Diocese of Brandenburg
| Prince-Bishopric of Brandenburg | ||||||||||
| Hochstift Brandenburg | ||||||||||
| State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||
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 Coat of arms
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 Episcopal territories, about 1535
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| Capital |
Brandenburg an der Havel Ziesar (residence) |
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| Languages | Brandenburgisch, Polabian | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic until the 1530s, then Lutheran | |||||||||
| Government | Elective monarchy, ruled by the bishop holding the see, elected by the cathedral chapter or, exceptionally, appointed by the Pope, or ruled by a regent | |||||||||
| Prince-Bishop, or Regent | ||||||||||
| • | 1173–1179 | Prince-Bishop Sigfrid I | ||||||||
| • | 1421–1459 | Prince-Bishop Stephan | ||||||||
| • | 1560–1569 | Regent John George | ||||||||
| • | 1569–1571 | Regent Joachim Frederick | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Diocese founded and restored | 948 1161 |
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| • | Territorial reign est. | 1165 | ||||||||
| • | De facto supremacy of Electoral Brandenburg |
1373 |
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| • | Electors privileged to choose candidates for the see |
1447 |
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| • | Secularised as part of Electoral Brandenburg | 1571 | ||||||||
| • | Legal dissolution | 1598 | ||||||||
| Currency | rixdollar | |||||||||
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The Bishopric of Brandenburg (Latin: Episcopatus Brandenburgensis or Dioecesis Brandenburgensis) was a Roman Catholic diocese established by King Otto I of Germany in 948, in the territory of the Marca Geronis (Saxon Eastern March) east of the Elbe river. The bishopric was a suffragan diocese of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg, its seat was Brandenburg an der Havel.
The Prince-bishopric of Brandenburg (German: Hochstift Brandenburg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire for some time, probably starting about 1161/1165. However, the Brandenburg bishops never managed to gain control over a significant territory, being overshadowed by the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which was originally seated in the same city. Chapter and cathedral, surrounded by further ecclesiastical institutions, were located on the Dominsel (Cathedral Island), which formed a prince-episcopal cathedral immunity district (Domfreiheit), distinct from the city of Brandenburg. Only in 1929 the - meanwhile former - immunity district was incorporated into the city itself.
The foundation charter of the Brandenburg diocese is dated 1 October 948, though the actual founding date remained disputed among historians. The medieval chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg mentions the year 938; the bishopric may also have been established in the course of the partition of the vast Marca Geronis and the emergence of the Northern March after Margrave Gero's death in 965. With the foundation, King Otto (Holy Roman Emperor from 962) aimed at the Christianization of the Polabian Slavs (Wends) and the incorporation of their territory into the East Frankish realm.
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