Principality of Halberstadt Fürstentum Halberstadt |
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Province of Brandenburg-Prussia | |||||
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Coat of arms |
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Capital |
Halberstadt 51°53′N 11°2′E / 51.883°N 11.033°ECoordinates: 51°53′N 11°2′E / 51.883°N 11.033°E |
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History | |||||
• | Established | 1648 | |||
• | Disestablished | 1817 |
Coat of arms
The Principality of Halberstadt (German: Fürstentum Halberstadt) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648. Its capital was Halberstadt. In 1807, the principality was made a state or regional capital of the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1813, control of the principality was restored, and its sovereign rights were confirmed as the possession of the Kingdom of Prussia.
According to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, the former prince-bishopric was secularized as the Principality of Halberstadt and together with Magdeburg, Minden and Cammin given to the Brandenburg Elector Frederick William I of Hohenzollern as a compensation for Western Pomerania, which in the aftermath of the Brandenburg-Pomeranian conflict he had to cede to Sweden. This agreement was negotiated by Frederick William's representative Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal, who in reward was appointed Halberstadt's first secular governor.