Bishopric of Minden

The Bishopric of Minden (German: Bistum Minden) was a Roman Catholic diocese and a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Minden.

The diocese was founded by Charlemagne in 803, after he had conquered the Saxons. It was subordinate to the Archbishopric of Cologne. It became the Prince-Bishopric of Minden (Fürstbistum Minden) in 1180, when the Duchy of Saxony was dissolved. In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation was starting to take hold in the state under the influence of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Minden was occupied by Sweden in the Thirty Years' War, and was secularized. The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 gave it to the Margraviate of Brandenburg as the Principality of Minden (Fürstentum Minden).

Since 1719, Minden was administered by Brandenburg-Prussia together with the adjacent County of Ravensberg as Minden-Ravensberg. In 1807, it became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia. In 1814, it returned to Prussia and became part of the Province of Westphalia.

As of 1789, the principality had an area of 1,100 km². It was bordered by (from the north, clockwise): an exclave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), the Electorate of Hanover, the County of Schaumburg-Lippe, another exclave of Hesse-Kassel, the Principality of Lippe, the County of Ravensberg, and the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück. Cities included Minden and Lübbecke.

Famous bishops

• Saint Erkanbert (803-813)
• Saint Hardward (813-853)
• Saint Theoderich (853-880)
• Saint Thietmar (1185-1206)
• Francis of Waldeck (1530-1553)
• Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1553-1554)
• Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1582-1585, Protestant)
• Christian the Elder, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1599-1625, Protestant)
• Francis of Wartenberg (1631-1648)

References

• At Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888 (German)
• At NRW-Geschichte.de (with map) (German)
•  "Minden". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Minden.  (English)

v • d • e Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (1500–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire Ecclesiastical Cambrai · Corvey1 · Liège · Minden2 · Münster · Stavelot–Malmedy1 · Osnabrück · Paderborn · Utrecht (until 1548) · Verden (until 1648) Prelates Corvey2 · Essen · Herford · Kornelimünster · Stavelot–Malmedy2 · Thorn · Werden Secular Cleves with Mark · East Frisia1 · Jülich–Berg · Guelders (until 1548) · Minden1 · Moers1 · Nassau-Dillenburg1 · Verden1 Counts and Lords from 1500 Bentheim · Bronkhorst (until 1719) · Diepholz · East Frisia (until 1667) · Horne3 (until 1614) · Hoya · Lingen3 · Lippe · Manderscheid (until 1546) · Moers (until 1541) · Nassau (Diez · Hadamar · Dillenburg (until 1664)) · Oldenburg (until 1777) · Pyrmont · Ravensberg3 · Reichenstein · Rietberg · Salm-Reifferscheid · Sayn · Schaumburg · Tecklenburg · Virneburg · Wied · Winneburg and Beilstein · Zimerauff from 1792 Anholt · Blankenheim and Gerolstein · Gemen · Gimborn · Gronsfeld · Hallermund · Holzapfel · Kerpen-Lommersum · Myllendonk · Reckheim · Schleiden · Wickrath · Wittem status uncertain Delmenhorst · Fagnolle · Schaumburg (Hesse · Lippe) · Spiegelberg · Steinfurt Cities Aachen · Cologne · Dortmund · Duisburg? · Herford? · Verden (from 1648) · Warburg? 1 from 1792.   2 until 1792.   3 without Reichstag seat.   ? status uncertain.