The Prince-Bishopric of Chur (german: Hochstift Chur, Fürstbistum Chur, Bistum Chur) was an

ecclesiastical principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, and had

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

. The Prince-Bishopric of Chur controlled contiguous land from the city of Chur, to

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...

, and to Vinschgau. The historical State must be distinguished from the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Chur The Diocese of Chur is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. It extends over the Swiss Cantons of Graubünden (Grisons), Schwyz, Glarus, Zurich, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Uri. The modern Cat ...

which still exists, even if the bishop was the same man. They were leaded by the League of God's House from the 15th century. The

Three Leagues The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grison ...

then took over any effettive power from the Prince-Bishopric (while in Vinschgau the control passed to the Habsburg), and after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the bishop's estates remained the sole territory of the principality. The bishop had the vote number 51 in the Imperial Diet. Hist kirchl Einteilung CH

History

The Bishopric of Chur was first founded in 451, when Asinio was made Bishop of Chur. In 1170, Emperor

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

raised the Bishopric of Chur to the title of Prince-Bishopric of Chur. In October 1621,

Colonel Baldiron Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

attacked the Prince-Bishopric of Chur, and the League of God's House as a whole, with 8,000 men. On November 22 of the same year, Baldiron and his soldiers captured Chur. In the ensuing peace deal, Austria took the Lower Engadine from Chur, and retained the right to station troops in Chur, and use their roads. On October 27, 1624, an army of 8,000 French and Swiss soldiers attacked the Austrians stationed at Chur, led by the

marquis de Coeuvres A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

. Because Austria had pulled much of her garrison back during spring, the 8,000 strong army quickly overtook the Austrian skeleton garrison, and seized Chur and the surrounding land. During the time of the Transalpine campaigns of the Old Swiss Confederacy, the Three Leagues took control of

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Tod ...

Bormio Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy. The centre of the upper Valtellina ...

, and

Chiavenna Chiavenna ( lmo, Ciavèna ; la, Clavenna; rm, Clavenna or ''Claven''; archaic german: Cläven or ''Kleven'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine ...

Religion

As an ecclesiastical state, their leader was appointed by the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. It is, however, known that at least once, in 1440, the Bishop-elect requested confirmation from the

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

, rather than the current pope, Eugenius IV. In 1441

Heinrich von Höwen Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of p ...

, who was already the Bishop of Constance, became the Bishop of Chur as well. On 12 January 1447, Pope Eugenius IV issued a papal bull to Emperor Frederick III, allowing him to nominate bishops for Chur, for the rest of his life.

Bishops

*Henry II: 1180–1193 *Arnold II: 1210–24 December 1221 *Rudolf II: 1223–1226 *Berthold: 1226−25 August 1233 *Ulrich IV: 1233–1237 *Volcnand: 1238–1251 *Heinrich von Höwen: 1441−?

References

Citations

Books

* * * * * * *

Websites

*{{HDS, 8569, The Alps - 4.1 Church and Religious Life Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Switzerland Former monarchies of Europe