The Diet of Regensburg was a meeting of the

Prince-Elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

s of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(or ''Kurfürstentag'') which occurred at

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

from July to November 1630. It resulted in a major loss of power for the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.

Context

The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

had prevented any Imperial Diet (German ''Reichstag'') from being summoned for thirty years: the last one before the war had been that of 1613. In 1623, the Emperor had summoned and dominated a Diet of the Princes at Regensburg. The rest of the states' corporate representation had been done on occasional days at the Imperial Circle and at the Electors' Diets of 1619, 1627, and 1630. The Diet of 1630 was preceded by Ferdinand's

Edict of Restitution The Edict of Restitution was proclaimed by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, on 6 March 1629, eleven years into the Thirty Years' War. Following Catholic League (German), Catholic military successes, Ferdinand hoped to restore control ...

and the Peace of Lübeck after Wallenstein's defeat of Denmark. These both put the Emperor in a favourable position to succeed in achieving his goals.

Representatives

The Diet of the Electors met at Regensburg in June, 1630. The Catholic Electors were present in person, whilst those of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

were represented by ambassadors. The Emperor, the Empress, their eldest son, and two daughters made their entry into the city on the 19th of June. Representatives of

Frederick V, Elector Palatine Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

, the English ambassador Sir Robert Anstruther, two French ambassadors, and the Papal Nuncio came afterwards, while Spain was represented by the Duke of Tursi and James Bruneau. Anselm Casimir Wambold von Umstadt was invited as Imperial Chancellor (''Reichserzkanzler'') and Bishop-Elector of Mainz.

Course and results

The meeting was opened by Ferdinand himself on the 3rd of July 1630 . Ferdinand's chief aim was to have his son Ferdinand the Younger elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

and to gain the Empire's military support against the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

in the Thirty Years' War, as well as against France in the

War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession, from 1628 to 1631, was caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, last male heir from the House of Gonzaga, long-time rulers of Mantua and Montferrat. Their strategic importance led to a proxy war b ...

. He also needed to deal with the imminent Swedish threat - on 6 July, shortly after the Diet had opened,

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

had landed in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

Maximilian I of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

feared the rising power of the empire and the strength of Wallenstein's Imperial Army. The Catholic electors therefore opposed rather than supported Ferdinand, requiring that the imperial army be downsized, the war-taxes reduced and Wallenstein dismissed from command. Ferdinand largely had to concede these demands so as not to lose his political underpinning in the empire. Wallenstein was dismissed and

Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly (; ; ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's forces in the Thirty Years' War. From 1620 to 1631, he won an unmatched and demoralizing string of important victo ...

put in supreme command of imperial forces, which were shrunk despite the Swedish threat. The debate on Mantua forced Ferdinand into a peace treaty which France soon broke. The Electors blocked Ferdinand the Younger's election as King of the Romans and in the name of their own freedom revoked the Edict of Restitution. The Diet thus saw Ferdinand - previously at the height of his power - suffer his first defeat by the Imperial States, a defeat that was near-complete.

Notes

References

*
extract
;Attribution *

Context

Representatives

Course and results

Notes

References

Further reading