List of Reichstag participants (1792)
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The Holy Roman Empire was one of the strangest political structures in the world. Although in the earlier part of the Middle Ages, under the Salian and Hohenstaufen emperors, it was relatively centralized, as time went on the Emperor lost more and more power to the Princes. This article will attempt to sort out, to some extent, the political structure of the Empire, and list the various states it consisted of.
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[edit] Structure of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in 1792
The year 1792, before the vast changes inspired by the French Revolutionary incursions into Germany, is a good point in time to look at and examine the structure of the Empire. The empire was, at this time, divided into several thousand immediate (unmittelbar) territories, but only about three hundred of these had Landeshoheit (the special sort of sovereignty enjoyed by the states of the Empire), and had representation in the Reichstag (Imperial Diet). The Imperial Diet was divided into three so-called collegia — the Council of Electors, the Council of Princes, and the Council of Cities. As who had votes had gradually changed over the centuries, many princes held more than one vote, as will be indicated. It also ought to be noted that certain territories which had once held votes in the diet, as for instance the County of Waldeck or the Duchy of Jülich-Kleve-Berg, no longer did so due to the extinction of an old dynasty, or for other reasons.
[edit] The Council of Electors
- The King of Bohemia (also Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary)
- The Archbishop of Mainz
- The Archbishop of Cologne
- The Archbishop of Trier
- The Count Palatine of the Rhine (also Duke of Bavaria)
- The Duke of Saxony
- The Margrave of Brandenburg (also King of Prussia)
- The Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (called Elector of Hanover, also King of Great Britain)
[edit] The Council of Princes
[Note, this is ordered based on the official order of voting in the Diet]
- The Archduke of Austria (also King of Bohemia)
- The Duke of Burgundy (also King of Bohemia)
[edit] The Ecclesiastical Bench
- The Archbishop of Salzburg
- The Archbishop of Besançon
- The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
- The Bishop of Bamberg
- The Bishop of Würzburg
- The Bishop of Worms
- The Bishop of Eichstätt
- The Bishop of Speyer
- The Bishop of Strassburg
- The Bishop of Constance
- The Bishop of Augsburg
- The Bishop of Hildesheim
- The Bishop of Paderborn
- The Bishop of Freising
- The Bishop of Regensburg
- The Bishop of Passau
- The Bishop of Trent
- The Bishop of Brixen
- The Bishop of Basel
- The Bishop of Münster
- The Bishop of Osnabrück (notable as, after 1648, it alternated between Protestant and Roman Catholic incumbents)
- The Bishop of Liège
- The Bishop of Lübeck
- The Bishop of Chur
- The Bishop of Fulda
- The Abbot of Kempten
- The Provost of Ellwangen
- The Grand Master of the Order of St. John
- The Prior of Berchtesgaden
- The Abbot of Weissenburg
- The Abbot of Prüm
- The Abbot of Stablo
- The Abbot of Corvey
- A single vote for the College of the Prelates of Swabia; see below
- A single vote for the College of the Prelates of the Rhine; see below
- These last two were groups of lesser abbots, who together had a joint vote. Unlike those who had a full vote, they were not considered fully sovereign.
[edit] The Secular Bench
- The Duke of Bavaria (the Elector of Bavaria)
- The Duke of Magdeburg (also King of Prussia)
- The Count Palatine of Kaiserslautern (also the Elector of Bavaria)
- The Count Palatine of Simmern (also the Elector of Bavaria)
- The Count Palatine of Neuburg (also the Elector of Bavaria)
- The Duke of Bremen (also the Elector of Hanover)
- The Duke of Zweibrücken
- The Count Palatine of Veldenz (also the Elector of Bavaria)
- The Duke of Saxe-Weimar
- The Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (also Duke of Saxe-Weimar)
- The Duke of Saxe-Coburg
- The Duke of Saxe-Gotha
- The Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (also Duke of Saxe-Gotha)
- The Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (also King of Prussia)
- The Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (also King of Prussia)
- The Duke of Brunswick-Celle (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Duke of Brunswick-Kalenberg (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- The Prince of Halberstadt (also King of Prussia)
- The Duke of Lower Pomerania (also King of Prussia)
- The Duke of Upper Pomerania (also King of Sweden)
- The Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- The Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (also Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- The Duke of Württemberg
- The Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
- The Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
- The Margrave of Baden-Baden (the Margrave of Baden)
- The Margrave of Baden-Durlach (the Margrave of Baden)
- The Prince of Verden (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Margrave of Baden-Hochberg (the Margrave of Baden)
- The Duke of Holstein-Gluckstädt (also King of Denmark)
- The Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Prince of Minden (also King of Prussia)
- The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg
- The Duke of Savoy (also King of Sardinia)
- The Landgrave of Leuchtenberg (also Elector of Bavaria)
- The Prince of Anhalt (actually, there were four Prince of Anhalt at this time, who split the vote — the Princes of Anhalt-Zerbst, Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Bernburg, and Anhalt-Köthen)
- The Princely Count of Henneberg (this vote was divided among the various branches of the House of Wettin, including the Elector of Saxony, the Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg)
- The Prince of Schwerin (also Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- The Prince of Kammin (also King of Prussia)
- The Prince of Ratzeburg (also Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
- The Prince of Hersfeld (also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel)
- The Prince of Nomény (to the House of Lorraine; after 1780 also King of Bohemia, etc.)
- The Prince of Mömpelgard (also Duke of Württemberg)
- The Duke of Arenberg
- The Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
- The Prince of Lobkowitz
- The Prince of Salm (actually, there were two branches of this family, who split the vote — the Prince of Salm-Salm and the Prince of Salm-Kyrburg)
- The Prince of Dietrichstein
- The Prince of Nassau-Hadamar (also Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces)
- The Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg (also Prince of Orange)
- The Prince of Auersperg
- The Prince of East Frisia (also King of Prussia)
- The Prince of Fürstenberg
- The Prince of Schwarzenberg
- The Prince of Thurn and Taxis
- The Prince of Schwarzburg (divided into two branches, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen)
- A single vote for the College of the Counts of Swabia; see below
- A single vote for the College of the Counts of the Wetterau; see below
- A single vote for the College of the Counts of Franconia; see below
- A single vote for the College of the Counts of Westphalia; see below
[edit] The Council of Cities
The Council of Imperial Free Cities was not actually equal to the others — its vote was only advisory. In 1792, there were 51 Free Cities, divided amongst six Circles.
[edit] Circle of Bavaria
[edit] Circle of Franconia
[edit] Circle of the Lower Rhine-Westphalia
[edit] Circle of Lower Saxony
[edit] Circle of the Upper Rhine
[edit] Circle of Swabia
- Augsburg
- Ulm
- Esslingen am Neckar
- Reutlingen
- Nördlingen
- Schwäbisch Hall
- Überlingen
- Rottweil
- Heilbronn
- Schwäbisch Gmünd
- Memmingen
- Lindau
- Dinkelsbühl
- Biberach
- Ravensburg
- Kempten
- Kaufbeuren
- Weil
- Wangen im Allgäu
- Isny im Allgäu
- Leutkirch im Allgäu
- Wimpfen
- Giengen
