Bishopric of Minden

The Bishopric of Minden was a Roman Catholic diocese (German: Bistum Minden) and a state, Prince-bishopric of Minden (German: Hochstift Minden), of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Minden which is in modern day Germany.

History

The diocese was founded by Charlemagne in 803, after he had conquered the Saxons. It was subordinate to the Archbishopric-Electorate of Cologne. It became the Prince-Bishopric of Minden (German: 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 (German: 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 (420 sq mi). It was bordered by (clockwise from the north): 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 (1530–53)
• Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1553–54)
• Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1582–85, Protestant)
• Christian the Elder, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1599–1625, Protestant)
• Francis of Wartenberg (1631–48)

See also

• List of bishops, prince-bishops, and administrators of Minden
• Ostwestfalen-Lippe

References

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