Bishopric of Riga

Archbishopric of Riga
Archiepiscopatus Rigensis (la) Erzbisdom Riga (nds)
Prince-Bishopric of Terra Mariana
1186–1561
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Archbishopric of Riga (in yellow), shown within Terra Mariana
Capital		Riga
Languages		Latin Low German Livonian Latvian
Government		Monarchy
Archbishop of Riga
•	1245–73	Albert Suerbeer (first)
•	1539–63	Wilhelm von Brandenburg (last)
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	1186
•	Disestablished	1561
Currency		Livonian Penny Livonian Schilling
Preceded by Succeeded by Ancient Estonia Principality of Jersika Principality of Koknese Tālava Duchy of Livonia

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The Archbishopric of Riga (Latin: Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, Low German: Erzbisdom Riga) was an archbishopric in Medieval Livonia, a subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1186 as the bishopric of Livonia at Üxküll, then after moving to Riga it became the bishopric of Riga in 1202 and was elevated to an archbishopric in 1255.

The archbishops of Riga were also the secular rulers of Riga until 1561 when during the reformation the territory converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism and all church territories were secularized. The see was restored as a diocese of the Catholic Church in 1918 and raised into an archdiocese in 1923.

A new Bishopric of Livonia was established in Latgalia in 1621 during the Inflanty Voivodeship of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The Archbishops of Riga were innovators in the field of minting currency, reviving techniques abandoned since the collapse of Rome. The names of individual archbishops after 1418, as well as the years of their respective reigns, are stamped on Livonian pennies excavated at archaeological sites. In many cases, this is the only biographical data available. No Livonian pennies before 1418 have been found.