- Pfullendorf
- Buchhorn
- Aalen
- Bopfingen
- Buchau
- Offenburg
- Gengenbach
- Zell am Harmersbach
[edit] Membership of single-vote colleges
The two benches of the Council of Princes each contained single-vote colleges, the membership of each of these was as follows:
[edit] The Prelates of Swabia
- The Abbess of Baindt
- The Abbot of Elchingen
- The Abbot of Gengenbach
- The Abbess of Gutenzell
- The Abbess of Heggbach
- The Abbess of Irsee
- The Abbot of Kaiserheim
- The Abbot of Marchtal
- The Abbot of Neresheim
- The Abbot of Ochsenhausen
- The Abbot of Petershausen
- The Abbot of Roggenburg
- The Abbot of Roth
- The Abbot of Rottenmünster
- The Abbot of Salmannsweiler
- The Abbot of Schüssenried
- The Abbot of Söflingen
- The Abbot of Ursperg
- The Abbot of Weingarten
- The Abbot of Weissenau
- The Abbot of Wettenhausen
- The Abbot of Zwiefalten
[edit] The Prelates of the Rhine
- The Abbot of Bruchsal and Odenheim
- The Abbess of Buchau
- The Abbot of Burtscheid
- The Abbot of Ballei of Koblenz (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order)
- The Abbot of St. Cornelismünster
- The Abbot of Ballei of Elsass and Burgundy (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order)
- The Abbess of Essen
- The Abbess of Gandersheim
- The Abbot of St Georg in Isny
- The Abbess of Gernrode
- The Abbess of Herford
- The Abbess of Niedermünster in Regensburg
- The Abbess of Obermünster in Regensburg
- The Abbess of Quedlinburg
- The Abbess of Thorn
- The Abbot of St. Ulrich and St. Afra in Augsburg
- The Abbot of Werden
[edit] The Counts of the Wetterau
- The Princes and Counts of Solms
- The Prince of Nassau-Usingen
- The Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
- The Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken
- The Princes and Counts of Isenburg
- The Counts of Stollberg
- The Princes and Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein
- The Counts of Salm
- The Princes and Counts of Leiningen
- The Counts of Westerburg
- The Princes of Schönburg
- The Count of Wied-Runkel
- The Counts of Ortenburg
- The Counts of Reuss zu Plauen
[edit] The Counts of Swabia
- The Prince of Fürstenberg
- The Abbess of Buchau
- The Commander of the Teutonic Knights
- The Prince of Oettingen
- The Count of Montfort (also King of Bohemia)
- The Count of Helfenstein (also Elector of Bavaria)
- The Prince of Schwarzenberg
- The Count of Königsegg
- The Count of Waldburg
- The Count of Eberstein (also Margrave of Baden)
- The Count von der Leyen
- The Counts of Fugger
- The Lord of Hohenems (also King of Bohemia)
- The Count of Traun
- The Prince-Abbot of St. Blase
- The Count of Stadion
- The Prince of Thurn and Taxis
- The Count of Khevenhüller
- The Count of Kuefstein
- The Prince of Colloredo
- The Count of Harrach
- The Count of Sternberg
- The Count of Neipperg
[edit] The Counts of Franconia
- The Princes and Counts of Hohenlohe
- The Counts of Castell
- The Counts of Erbach
- The Princes and Counts of Löwenstein-Wertheim
- The Heirs to the Counts of Limpurg
- The Counts of Nostitz-Rieneck
- The Prince of Schwarzenberg
- The Heirs to the Counts of Wolfstein
- The Counts of Schönborn
- The Counts of Windisch-Grätz
- The Counts Orsini von Rosenberg
- The Counts of Starhemberg
- The Counts of Wurmbrand
- The Counts of Giech
- The Counts of Gravenitz
- The Counts of Pückler
[edit] The Counts of Westphalia
- The Lord of Sayn-Altenkirchen (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Count of Hoya (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Count of Spiegelberg (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Count of Diepholz (also Elector of Hanover)
- The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
- The Count of Tecklenburg (also King of Prussia)
- The Duke of Arenberg
- The Prince of Wied-Runkel
- The Prince of Wied-Neuwied
- The Count of Schaumburg (shared between the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and the Count of Lippe-Bückeburg)
- The Counts of Lippe
- The Counts of Bentheim
- The Princes and Counts of Löwenstein-Wertheim
- The Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg
- The Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- The Count of Toerring
- The Count of Aspremont
- The Princes of Salm
- The Count of Metternich-Winnenburg
- The Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg
- The Counts of Plettenberg
- The Counts of Limburg Stirum
- The Count of Wallmoden
- The Count of Quadt
- The Counts of Ostein
- The Counts of Nesselrode
- The Counts of Salm-Reifferscheidt
- The Counts of Platen
- The Counts of Sinzendorf
- The Prince of Ligne