
The Diocese of Halberstadt was a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
() from 804 until 1648.
["Diocese of Halberstadt"]
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016["Diocese of Halberstadt"]
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 From 1180, the bishops or administrators of Halberstadt ruled a state within 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 ...
, the
prince-bishop
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
ric of Halberstadt (German ''Hochstift Halberstadt''). The diocesan seat and secular capital was
Halberstadt
Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...
in present-day
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
.
History
Early history
In the aftermath of the
Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fou ...
, Emperor
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
in 804 established a missionary diocese at
Osterwieck
Osterwieck () is a historic town in the Harz (district), Harz district, in the Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Geography
The municipal area stretches along the river Ilse (Oker), Ilse, north of Wernigerode and the Harz mountain range.
The ...
(then called ''Seligenstadt'') in
Eastphalia
Eastphalia ( �stˈfaːlən Eastphalian: ''Oostfalen'') is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern '' Gaue'' (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe a ...
, in the course of the Christianisation of the pagan
Saxons
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
and
Polabian Slavs. Under its (supposed) first bishop
Hildegrim of Châlons the capital was moved to Halberstadt, confirmed by Charles' son
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...
in an 814 deed. The bishopric's boundaries originally reached the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
and
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...
rivers in the east, nevertheless, when
Emperor Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
founded the
Archbishopric of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Catholic Church, Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Bishopric, Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
Planned since 95 ...
in 968, Halberstadt lost the eastern half of its district to it. Halberstadt diocese was a
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
of the
Archdiocese of Mainz
The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...
.
The Halberstadt bishops rivalled with Magdeburg to gain political influence in the days of the
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German stem du ...
and
Salian dynasty
The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125).
After the death of the last Ottonia ...
. Under the rule of Emperor
Henry III they were vested with further territorial rights and in 1062 Bishop
Burchard II was sent to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as an Imperial mediator in the conflict between
Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria reform mo ...
and
Antipope Honorius II
Honorius II ( 1010 – 1072), born Pietro Cadalo (Latin ''Petrus Cadalus''), was an antipope from 1061 to 1072. He was born in the County of Verona, and became bishop of Parma in 1045. He died at Parma in 1072.
Biography
Cadalo was the son o ...
. However the former favourite of Dowager Empress
Agnes of Poitou
Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077) was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the ...
and her son
Henry IV in 1073 allied with
Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.
One of the great ...
in the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...
and became one of the leading figures of the
Great Saxon Revolt.
The history of the diocese down to 1208 is found in the ''
Gesta episcoporum Halberstadensium''.
Prince-bishopric
After the deposition of the
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
duke
Henry the Lion the episcopal and
capitular temporalities
Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
forming the
Stift
The term (; ) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenants of noble ...
of Halberstadt evolved to an
Imperial State
An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...
, the prince-bishopric. The political entity of the prince-bishopric only comprised parts of the ecclesiastical entity of the diocese, which also included neighbouring political entities of other rulers.
On the death of
Henry VI in 1197, the prince-bishopric supported the unsuccessful claim of
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination.
The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...
against
Otto of Brunswick to be
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
. When
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216.
Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...
disagreed, Prince-Bishop Conrad of Halberstadt (Conrad of Krosigk before his elevation) was excommunicated. To evade the penalties of excommunication, Conrad joined the catastrophic
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
. Taking full part in the diversion of the Crusade from its mission and the atrocious subsequent
sack of Constantinople
The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusaders sacked and destroyed most of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the city, the Latin Empire ( ...
, Conrad enriched the Prince-Bishopric with many relics and other booty personally looted from the churches, convents, and monasteries of the
Roman Imperial capital.
[Alfred Andrea, ''Contemporary Sources for the Fourth Crusade: Revised Edition'', Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2000. pp. 241–244] In 1315 the prince-bishop acquired the former
Principality of Aschersleben for the prince-bishopric.
