This list of states in the Holy Roman Empire includes any territory ruled by an authority that had been granted imperial immediacy, as well as many other feudal entities such as lordships, sous-fiefs, and allodial fiefs.
The Holy Roman Empire was a complex political entity that existed in central Europe for most of the medieval and early modern periods and was generally ruled by a German-speaking Emperor. Some historians mark the beginning of the Empire as 800, with the coronation of Frankish king Charlemagne ("Charles the Great"). The states that composed the Empire, while enjoying a form of territorial authority called Landeshoheit that granted them many attributes of sovereignty, were never fully sovereign states in the sense that term is understood presently.Gagliardo, G., Reich and Nation, The Holy Roman Empire as Idea and Reality, 1763–1806, Indiana University Press, 1980, p. 4–5.
In the 18th century, the Holy Roman Empire consisted of approximately 1,800 such territories, the majority being tiny estates owned by the families of Imperial Knights.Gagliardo, p. 12–13. Not counting Imperial Knights' estates, there were some 294 states in 1792, made up of 243 states granted imperial immediacy and 51 Free Imperial Cities.They are the polities that, with the exception of Buchau, took part in the Imperial Diet of 1792. A list can be found in G. Benecke, Society and Politics in Germany, 1500-1750, Routledge & Kegan Paul and University of Toronto Press, London, Toronto and Buffalo, 1974, Appendix III
This page does not directly contain the list but discusses the format of the various lists and offers some background to understand the complex organisation of the Holy Roman Empire. The lists themselves can be accessed via the alphabetical navigation box below; each letter will lead the reader to a page on which states of the Empire that began with that letter are listed.
Table of states
While any such list could never be definitive, the list attempts to be as comprehensive as possible. It is sorted alphabetically and split into separate articles linked below. There is also a separate list of Free Imperial Cities and a list of participants in the Imperial Diet as of 1792.
List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (A) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (B) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (C) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (D) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (E) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (F) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (G) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (H) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (I) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (J) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (K) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (L) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (M) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (N) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (O) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (P) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (Q) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (R) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (S) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (T) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (U) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (V) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (W) List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (Z)
Key The "Circle" column shows the Imperial Circle (Reichskreis) that the state belonged to. The "Bench" column shows where the state was represented in the Imperial Diet (Reichstag).
CirclesBenchesAustAustrianELCouncil of Electors, the exclusive elite formally electing the Holy Roman EmperorBavBavarian EC Spiritual Bench of the Council of Princes (individual voice)BurgBurgundianPRSecular Bench of the Council of Princes (individual voice) El Rhin Electoral Rhenish Circle RP Rhenish prelates (Council of Princes)FrancFranconian SP Swabian prelates (Council of Princes)Low RhenLower Rhenish-WestphalianFCFranconian counts (Council of Princes)Low SaxLower SaxonSCSwabian counts (Council of Princes)Upp RhenUpper RhenishWEWestphalian counts (Council of Princes)Upp SaxUpper SaxonWTWetterau counts (Council of Princes)SwabSwabian RH Rhenish Bench of the Council of Imperial CitiesNone"Circle-free" SW Swabian Bench of the Council of Imperial Cities
Note that in the "Circle" column, "n/a" denotes a state that had ceased to exist before the Reichsreform.
Other abbreviations used in the list are: Abp. (Archbishopric) Bp. (Bishopric) Co. (County) (sometimes called countship) D. (Duchy) (sometimes called dukedom) Ldg. (Landgraviate) Mrg. (Margraviate) Pr. (Principality) RA (Reichsabtei) (Imperial abbacy, a monastery enjoying Imperial immediacy)
Definition of terms
Hochstift: the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince. Imperial Abbey (Reichsabtei): an abbey with imperial immediacy. Its head was a Reichsabt, literally 'Imperial Abbot' or 'Abbot of the Empire'. A monastery with similar status was a Reichskloster. Imperial Circle (Reichskreis, plural Reichskreise): a regional grouping of states of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily for the purpose of organising a common defence and of collecting imperial taxes, but also as a means of organisation within the Imperial Diet. Imperial Diet (Reichstag): the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire. The same name was used in the North German Confederation and in Germany until 1945. Imperial Estate (Reichsstand, plural Reichsstände): an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet. Several states had no seats in the Empire, while some officials (such as the Hereditary Usher) were non-voting members; neither qualified as Imperial States. Imperial Free City (freie Reichsstadt): a city formally responsible to the emperor only – as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which belonged to the territory of one of the many princes (Fürsten) of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops. Free cities also had independent representation in the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. Imperial immediacy (Reichsfreiheit or Reichsunmittelbarkeit; adjectives reichsfrei, reichsunmittelbar) was a privileged feudal and political status, a form of statehood within the Holy Roman Empire. The ruler of an immediate city, abbey or territory had no overlord other than the Holy Roman Emperor and the Imperial Diet. Immediate states had the right to collect taxes and tolls themselves, and held juridical rights (including the Blutgericht, 'high' justice including capital punishment) themselves. De facto, immediacy corresponded to a semi-independence with a far-reaching autonomy. Imperial Reform: In 1495, an attempt was made at a Diet in the city of Worms to give the disintegrating Holy Roman Empire a new structure, commonly referred to as Imperial Reform (in German: Reichsreform). Imperial State (Reichsstand, plural Reichsstände): an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet. Kleinstaaterei is a German word mostly used to describe the territorial fragmentation in Germany and neighboring regions during the Holy Roman Empire (especially after the end of the Thirty Years' War). It refers to the large number of nearly sovereign small and medium-sized secular and ecclesiastical principalities and free imperial cities, some of which were little larger than a single town or the surrounding grounds of the monastery of an Imperial abbey. League of cities is Military alliance and mutual assistance strengthened the position of imperial cities, especially during the interregnum period of the 13th to 14th century. Mediatization is the loss of imperial immediacy through annexation by a larger state. A mediatized lord lost most of his power over his former territory, but retained his title and most of his personal privileges. Prince of the Empire: any ruling Prince whose territory is a member of the Holy Roman Empire (not only German-speaking countries, but also many bordering and extensive neighbouring regions) and entitled to a voting seat (or in a collective voting unit, such as a Grafenbank) in the Imperial Diet. Prince-abbot (Fürstabt) or prince-abbess (Äbtissin): an abbot or abbess with the rank of prince. Prince-abbots (but not prince-abbesses) had a seat and vote on the Ecclesiastical Bench of the College of Ruling Princes of the Imperial Diet, where they sat alongside the prince-bishops. Prince-bishop (Fürstbischof): a bishop with the rank, ex officio, of prince (Fürst). As a prince, he was the temporal ruler of a Hochstift; as a bishop, he exercised the spiritual duties of an ordinary bishop over his diocese, which was always larger than his Hochstift. Prince-bishops had seat and voice on the Ecclesiastical Bench of the College of Ruling Princes of the Imperial Diet. Nearly all the bishops of the Holy Roman Empire outside the Habsburg lands were prince-bishops. Prince-elector or electoral prince (Kurfürst, pl. Kurfürsten): a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors. Secularization: the transfer of property from ecclesiastical to civil possession or use.Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989
Notes column
The "Notes" column shows, in capsule form, the territorial development of the different states or polities (acquisition or loss of possessions, union of rulers or dynasties, etc.); the royal or noble dynasties, including their various branches, which ruled over territories or polities; the transmission of succession rights (marriage, female succession, conquest, cession, pledge, etc.); the attributes of "statehood" (right to mint coins, holding markets and fairs, entering into treaties and pacts, appointment of civil officials, etc.); and the size of territory and population of the various polities whenever these are available.
Estate of the Empire (Reichsstand)
The following excerpt from François Velde's Unequal and Morganatic Marriages in German Law provides an excellent overview on what an Estate (or State) of the Empire is.François Velde: Unequal and Morganatic Marriages in German Law. 2004–2007. Retrieved 2012 October 09. For his purpose, the author deals only with the hereditary territorial rulers but it should be remembered that the Estates also included a substantial number of non-hereditary territorial rulers such as the ecclesiastical states (prince-bishoprics and imperial abbeys) and free imperial cities.
Grouped lists The following lists are going to be included into the table above.
Ecclesiastical orders The Teutonic Order1529: College of Princes1793: Council of Princes The Order of St. John1793: Council of Princes
Livonian territories Terra Mariana (the Livonian Confederation from 1435): Archbishopric of Riga (from 1207, as Bishopric of Riga until 1255, subjugated directly to the Holy See in 1215, again from 1225, secularized and subjugated to the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1561) Livonian Order (secularized 16th century, secularized and subjugated to the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1561) Bishopric of Dorpat (from 1225, conquered by Russia in 1558) Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek (from 1228, sold to Denmark in 1560) Bishopric of Courland (from 1521, sold to Denmark in 1560) Roman Catholic Diocese of Reval (from 1521, incorporated into Sweden in 1561) Riga (from 1581, in effect in 1582, incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Duchy of Livonia in 1581)
Territories of old princely families Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg Holstein-Glückstadt Ernestine duchies
Italian territories Carrara Finale Florence Genoa Guastalla Lucca Mantua Massa Milan Modena and Reggio Montferrat Parma Piedmont Piombino Saluzzo Siena Tuscany Verona
Territories of new princely families Thurn und Taxis, held Friedberg-Scheer (1754)
Religious leagues Catholic League Heilbronn League League of Torgau Protestant Union Schmalkaldic League
Political leagues Fürstenbund