement of Benedictine monks—this was on the Old Salt Route and a toll bridge. In 1175, Munich was officially granted city status and received fortification, in 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the Bishop of Freising. In 1240, Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, Duke Louis IV, a native of Munich, was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the position by granting it the salt monopoly
6.
Duchy of Bavaria
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The Duchy of Bavaria was, from the sixth through the eighth century, a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom and was ruled by dukes under Frankish lordship. In the late ninth century a new duchy was created from this area and it was one of the stem duchies of the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1070 and 1180 the Emperor was opposed by Bavaria, especially by the House of Welf, in the final conflict between the Duke Henry the Lion and the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I, Frederick I triumphed and deprived Henry of his fiefs. Bavaria then passed over to the House of Wittelsbach, which held it until 1918, the origins of the older Bavarian duchy can be traced to the year 551/555. In his Getica, the chronicler Jordanes writes, That area of the Swabians has the Bavarii in the east, until the end of the first duchy, all rulers descended from the family of the Agilolfings. The first documented duke was Garibald I, a scion of the Frankish Agilolfings, at around 743, the Bavarian duke Odilo vassalised the Slavic princes of Carantania, who had asked him for protection against the invading Avars. The residence of the largely independent Agilolfing dukes was then Regensburg, in the adjacent Alamannic lands west of the Lech river, Augsburg was a bishops seat. When Boniface established the Diocese of Passau in 739, he could build on local Early Christian traditions. In the south, Saint Rupert had founded in 696 the Diocese of Salzburg, probably after he had baptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria at his court in Regensburg, becoming the Apostle of Bavaria. In 798 Pope Leo III created the Bavarian ecclesiastical province with Salzburg as metropolitan seat and Regensburg, Passau, Freising, in the west, the Carolingian mayor of the palace Carloman had suppressed the last Alamannic revolt at the 746 Blood court at Cannstatt. The last tribal stem duchy to be incorporated was Bavaria in 788, the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne entailed the fall of Tassilo, who was deposed in 788. Bavaria was then administrated by Frankish prefects, from 825 Louis the German styled himself King of Bavaria in the territory that was to become the centre of his power. Carlomans natural son Arnulf of Carinthia, raised in the former Carantanian lands, secured possession of the March of Carinthia upon his fathers death in 880, Carinthia and Bavaria were the bases of his power, with Regensburg as the seat of his government. Due mainly to the support of the Bavarians, Arnulf could take the field against Charles in 887, in 899 Bavaria passed to Louis the Child, during whose reign continuous Hungarian ravages occurred. During the reign of Louis the Child, Luitpold, Count of Scheyern, the German king Conrad I unsuccessfully attacked Arnulf when the latter refused to acknowledge his royal supremacy. The Carolingian reign in East Francia ended in 911 when Arnulfs son, King Louis the Child, the discontinuation of the central authority led to a new strengthening of the German stem duchies. At the same time, East Francia was exposed to the threat from Hungarian invasions. In 907 the army of Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria suffered a defeat at the Battle of Pressburg
7.
Arnsberg
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Arnsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsbergs administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hochsauerlandkreis, Arnsberg is located in the north-east of the Sauerland in the Ruhr river valley. The river Ruhr meanders around the south of the old town of Arnsberg, the town is nearly completely encircled by forest, and the nature parkArnsberger Wald lies to the north. Arnsberg is connected by Federal Motorway 46 to Brilon in the east, the municipal territory spans a distance of up to 13 kilometres from the southern to the northern limits. The town was built by the counts of Werl in the 11th century and they built a castle there whose remains can still be visited and are occasionally used for public celebrations. It was destroyed in the Seven Years War in 1769, in the 12th century, old Arnsberg became the seat of Westphalian jurisdiction. Later, the city lost its independence and was subject to the Archbishops of Colognea, in 1816, it came under Prussian rule and was made a local administrative centre. The current city of Arnsberg was created in 1975 by merging 14 cities and municipalities into one city, old Arnsberg itself and Neheim-Hüsten are the two urban parts, while the other parts are very rural. Neheim and Hüsten were merged in 1941, in the Second World War, Arnsberg first suffered widespread destruction and catastrophic loss of lives when RAF Lancasters breached the dam of the Möhne Reservoir in the night from 16 to 17 May 1943. The nearby Abbey Himmelpforten was completely washed away, later, dozens of Arnsberg citizens were killed in several British air raids aimed at destroying the railway viaduct. The targets were destroyed on 19 March 1945 using a Grand Slam bomb. Arnsbergs population is mostly Roman Catholic, Catholic churches include the Probsteikirche or the Heilig-Kreuz Kirche, the Auferstehungskirche is a Protestant church. There is also a New Apostolic congregation, the cemeteries are mostly Catholic but there is also a Jewish cemetery. The Kunstverein Arnsberg operates in Arnsberg, the arms of the city depict a white eagle on a blue field. Earlier it was an eagle on a red field, introduced in 1278. In the 17th century the red was changed to blue, reflecting the Bavarian blue of the House of Wittelsbach
8.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne
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The Archdiocese of Cologne is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The Electorate of Cologne—not to be confused with the larger Archdiocese of Cologne—was one of the major principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. After 1795, the territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by France. The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 secularized the rest of the archbishopric, giving the Duchy of Westphalia to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1821, the archdiocese regained Cologne and the right bank of the Rhine and, in 1824, an archbishop was established there again. It remains an archdiocese to the present day, considered the most important one of Germany.2 million Euro in 2012, in 2015 the archdiocese for the first time published its financial accounts, which show assets worth more than £2bn. Documents posted on the website showed assets of €3. 35bn at the end of 2013. Some €2.4 billion were invested in stocks, funds, a further €646m were held in tangible assets, mostly property. Cash reserves and outstanding loans amounted to about €287m, the following is a list of the archbishops since the Archdiocese of Cologne was re-filled in 1824. List of Bishops and Archbishops of Cologne Archdiocese of Cologne List of Bishops and Archbishops of Cologne Cologne Cathedral
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna". Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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