''Sede vacante''
In 1479 the
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
prince-elector
Ernest of Wettin pushed the election of his 13-year-old son Ernest II, Archbishop of Magdeburg since 1476, as administrator in place of the resigned
Prince-Bishop
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
Gebhard von Hoym. In 1513
Albert of Hohenzollern, younger brother of Elector
Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg, succeeded him and the Magdeburg archbishops from the
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
remained administrators, while in 1540 the Halberstadt territories became
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
during the
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. In 1566 two-year-old
Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel became the first
Lutheran administrator, after which Halberstadt's see was held by sons of the
Princes of Wolfenbüttel, a line of the
Welf Brunswick and Lunenburg ducal family, until in 1623 Henry Julius' son
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, the "Mad Halberstadter", resigned during 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 ...
. He was succeeded by
Christian William of Brandenburg
Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg (28 August 1587 – 1 January 1665) was a titular Margrave of Brandenburg, and from 1598 to 1631 Archbishop of Diocese of Magdeburg, Magdeburg.
Life
Christian Wilhelm was a son of Elector Joachim Frederick, ...
, son of Elector
Joachim III Frederick of Brandenburg.
In political respect the prince-bishopric was
secularised as the
Principality of Halberstadt by the
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
of 1648, and finally given to the Hohenzollern rulers of
Brandenburg-Prussia. After the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
, its territory was incorporated into the Prussian
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg.
It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...
.
In ecclesiastic respect the diocese,
sede vacante
In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...
since 1480, since represented by administrators only, who were even Protestants between 1552 and 1628, became defunct in 1648 too. So in 1669 the tiny remaining Catholic diaspora in the diocesan area of Halberstadt was put under the new jurisdiction of the
Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern Missions. Between 1709 and 1780 the area of the former diocese of Halberstadt formed part of the
Vicariate Apostolic of Upper and Lower Saxony, but afterwards returning to the Northern Missions. In 1821 the area of the former diocese of Halberstadt was merged into the
Diocese of Paderborn
The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn () was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802.
History
The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 by Pope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to t ...
, and forms part of the modern
Diocese of Magdeburg since 1994.
Geography
After the foundation of the ancient
Archbishopric of Magdeburg
The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Catholic Church, Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Bishopric, Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River.
Planned since 95 ...
, the Diocese of Halberstadt covered the following Saxon
Gau counties:
Balsamgau,
Derlingau, the western part of the
Nordthüringgau,
Harzgau,
Schwabengau
The Schwabengau (modernized name; originally: Suavia, Suevon, Nordosquavi) was an early medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nucleus of the later Princi ...
, and
Hassegau
The Hassegau was a medieval shire (''Gau (territory), Gau'') ...
. Thus, it stretched from the
Oker
The Oker () is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller (Germany), Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction.
Origin and meanin ...
river near
Hornburg in the west, where it bordered on the
Bishopric of Hildesheim
The Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim () was an Hochstift, 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 Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildes ...
, to the
Saale
The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...
in the east. The city of
Brunswick, located on both sides of the Oker, was originally split between Halberstadt and Hildesheim until it passed to Duke Henry the Lion in 1142, who made it his residence.
Bishops of Halberstadt
Auxiliary bishops
*
Johann Schedemeker,
O.S.A. (1438–1452)
*
Johannes Sartoris,
O.F.M. (1459–1466)
*
Hermann Molitoris,
O.P. (1471–1483)
["Bishop Hermann Molitoris, O.P."]
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 9, 2016
*
Levinus Brunstorp,
O.P. (1478–1487)
*
Matthias Kanuti,
O.S.B. (1492–1506)
*
Heinrich Lenchker,
O.P. (1514–1538)
*
Michael Vehe,
O.P. (1539)
*
Johannes Mensing,
O.P. (1539–1547)
*
Johannes Alberti (bishop),
O.P. (1550)
["Bishop Johannes Alberti, O.P."]
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 23, 2016
See also
*
Principality of Halberstadt
*
List of Imperial Diet participants (1792)
The Holy Roman Empire was a highly decentralized state for most of its history, composed of hundreds of smaller states, most of which operated with some degree of independent sovereignty. Although in the earlier part of the Middle Ages, under th ...
*
Buko von Halberstadt (folk song)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halberstadt
Bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
Establishments in the Carolingian Empire
804 establishments
Dioceses established in the 9th century
Religious organizations disestablished in 1648
States and territories established in 1180
States and territories disestablished in 1648
Roman Catholic dioceses in the Holy Roman Empire
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany
Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt
Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany
1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1180 establishments in Europe
1648 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire