The Principality of Regensburg (german: Fürstentum Regensburg) was a principality 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 ...

that was created in 1803. Its capital was Regensburg. Following the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, the principality became a member state of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria a ...

until 1810.

History

The principality was initially created as an ecclesiastical

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or c ...

for Archbishop

Karl Theodor von Dalberg Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg (8 February 1744 – 10 February 1817) was Prince- Archbishop of Regensburg, Arch-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Bishop of Constance and Worms, prince-primate of the Confederation of the Rhine and ...

, the Elector-Archchancellor of the Empire and the former

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 ...

, due to the annexation of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

itself by the French following the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

. Most of the new principality consisted of the territory of the former Prince-Bishopric of Regensburg. The principality also included the Lordships of

Donaustauf Donaustauf is a market town in Bavaria, east of Regensburg at the foothills of the Bavarian Forest. The ruins of a medieval castle, presumably erected between 914 and 930, tower above the small town. Situated nearby on a hill rising from the ...

, Wörth, and Hohenburg, the former free imperial city of Regensburg,

St. Emmeram's Abbey Saint Emmeram's Abbey (german: Kloster Sankt Emmeram or ''Reichsabtei Sankt Emmeram''), now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, Schloss St. Emmeram or St. Emmeram's Basilica, was a Benedictine monastery founded in about 739 at Regensburg in Bavar ...

, and the abbeys Obermünster and Niedermünster located within the city of Regensburg. Dalberg also acquired the newly-created Principality of Aschaffenburg along the Main river. Dalberg received the

electoral An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has oper ...

dignity previously accorded to the Electorate of Mainz; his new principality has thus been known in German as ' ("Electorate of Regensburg"). Because the archiepiscopal status of Mainz had also been transferred to the Regensburg diocese, the principality has also been known in English as the Archbishopric of Regensburg. Because of Bavarian claims on Regensburg, Dalberg was not installed as archbishop until 1 February 1805. The principality lost its status as an electorate in 1806 with the dissolution of the

and became part of the

later that year. The Napoleonic Code was introduced in 1809. During the

War of the Fifth Coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Empir ...

, Austrian troops occupied Regensburg on 20 April 1809; it was shelled and stormed by French troops three days later. In the Treaty of Paris, Dalberg conceded Regensburg to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

, which formally incorporated the city on 22 May 1810. In return for conceding Regensburg, Dalberg was granted

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the ri ...

and Fulda, which he combined with the Principality of Aschaffenburg to create the

Grand Duchy of Frankfurt The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz along with the Free City of Frankfurt itself. Histo ...

. Although he had lost the Principality of Regensburg, Dalberg retained the title of Archbishop of Regensburg until his death in 1817, after which time the archbishopric was downgraded to a suffragan diocese of Munich and Freising.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Regensburg, Principality 1803 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1800s establishments in Bavaria 1810 disestablishments in Germany 19th-century disestablishments in Bavaria Client states of the Napoleonic Wars States of the Confederation of the Rhine Former states and territories of Bavaria Principality Of Regensburg Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire