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Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen Erzstift Bremen/Herzogtum Bremen (German)
1180–1648
Coat of arms
The Duchy of Bremen around 1655, theImperial City of Bremen is insufficiently demarcated, bottom right in pink theDuchy of Verden
Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen within the Holy Roman Empire (as of 1648), the episcopal residence (inVörde) shown by a red spot.
Status	Defunct
Capital	Bremen(seat of chapter) Vörde(seat of govt from 1219) Basdahl(venue of Diets)
Common languages	Northern Low Saxon,Frisian
Religion	Catholic Church
Government	Ecclesiastical principality
Ruler:Prince-archbishop, administrator, or chapter (invacancy)
• 1180–1184	Prince-ArchbishopSiegfried
• 1185–1190	Prince-ArchbishopHartwig II
• 1596–1634	Admin.John Frederick
• 1635–1645	AdministratorFrederick II
High Bailiff (Landdrost)
Legislature	Estates of the Realm (Stiftsstände) convening at Diets (Tohopesaten orLandtage) inBasdahl
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Break-up ofstem     duchy of Saxony	1180
• Bremen cityde facto     independent	1186, especially from the 1360s
• Conquered by     Catholic League	Summer 1627
• Conquered by     Sweden,Bremen     andLübeck	10 May 1632
• Seized by Sweden	13 August 1645
• Secularised as the     Duchy of Bremen	15 May 1648
Currency	Reichsthaler, Bremenmark
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Saxony Bremen-Verden Free Hanseatic City of Bremen Dithmarschen
Today part of	Germany

ThePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen (German:Fürsterzbistum Bremen) was anecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of theHoly Roman Empire and theCatholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditaryDuchy of Bremen (German:Herzogtum Bremen). The prince-archbishopric, which was under the secular rule of the archbishop, consisted of about a third of the diocesan territory. The city ofBremen wasde facto (since 1186) andde jure (since 1646) not part of the prince-archbishopric. Most of the prince-archbishopric lay rather in the area to the north of thecity of Bremen, between theWeser andElbe rivers. Even more confusingly, parts of the prince-archbishopric belonged in religious respect to the neighbouringDiocese of Verden, making up 10% of its diocesan territory.

The foundation of the diocese belongs to the period of the missionary activity ofWillehad on the lowerWeser. It was erected on 15 July 787 atWorms, onCharlemagne's initiative, his jurisdiction being assigned to cover theSaxon territory on both sides of theWeser from the mouth of theAller, northwards to theElbe and westwards to theHunte, and theFrisian territory for a certain distance from the mouth of the Weser.

Willehad fixed his headquarters atBremen, though the formal constitution of the diocese took place only after the subjugation of theSaxons in 804 or 805, whenWillehad's disciple,Willerich, was consecrated bishop of Bremen, with the same territory. The diocese was conceivably at that time asuffragan of thearchbishops of Cologne, this is at least how they later corroborated their claim to supremacy over the Bremian see.

After the death of BishopLeuderich (838–45), the see was given toAnsgar, Archbishop of Hamburg. From that time on thesee of Bremen was permanently united with theArchdiocese of Hamburg.

The new combined see was regarded as the headquarters for missionary work in theNordic countries, and new sees to be erected were to be itssuffragans, meaning subject to its jurisdiction.Ansgar's successor,Rimbert, the "second apostle of the north", was troubled by onslaughts first byNormans and then byWends, and byCologne's renewed claims to supremacy.^[1]

At ArchbishopAdalgar's (888–909) instigationPope Sergius III confirmed the amalgamation of theDiocese of Bremen with theArchdiocese of Hamburg to form theArchdiocese of Hamburg and Bremen, colloquially calledHamburg-Bremen, and by so doing he deniedCologne's claim asmetropolia over Bremen. Sergius prohibited the chapter atHamburg's Concathedral to found suffragan dioceses of its own.

After the Obodrite destruction of Hamburg in 983 the Hamburg chapter was dispersed. So ArchbishopUnwan appointed a new chapter with twelve canons, with three each taken from Bremen Cathedral chapter, and the threecolleges ofBücken,Harsefeld andRamelsloh.^[2] In 1139 ArchbishopAdalbero had fled the invasion of CountRudolph II ofStade and Count PalatineFrederick II ofSaxony, who destroyed Bremen, and established in Hamburg also appointing new capitular canons there by 1140.^[3]

Hamburg-Bremen's diocesan territory covered about today's following territories: TheBremian cities ofBremen andBremerhaven, theFree and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (north of Elbe), theLower Saxon counties ofAurich (northerly),Cuxhaven,Diepholz (northerly),Frisia,Nienburg (westerly),Oldenburg in Oldenburg (easterly),Osterholz,Rotenburg upon Wümme (northerly),Stade (except of an eastern tract of land),Wesermarsch,Wittmund, the Lower Saxon urban countiesDelmenhorst andWilhelmshaven, theSchleswig-Holsteinian counties ofDitmarsh,Pinneberg,Rendsburg-Eckernförde (southerly),Segeberg (easterly),Steinburg,Stormarn (easterly) as well as the Schleswig-Holsteinian urban counties ofKiel andNeumünster.

The see ofHamburg-Bremen attained its greatest prosperity and later had its deepest troubles under ArchbishopAdalbert of Hamburg (1043–1072), whose ambitions to become aPatriarch of the North failed.Hamburg stopped being used as part of the diocese's name. The next two archbishops,Liemar andHumbert, were determined opponents of PopeGregory VII.

Under the latter in 1104Bremen's suffraganDiocese of Lund (DK) was elevated to an archdiocese supervising all ofBremen's other Nordic former suffragan sees, to witÅrhus (DK),Faroe Islands (FO),Gardar (Greenland),Linköping (S),Odense (DK),Orkney (UK),Oslo (N),Ribe (DK),Roskilde (DK),Schleswig (D),Selje (N),Skálholt (IS),Skara (S),Strängnäs (S),Trondheim (N),Uppsala (S),Viborg (DK),Vestervig (DK),Västerås (S) andVäxjö (S).

Bremen's remaining suffragan sees at that time were only existing by name, since insurgentWends had destroyed the so-called Wendish dioceses ofOldenburg-Lübeck,Ratzeburg andSchwerin and they were only to be reestablished later. At the stripping of theDuchy of Saxony (7th century - 1180) in 1180 all of these suffragan bishops achieved for parts of their diocesan territories the status of imperially immediate prince-bishoprics. TheBishopric of Livonia (first atUexküll thenRiga) was a suffragan of Bremen in the years 1186–1255.

Holy Roman EmperorFrederick I Barbarossa and his allies, many of them vassals and former supporters of his paternal cousin DukeHenry III,the Lion, had defeated the Duke ofSaxony andBavaria. In 1180Frederick I Barbarossa strippedHenry the Lion of his duchies. In 1182 he and his wifeMatilda Plantagenêt, the daughter ofHenry II of England andEleanor of Aquitaine and sister ofRichard Lionheart left fromStade to go into exile from theHoly Roman Empire in order to stay withHenry II of England.

Frederick I Barbarossa partitioned Saxony in some dozens of territories of Imperial Immediate status allotting each territory to that one of his allies who had conquered them before fromHenry the Lion and his remaining supporters. In 1168 the Saxon clan of theAscanians, allies ofFrederick I Barbarossa, had failed to install their family member CountSiegfried ofAnhalt, on the see ofBremen.

But in 1180 theAscanians prevailed twofoldly. The chief of theHouse of Ascania, MargraveOtto I ofBrandenburg, son ofAlbert the Bear, a maternal cousin ofHenry the Lion, provided his sixth brotherBernhard, Count of Anhalt, from then onBernhard III, Duke of Saxony, with the later on so-calledyoungerDuchy of Saxony (1180 - 1296), a radically belittled territory consisting of three unconnected territories along the river Elbe, from north west to south east, (1)Hadeln aroundOtterndorf, (2) aroundLauenburg upon Elbe and (3) aroundWittenberg upon Elbe. Except of the title,Duke of Saxony,Angria andWestphalia, which thisyounger Duchy of Saxony granted its rulers, even after its dynastic partition in 1296, this territory, consisting only of territorial fringes of theoldDuchy of Saxony, had little in common with the latter. In 1260, with effect from 1296 on, its rulers split theyounger Duchy into the Duchies ofSaxe-Wittenberg (German:Herzogtum Sachsen-Wittenberg) andSaxe-Lauenburg (German:Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg), the latter holding the unconnected two northern territories, belonging both to thearchdiocese of Bremen.

Otto andBernhard helped their second brotherSiegfried, who since 1168 had called himself theBishop Elect of Bremen, to gain the see ofBremen, with part of the diocesan territory being upgraded to form thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen (German:Erzstift Bremen). Thus thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen became one of the successor states of theold Duchy of Saxony, holding only a small part of its former territory.

In 1186Frederick I Barbarossa recognised the city of Bremen as a political body by theGelnhausen Privilege. With the consent of Prince-ArchbishopHartwig II, of Uthlede the emperor declared the city to be governed by itsburghers and the emperor, with the Prince-Archbishop waiving his say. The city of Bremen regarded and still regards this privilege to be constitutive for its status as aFree imperial city ofimperial immediacy.

Through the history the respective rulers of the Prince-Archbishopric and its successor stateBremen-Verden often denied the city's status. And also the city could and did not always cling to its claim ofimperial immediacy, which made the city's status somewhat ambiguous. Through most of the history the city participated in the Prince-Archbishopric'sDiets as part of theEstates (see below) and paid its share in the taxes, at least when it had consented to the levying before. Since the city was the major taxpayer, its consent was mostly searched for. Like this the city wielded fiscal and political power within the Prince-Archbishopric, while the city would rather not allow the Prince-Archbishop or his representatives to rule in the city against its consent.

After the Bremen Cathedral chapter, overlooking the three enfranchised Hamburg capitulars, had electedValdemar of Denmark, the deposedBishop of Schleswig, archbishop in 1207, Bremen's cathedral deanBurchard of Stumpenhusen, who had opposed this election, fled to Hamburg, then under Danish influence.^[4] KingValdemar II of Denmark, in enmity with his father's cousin Archbishop Valdemar, gained the Hamburg chapter to elect Burchard as anti-archbishop in early 1208. Lacking papal support, King Valdemar II himself invested him as Archbishop Burchard I, however, only accepted in North Elbia.^[4]

In 1219 the Bremen Chapter again ignored the Hamburg capitulars, fearing their Danish partisanship and electedGebhard of Lippe archbishop.^[5] In 1223 Archbishop Gebhard reconciled the Hamburg chapter and confirmed that three of its capitulars were enfranchised to elect with the Bremen chapter, to wit theprovost, presiding the chapter, thedean (Domdechant) and thescholaster, in charge of the education at the cathedral school.^[6]Pope Honorius III confirmed this settlement in 1224, also affirming the continued existence of both chapters.^[6]

The fortified city of Bremen held its own guards, not allowing prince-archiepiscopal soldiers to enter it. The city reserved an extra very narrow gate, the so-calledBishop's Needle (Latin:Acus episcopi, first mentioned in 1274), for all clergy including the Prince-Archbishop. The narrowness of the gate made it technically impossible to come accompanied by knights. Therefore, the Prince-Archbishops rather preferred to reside outside of the city, first inBücken and later in theVörde Castle, which became the principal fortress of Prince-ArchbishopGerhard II, Edelherr zur Lippe in 1219.

The Chapters of Bremen Cathedral (see below) and part of the administration were located within the city boundary in a district ofimmunity andextraterritorial status (German:Domfreiheit, literally:CathedralLiberty) around theCathedral of St. Peter, where the city council would refrain to interfere. The Hamburg Concathedral with chapterhouse and capitular residential courts formed aCathedral Immunity District of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen too.

The key, the epithet symbol of the SaintSimon Petrus, has become the symbol of the city of Bremen (seeCoat of arms of Bremen), the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (two criss-crossedargent (silver) keys on agules (red) background, see in the left part of theBremen-Verden's seal) and of the Bremian city ofStade.

The territory of thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen consisted of a number of sub-entities. The only thing they all had in common was, that the priorarchbishops orcapitulars or theChapter as a collective obtained some secular power in them by way of purchase, application of force, usurpation, commendation, pledge, donation etc. The prior archiepiscopal authorities didn't have succeeded in almost any of the sub-entities to gain all the power, be it judicial, patrimonial, parochial, fiscal, feudal or else what. Almost everywhere the rule was to be shared with one or more competing bearers of authority, e.g. aristocrats, outside ecclesiastical dignitaries, autonomouscorporations of free peasants (German:Landsgemeinden) orchartered towns and the like. Therefore, the archiepiscopal authority used to refer to each sub-entity by different terms like county, parish, shire, bailiwick or patrimonial district, each according to the particular power, which the archiepiscopal authority had achieved in them.

ThePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen's former territory consists about of today's followingLower Saxon counties (German:Landkreis, orKreis) ofCuxhaven (southerly),Osterholz,Rotenburg upon Wümme andStade as well as of theBremian exclave of the city ofBremerhaven and from 1145 to 1526 today'sSchleswig-Holsteinian county ofDitmarsh. The city ofBremen was legally a part of the bishopric until 1646, but de facto ruled by its burghers and didn't tolerate the prince-archbishop's residence within its walls any more since 1313. Therefore, the prince-archbishop moved toVörde (German pronunciation:[ˈføːɐdə]).Verden's former prince-bishopric's territory is represented about by the eastern part of the modernCounty of Verden and the southern part of today'sCounty of Rotenburg, both inLower Saxony.

In relation to the interior the archiepiscopal authority, consisting ofPrince-Archbishop andcathedral chapter, had to find ways to interact with the other bearers of authority. These were gradually transforming into theBishopric's Estates (German:Stiftsstände), a prevailingly advisory body, but decision-taking in fiscal and tax matters. Thebishopric's Estates again were by no means homogenous and therefore often quarreled for they consisted of thehereditary aristocracy, theservice gentry, non-capitularclergy,free peasants andburghers of chartered towns. Themodus vivendi of interplay of theEstates and the archiepiscopal authority, being in itself divided into thePrince-Archbishop and theChapter, became the quasi constitution of thePrince-Archbishopric. However, the interplay was not determined by fixed standards of behaviour. While the consecutiveArchbishops worked on discarding thebishopric's Estates from the political landscape, the latter fought for the enforcement of themodus vivendi to become a real constitution. TheChapter often swung between increasing its influence by fighting theEstates jointly with thePrince-Archbishop and repelling his absolutist intentions by making common cause with theEstates. All parties made use of means like bluffing, threat, obstructionism, corruption, horse-trading and even violence.

In 1542/1547 - 1549Chapter andEstates managed to dismiss the autocratic and prodigal Prince-ArchbishopChristopherthe Spendthrift, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg-Wolfenbüttel. Especially theChapter used its power to elect very old candidates, to minimise the time a ruler can be harmful, or to elect minors, which it hoped to dress and tame in time. Once in a while theChapter took up time and protracted elections for years, being itself the ruler for the time ofsede vacante. During the dismissal of Prince-ArchbishopChristopher the Spendthrift thechapter ruled together with theEstates which had gained at that time substantial power.

In relation to the outside thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen had the status of animperial estate (German:Reichsstand, plural:Reichsstände) with a vote in theDiet (German:Reichstag) of theHoly Roman Empire. A prerequisite for being animperial estate wasimperial immediacy (German:Reichsunmittelbarkeit, orReichsfreiheit) of the rulers or ruling bodies, meaning that they had no other authority above them except of theHoly Roman Emperor himself. Furthermore, such rulers or ruling bodies (such as Chapters or city councils) possessed several important rights and privileges, including a degree of autonomy in the rule of their territories.

In their pastoral and religious capacity as Roman Catholic cleric the archbishops led their archdiocese as the hierarchical superior of all Roman Catholic clergy, including thesuffragan bishops ofOldenburg-Lübeck,Ratzeburg andSchwerin.

The Prince-Archbishopric often suffered from military supremacy of neighbouring powers. Having no dynasty, but prince-archbishops of different descent, the Prince-Archbishopric became a pawn in the hands of the powerful. The establishment of a constitution, which would bind the conflicting Estates, failed.

Schisms in Church and State marked the next two centuries, and in spite of the labours of theWindesheim andBursfelde congregations, the way was prepared for theReformation, which made rapid headway, partly because the last Roman Catholic prince-archbishop,Christopher the Spendthrift, was in permanent conflict with theChapter and theEstates. Being simultaneously thePrince-Bishop of Verden, he preferred to reside in the city ofVerden.

By the time he died (1558), in the Prince-Archbishopric nothing was left of the old denomination apart from a few monasteries – such asHarsefeld,Himmelpforten,Lilienthal,Neuenwalde,Osterholz as well asZeven under the jurisdiction of the Bremian archdiocese andAltkloster [nds] as well asNeukloster under the jurisdiction of Verden's See – and the districts served by them. While between 1523 and 1551 the cities of Bremen and Stade had dissolved all the urban monasteries, except of St Mary's in Stade, which transformed until 1568 into a Lutheran convent, and conveyed their buildings to uses by schools, hospitals, alms houses and senior homes.

The constitution of the Holy Roman Empire provided, that the Emperor may only enfeoff a prince-bishop elect with theregalia, if the Pope would have confirmed his election to the respective See. In default thereof the Emperor could grant aliege indult (German:Lehnsindult), often restricted to some years only, and then notwithstanding enfeoff the prince-bishop elect with the regalia of restricted legitimacy to the effect that the elect could rule with princely power within the prince-bishopric, bearing only title ofAdministrator, but would be banned from participating in theDiets. Lacking papal confirmation and imperialliege indult could bring a prince-bishop elect into the precarious situation to be dismissed by the Emperor or by any of his vassals powerful enough and keen to do so.^[7]

Once the inhabitants of the Prince-Archbishopric had adopted Lutheranism and partially Calvinism, as did the city of Bremen and the territories under its influence downstream the Weser and in the district ofBederkesa, also most capitulars, recruited from burghers of the city of Bremen and rural noble families, turned out to be Calvinists and Lutherans. Thus the capitulars preferred to elect Protestant candidates. The Bremian prince-archbishop elects could only occasionally gain the imperialliege indult.

Many princely houses, such as theHouse of Guelf (Brunswick and Lunenburg-Wolfenbüttel), theHouse of Nikloting (Mecklenburg-Schwerin), theHouse of Wettin (Electorate of Saxony), and theHouse of Ascania (Saxe-Lauenburg) applied for the See. Before electing a new prince-archbishop the Chapter took its time, ruling the Prince-Archbishopric in accordance with the Estates (1566–1568), and considered the opportunities.

In 1524 the Prince-Archbishopric had subjected the autonomous farmers' republic of theLand of Wursten, but the Wursteners still hoped for a liberation and support from the neighbouringSaxe-Lauenburgian exclave of theLand of Hadeln. Thus on 17 February 1567 the Chapter elected DukeHenry III ofSaxe-Lauenburg (*1550-1585*, ruled from 1568 on) prince-archbishop. In return his fatherFrancis I waived any Saxe-Lauenburgian claim to theLand of Wursten as well as to the district of Bederkesa and abandoned the lawsuit, which he had brought to theImperial Chamber Court to this end.

In hiselection capitulations Henry III covenanted to accept the privileges of the Estates and the existing laws. Due to his minority he agreed, that Chapter and Estates would rule the Prince-Archbishopric. In this time he should work towards a papal confirmation. De facto he ascended the See in 1568, gained an imperialliege indult in 1570, while de jure still represented by the Chapter until 1580, in order not to complicate a papal confirmation, which never materialised.

WhileMaximilian II regarded Henry III a true Catholic,Pope Sixtus V remained a skeptic. Henry III was raised Lutheran, but educated Catholic and served before his election as Catholic canon of the cathedral inCologne. The schism wasn't so definite, as it looks in retrospect. TheHoly See still hoped theReformation would be a merely temporary phenomenon, while its protagonists still expected all the Roman church to reform, so that there would be no schism.

So Sixtus V tested Henry III once in a while, demanding the succession of Catholic candidates for vacancies in the Bremian Chapter - which it sometimes accepted, sometimes denied -, while Henry succeeded to be also elected by the Chapters of the prince-bishoprics ofOsnabrück (1574–1585) andPaderborn (1577–1585), without ever gaining papal confirmation. In 1575 Henry III and Anna von Broich (Borch) married inHagen im Bremischen.

As to the interior Henry III still had to repay debts from his pre-predecessor Christopherthe Spendthrift. In 1580 Henry introduced aLutheran church constitution for the Prince-Archbishopric. Thus Henry III would not exercise the pastoral functions of a Roman Catholic bishop any more. In 1584 theHoly See founded theRoman CatholicNordic Missions, an endeavour for pastoral care and mission in the area of the de facto ceasedarchdioceses of Bremen andof Lund. In 1622 theNordic Missions were subordinated to theCongregatio de Propaganda Fide in Rome. TheHoly See conveyed to theNuncio to Cologne,Pietro Francesco Montoro, the task to look after theNordic Missions in - among others - thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen and thePrince-Bishopric of Verden. In 1667 theHoly See further institutionalised theNordic Missions by establishing theVicariate Apostolic of the Nordic Missions.

On 22 April 1585 Henry III died in his residence inBeverstedtermühlen after a riding accident. After Henry's early death, DukeAdolf ofSchleswig-Holstein-Gottorp wielded influence at the Bremian Chapter to elect his sonJohn Adolphus of Schleswig-Holstein at Gottorp (*1575-1616*) to the See. To this end, Adolf paid 20,000rixdollars and promised to work towards the restitution ofDitmarsh to the Prince-Archbishopric.^[8]

In 1585 John Adolf covenanted at his election in the obligatoryelection capitulations, that he would accept the privileges of the Chapter as well as the existing laws and that he would work - at his own expense - towards gaining either papal confirmation or - in default thereof - an imperialliege indult. From 1585 to 1589 Chapter and Estates ruled the Prince-Archbishopsric in custodianship for the minor John Adolf.

At the beginning of theThirty Years' War the Prince-Archbishopric maintained neutrality, as did most of the territories in theLower Saxon Circle. After 1613 KingChristian IV ofDenmark and Norway, being in personal union Duke ofHolstein within theHoly Roman Empire, turned his attention to gain grounds by acquiring the prince-bishoprics of Bremen,Verden,Minden andHalberstadt.

He skillfully took advantage of the alarm of the GermanProtestants after theBattle of White Mountain in 1620, to stipulate with Bremen's Chapter and AdministratorJohn Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, his cousin of second degree, to grant coadjutorship of the See of Bremen for his sonFrederick, later crown prince ofDenmark (September 1621). Coadjutorship usually included the succession of a See. A similar arrangement was reached in November for thePrince-Bishopric of Verden with its Chapter and AdministratorPhilip Sigismund. In 1623Christian's son succeeded the latePhilip Sigismund asFrederick II, Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, only to flee the troops of theCatholic League under CountJohan 't Serclaes ofTilly in 1626.

In November 1619Christian IV of Denmark, Duke of Holstein stationed Danish troops in the Bremian city ofStade, officially on behalf of his son the provided to be Administrator successor, suppressing an unrest of its burghers.

In 1620Christian,the Younger, titular duke ofBrunswick andLunenburg-Wolfenbüttel, the Lutheran Administrator of thePrince-Bishopric Halberstadt requested that the LutheranPrince-Archbishopric of Bremen would join the war coalition of theProtestant Union. The Administrator and the Estates of the Prince-Archbishopric met in a Diet and declared for their territory their loyalty toFerdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, and their neutrality in the conflict.

With Danish troops within his territory andChristian the Younger's request AdministratorJohn Frederick tried desperately to keep his Prince-Archbishopric out of the war, being in complete agreement with the Estates and the city ofBremen. When in 1623 theRepublic of the Seven United Netherlands, fighting in theEighty Years' War for its independence againstHabsburg's Spanish and imperial forces, requested itsCalvinist co-religionist of the city ofBremen to join, the city refused, but started to enforce its fortifications.

In 1623 the territories comprising theLower Saxon Circle decided to recruit an army in order to maintain an armed neutrality, with troops of theCatholic League already operating in the neighbouredLower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle and dangerously approaching their region. The concomitant effects of the war,debasements and dearness, had already caused an inflation also in the region. The population suffered frombilleting and alimentingBaden-Durlachian, Danish,Halberstadtian,Leaguist, andPalatine troops, whose marching through the Prince-Archbishopric had to tolerate in order to prevent entering into armed conflict.

In 1623 theRepublic of the Seven United Netherlands, diplomatically supported byJames I, King of England and of Ireland and as James IV King of Scotland, the brother-in-law ofChristian IV of Denmark, started a new anti-Habsburg campaign. Thus the troops of theCatholic League were bound and the Prince-Archbishopric seemed relieved. But soon after the imperial troops underAlbrecht von Wallenstein headed for the North in an attempt to destroy the fadingHanseatic League, in order to subject the Hanseatic cities ofBremen,Hamburg andLübeck and to establish a Baltic trade monopoly, to be run by some imperial favourites including Spaniards and Poles. The idea was to winSweden's andDenmark's support, both of which since long were after the destruction of theHanseatic League.

In May 1625Christian IV of Denmark, Duke of Holstein was elected – in the latter of his functions – by theLower Saxon Circle's member territories commander-in-chief of the Lower Saxon troops. More troops were recruited and to be billeted and alimented in the Lower Saxon territories, including the Prince-Archbishopric. In the same yearChristian IV joined the Anglo-Dutch war coalition. In 1625Tilly warned the Prince-ArchbishopJohn Frederick to further accept the stationing of Danish troops andFerdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, demanded the immediate end of his andVerden's alliance withDenmark, withVerden being already ruled byChristian's sonFrederick, being as well the provided successor ofJohn Frederick. He declared again his loyalty to the Emperor and neutrality in the conflict. But all in vain.

NowChristian IV ordered his troops to capture all the important traffic hubs in the Prince-Archbishopric and entered into theBattle of Lutter am Barenberge, on 27 August 1626, where he was defeated by theLeaguist troops underTilly.Christian IV and his surviving troops fled to the Prince-Archbishopric and took their headquarters inStade. AdministratorJohn Frederick, in personal union also Administrator of thePrince-Bishopric of Lübeck, fled to the latter and left the rule in the Prince-Archbishopric to the Chapter and the Estates.

In 1626Tilly and his troops occupied thePrince-Bishopric of Verden, which caused a flight of Lutheran clergy from that territory. He demanded the Bremian Chapter to allow him to enter the Prince-Archbishopric. The Chapter, now holding the baby, declared again its loyalty to the Emperor and delayed an answer to the request, arguing that it had to consult with the Estates in a Diet first, which would be a lengthy procedure.

Meanwhile,Christian IV ordered Dutch, English and French troops for his support to land in the Prince-Archbishopric, while extorting from the latter high war contributions to finance his war. The Chapter's pleas for a reduction of the contributionsChristian IV commented by arguing once the Leaguists would take over, his extortions will seem little.

By 1627Christian IV had de facto dismissed his cousinJohn Frederick from the Bremian See. In the same yearChristian IV withdrew from the Prince-Archbishopric, in order to fightWallenstein's invasion of hisDuchy of Holstein.Tilly then invaded the Prince-Archbishopric and captured its southern parts. The city ofBremen shut its city gates and entrenched behind its improved fortifications. In 1628Tilly beleagueredStade with its remaining garrison of 3,500 Danish and English soldiers. On 5 May 1628Tilly granted them safe-conduct to England and Denmark and the whole Prince-Archbishopric was in his hands. NowTilly turned to the city ofBremen, which paid him a ransom of 10,000rixdollars in order to spare its siege. The city remained unoccupied.

Wallenstein had meanwhile conquered all theJutish Peninsula, which madeChristian IV to sign theTreaty of Lübeck, on 22 May 1629, in order to regain possession of all his feoffs on the peninsula, he in return agreed to formally end Denmark's participation in theThirty Years' War and waived for his sonFrederick II, Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, the administration of that prince-bishopric as well as the provided succession as Administrator of thePrince-Bishopric of Halberstadt.

AdministratorJohn Frederick, exiled in theImperial Free City of Lübeck, was in a markedly weak position. So in 1628 he consented that the Lutheran convent in the former Roman Catholic St. Mary's monastery inStade – under Leaguist occupation – was restituted to Catholic rite and manned with foreign monks, if the Chapter would also agree. Again passing the buck on to the Chapter.

The Leaguist takeover enabledFerdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, to implement theEdict of Restitution, decreed on 6 March 1629 within thePrince-Archbishopric of Bremen and thePrince-Bishopric of Verden. The Bremian monasteries still maintaining Roman Catholic rite –Altkloster Convent,Harsefeld Archabbey [nds],Neukloster, andZeven – became the local strongholds for a reCatholicisation within the scope ofCounter-Reformation.

Under the threat of theEdict of RestitutionJohn Frederick consented toCanonical Visitations of the remaining monasteries, those clinging to Roman Catholic rite and those converted to voluntary Lutheran convents alike. Nunneries had traditionally been institutions to provide unmarried daughters of the better off, who couldn't be provided a husband befitting their social status or who didn't want to marry, with a decent livelihood. So when an unmarried woman of that status joined a nunnery she would bestow earning assets (real estate) or – restricted to her lifetime – regular revenues paid by her male relatives, on the monastery, making up in the former case part of the nunnery'sestates (not to be confused with the political body of theEstates).

In many territories, where the majority of the population adoptedLutheranism, the nunneries' function to provide sustenance for unmarried women wasn't to be given up. So it happened that the Prince-Archbishopric's former Roman Catholicnunneries of Himmelpforten,Lilienthal,Neuenwalde,^[9] andOsterholz with all their estates had turned into suchLutheran women's convents (German: dasStift, more particular:Damenstift, literallyladies' foundation), while the nunnery ofZeven was in the process of becoming one, with – among a majority of Catholic nuns – a number ofnuns of Lutheran denomination, usually called conventuals. Other expressions like abbess, for the chairwoman, and prioress for conventuals of certain hierarchic function, were – and are partly – continued to be used in such LutheranStifte.

Within the scope of thevisitations by the end of the year 1629 the Roman Catholic visitators issued an ultimatum to the Lutheran conventuals had been thrown out from the monasteries, with the estates ofHimmelpforten andNeuenwalde then being bestowed to theJesuites, in order to finance them and their missioning in the course of theCounter-Reformation in the Prince-Archbishopric. The expelled conventuals were denied to get the real estate restituted, which they bestowed on the monastery, when they entered it.

Ferdinand II suspended the capitulars from penalty, if they would dismiss the Lutheran coadjutorFrederick, later Crown Prince of Denmark from office. The Chapter refused, still backingFrederick, whom it had elected with full legal validity in 1621. SoFerdinand II himself dismissed him by way of using theEdict of Restitution, in favour of his youngest son, the Roman Catholic ArchdukeLeopold Wilhelm ofAustria, alreadyadministrator of the prince-bishoprics ofHalberstadt (1628–1648),Passau (1625–1662) andStrasbourg (1626–1662).

Ferdinand II leftJohn Frederick in office, against Leaguist resistance, for he had always kept loyalty to him. TheCatholic League wished the Roman Catholic CountFrancis William ofWartenberg,Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück (1625–1634 and again 1648–1661), onto the See. After all, the See included at those years an annual revenue of 60,000rixdollars at the free disposal of its holder, making up half the Prince-Archbishopric's budget.

Francis of Wartenberg, appointed byFerdinand II as chairman of the imperialrestitution commission, carrying out the provisions of theEdict of Restitution in theLower Saxon Circle, dismissedJohn Frederick in 1629, who acquiesced.

In September 1629 the Chapter was ordered to render an account of all the capitular and prince-archiepiscopalestates (not to be confused with theEstates), which it refused, arguing first that the order was not authenticated and later that due to disputes with the city council ofBremen, they couldn't freely travel to render an account let alone do the necessary research on the estates. The anti-Catholic attitudes of the burghers and the council of Bremen would make it completely impossible to prepare the restitution of estates from the Lutheran Chapter to theRoman Catholic Church. Even Lutheran capitulars were uneasy in CalvinisticBremen. In October 1629 the capitular secretary finally rendered the ordered account inVerden and was informed that by theEdict of Restitution the Chapter is regarded to be illegitimate. Lutheran capitulars were interrogated, but the Chapter was left in office, with its decisions subjected to the consent of therestitution commission.Pope Urban VIII appointed additional Roman Catholic capitulars in 1630, including a newprovost.

Theestates within the boundaries of the unoccupied city ofBremen weren't restituted by order of the city council. The council argued, that the city had long been Protestant, but therestitution commission argued that the city was de jure a part of the Prince-Archbishopric, soProtestantism had illegitimately alienated estates from theRoman Catholic Church. The city council answered under these circumstances it would rather separate from theHoly Roman Empire and join the quasi-independentRepublic of the Seven Netherlands (Its independence was finally confirmed by theTreaty of Westphalia in 1648). The city was neither to be conquered nor to be successfully beleaguered due to its new fortifications and its access to theNorth Sea via the Weser river.

Within the occupied Prince-Archbishopric the Leaguist occupants carried out the restitution. In Stade,Tilly's headquarters, all churches, except of St. Nicholas, were handed over to foreign Catholic clerics. But the burghers didn't attend Catholic services. So in March 1630Tilly expelled all Lutheran clergy, except the one of St. Nicholas.Tilly levied high war contributions fromStade's burghers (e.g. 22,533rixdollars in 1628 alone) and offered in 1630 to relieve every burgher, who would attend Catholic services, without success. In July 1630Tilly left to head for theDuchy of Pomerania, where KingGustavus II Adolphus ofSweden had landed with his troops, opening a new front in theThirty Years' War. He had been won by French diplomacy to join a new anti-imperial coalition, soon joined by the Netherlands.

In February 1631John Frederick conferred withGustavus II Adolphus and a number of Lower Saxon princes inLeipzig, all of them troubled by Habsburg's growing influence wielded by virtue of theEdict of Restitution in a number of Northern German Lutheran prince-bishoprics.John Frederick speculated to regain the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and therefore in June/July 1631 officially allied himself with Sweden. For the war beingJohn Frederick accepted the supreme command ofGustavus II Adolphus, who promised to restitute the Prince-Archbishopric to its former Administrator. In October an Army, newly recruited byJohn Frederick, started to reconquer the Prince-Archbishopric and – supported by Swedish troops – to capture the neighboured Prince-Bishopric of Verden, de facto dismissingVerden's Catholic Prince-Bishop CountFrancis of Wartenberg (ruled 1630-1631), and causing the flight of the Catholic clergy wherever they arrived. ThePrince-Bishopric of Verden became subject of a Swedish military administration, whileJohn Frederick ascended its See in 1631.

The reconquest of the Prince-Archbishopric – helped by forces from Sweden and from the city of Bremen – was interrupted by Leaguist forces underGottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, coming as a relief toStade, where they joined the Catholic imperial and Leaguist forces still holding out. On 10 May 1632 they were granted safe-conduct and left a desperately impoverished city ofStade after its siege byJohn Frederick's forces.John Frederick was back in his office, only to realise the supremacy of Sweden, insisting on its supreme command until the war's end. The Prince-Archbishopric continuously suffered from billeting and alimenting soldiers. The relation between the Estates, who had to maintain administration under Catholic occupation, and the returned Administrator were difficult. The Estates preferred to directly negotiate with the occupants, this time the Swedes.John Frederick wanted to secularise the monasteries in favour of his budget, but the opposing Estates prevented that.

AfterJohn Frederick's death in 1634 Chapter and Estates regardedFrederick's (later Danish Crown Prince) dismissal as coadjutor byFerdinand II by virtue of theEdict of Restitution illegitimate. But the Swedish occupants had to be persuaded first, to acceptFrederick's succession. So Chapter and Estates ruled the Prince-Archbishopric until the conclusion of the negotiations with Sweden. In 1635 he succeeded as Lutheran AdministratorFrederick II in the Sees of Bremen and of Verden. But he had to render homage to the minor QueenChristina of Sweden.

In the same yearPope Urban VIII provided the Catholic coadjutorLeopold Wilhelm, Archduke of Austria, imposed in 1629 by his fatherFerdinand II, with the Archdiocese of Bremen, but due to its persisting occupation by the Swedes he never gained de facto pastoral influence let alone the power as administrator of the prince-archbishopric.

In 1635/1636 the Estates andFrederick II agreed with Sweden upon the prince-archbishopric's neutrality. But this didn't last long, because in the Danish-SwedishTorstenson War (1643–45) the Swedes seized de facto rule in both prince-bishoprics.Christian IV of Denmark had to sign theSecond Peace of Brömsebro on 13 August 1645, a number of Danish territories, including the two prince-bishoprics, being ceded into Swedish hands. SoFrederick II had to resign as Administrator in both prince-bishoprics. He succeeded his late father on the Danish throne asFrederick III of Denmark in 1648.

With Bremensede vacante again, the newPope Innocent X appointed CountFrancis of Wartenberg, the expelled short-periodPrince-Bishop of Verden (1630–1631) and officiatingPrince-Bishop of Osnabrück (1625–1661), asVicar Apostolic in 1645, i.e. provisional head of the See.Wartenberg never gained pastoral influence, let alone power as prince-bishop due to the persisting Swedish occupation of the Prince-Archbishopric until the end of the Thirty Years' War.

With the impending enfeoffment of the Prince-Archbisporic of Bremen to the political Great Power ofSweden, as under negotiation for theTreaty of Westphalia, the city of Bremen searched for an imperial confirmation of its status ofimperial immediacy from 1186 (Gelnhausen Privilege), whichFerdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, granted to the city in 1646 (Diploma of Linz).

For the further history see the article about the collectively ruledDuchy of Bremen and Principality of Verden (1648–1823). Then seeStade Region (1823–1978), which emerged by the establishment of theHigh-Bailiwick of Stade in 1823, comprising the territories of the formerDuchies of Bremen and Verden and theLand Hadeln.

In 1824Bremen's former diocesan territory was distributed among the still-existing neighbouring dioceses ofOsnabrück,Münster andHildesheim, the latter of which covers today the former territory of thePrince-Archbishopric proper. Except for the prevailinglyCalvinistFree Hanseatic City of Bremen and its territory, which continued to be supervised by the Roman CatholicVicariate Apostolic of the Nordic Missions. TheFree Hanseatic City of Bremen became part of theDiocese of Osnabrück only in 1929, with theVicariate Apostolic being dismantled in the same year.

See:List of administrators, archbishops, bishops, and prince-archbishops of Bremen

1. Altkloster [nds]:BenedictineOld Nunnery of Ss. Mary's and Lawrence, existed from 1197 to 1648, subject to theDiocese of Verden
2. Bremen:DominicanSt. Catherine's Friary, Bremen, existed from 1225 to 1528, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
3. Bremen:FranciscanSt. John's Friary [de], existed from 1225 to 1528, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
4. Bremen: BenedictineSt. Paul's Friary [de], existed from 1050 to 1523, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
5. Harsefeld: BenedictineArchabbey [de] of monks, existed from 1104 to 1648,exempt
6. Hemmingstedt: BenedictineSt. Mary's Nunnery, existed from 1502 to 1537, subject to Bremen Archdiocese, Hamburg subchapter; after 1526 not part of the secular prince-archiepiscopal rule any more
7. Himmelpforten:CistercianPorta Coeli Nunnery, existed from before 1255 to 1647, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
8. Lilienthal: CistercianSt. Mary's Nunnery in the Valley of Lilies [de], existed from 1232 to 1646, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
9. Lunden:Franciscan Friary, existed from 1517 to 1536, subject to Bremen Archdiocese, Hamburg subchapter; after 1526 not part of the secular prince-archiepiscopal rule any more
10. Meldorf: DominicanMarienau Friary, existed from 1380 to 1540, subject to Bremen Archdiocese, Hamburg subchapter; after 1526 not part of the secular prince-archiepiscopal rule any more
11. Neuenwalde: BenedictineConvent of the Holy Cross, exists since 1219, till 1648 subject to Bremen Archdiocese
12. Neukloster [nds]: BenedictineNew Nunnery, existed from the 1270s to 1647, subject to Verden Diocese
13. Osterholz: BenedictineNunnery in the Osterholz, existed from 1182 to 1650, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
14. Stade: BenedictineOur Lady's Friary [de], existed from 1141 to 1648, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
15. Stade: FranciscanSt. John's Friary, existed from the 13th to the 16th century, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
16. Stade:PremonstratensianSt. George's Friary, existed from 1132 to about 1527, subject to Bremen Archdiocese
17. Zeven: BenedictineZeven Nunnery [de], existed from before 986 to 1650, subject to Bremen Archdiocese

A list of interesting people whose birth, death, residence or activity took place in the Archdiocese or Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. Not included are persons mentioned above in the list of incumbents of the see.

• Adam of Bremen (before 1050 - c. 1081), Roman Catholic canon and historiographer
• Albert of Bexhövede (c. 1165–1229), Roman CatholicBishop of Riga andTerra Mariana, seated inRiga, which he founded in 1201
• Albert of Stade (c. 1187 - after 1265),abbot of Stade's monastery of St. Mary andchronicler
• Bonaventura Borchgreving (died latest 1596), upperKapellmeister at the court inCopenhagen
• Johann Bornemacher [de] (died 1526), Roman Catholic, then Lutheran theologist, martyr
• Gertrud von dem Brake (died second half of 15th century), Roman Catholic Prioress ofNeukloster
• Emma of Lesum (also Imma von Stiepel; c. 975-980 – 1038), benefactor of the Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic saint
• Augustin van Getelen (end of 15th century – 1556), Roman Catholic Dominican, controversial theologist inKøbenhavn
• Gerhard Halepaghe [de] (c. 1430–1485), Roman Catholic priest, church and monastic reformer
• Christoph von Issendorff (1529–1586), Lutheran heritableCup-bearer of the Prince-Archbishopric,Burgmann ofVörde
• Henry of Zutphen [de], (1488–1524), Roman Catholic Augustine monk, later Protestant Reformator in the city of Bremen

Source^[10]

• Grote, Hermann (1877).Stammtafeln: mit Anhang Calendarium medii aevi. Leipzig: Hahn. p. 506.
• Adolf Hofmeister, "Der Kampf um das Erbe der Stader Grafen zwischen den Welfen und der Bremer Kirche (1144–1236)", in:Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser: 3 vols., Hans-Eckhard Dannenberg and Heinz-Joachim Schulze (eds.) on behalf of the Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, 1995 and 2008, vol. I 'Vor- und Frühgeschichte' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-7-4), vol. II 'Mittelalter (einschl. Kunstgeschichte)' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-8-2), vol. III 'Neuzeit' (2008;ISBN 3-9801919-9-0), (=Schriftenreihe des Landschaftsverbandes der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden; vols. 7–9), vol. II: pp. 105–157.
• Kai Mathieu,Der Hamburger Dom, Untersuchungen zur Baugeschichte im 13. und 14. Jahrhundert (1245 - 1329) und eine Dokumentation zum Abbruch in den Jahren 1804 - 1807, Hamburg: Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, 1973.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication in thepublic domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914).New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
• Schleif, Hans (1972).Regierung und Verwaltung des Erzstifts Bremen am Beginn der Neuzeit (1500-1645): Eine Studie zum Wesen der modernen Staatlichkeit (zugl.: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 1968, (Schriftenreihe des Landschaftsverbandes der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden; vol. 1) ed.). Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden.ISBN 3-931879-23-2.
• Heinz-Joachim Schulze, "Die Grafen von Stade und die Erzbischöfe von Bremen-Hamburg vom Ausgang des 10. bis zur Mitte des 12. Jahrhunderts", in:Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser: 3 vols., Hans-Eckhard Dannenberg and Heinz-Joachim Schulze (eds.) on behalf of the Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, 1995 and 2008, vol. I 'Vor- und Frühgeschichte' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-7-4), vol. II 'Mittelalter (einschl. Kunstgeschichte)' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-8-2), vol. III 'Neuzeit' (2008;ISBN 3-9801919-9-0), (=Schriftenreihe des Landschaftsverbandes der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden; vols. 7–9), vol. II: pp. 43–104.
• Heinz-Joachim Schulze, "Geschichte der Geschichtsschreibung zwischen Elbe und Weser vom Mittelalter bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts", in:Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser: 3 vols., Hans-Eckhard Dannenberg and Heinz-Joachim Schulze (eds.) on behalf of the Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, 1995 and 2008, vol. I 'Vor- und Frühgeschichte' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-7-4), vol. II 'Mittelalter (einschl. Kunstgeschichte)' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-8-2), vol. III 'Neuzeit' (2008;ISBN 3-9801919-9-0), (=Schriftenreihe des Landschaftsverbandes der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden; vols. 7–9), vol. II: pp. 1–21.
• Michael Schütz, "Die Konsolidierung des Erzstiftes unter Johann Rode", in:Geschichte des Landes zwischen Elbe und Weser: 3 vols., Hans-Eckhard Dannenberg and Heinz-Joachim Schulze (eds.), Stade: Landschaftsverband der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden, 1995 and 2008, vol. I 'Vor- und Frühgeschichte' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-7-4), vol. II 'Mittelalter (einschl. Kunstgeschichte)' (1995;ISBN 3-9801919-8-2), vol. III 'Neuzeit' (2008;ISBN 3-9801919-9-0), (=Schriftenreihe des Landschaftsverbandes der ehem. Herzogtümer Bremen und Verden; vols. 7–9), vol. II: pp. 263–278.

• Duchy of Bremen
• Stade Region
• Elbe-Weser Triangle

• Archbishops of Bremen
• Bremen-Verden
• Prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany
• History of Bremen (city)
• History of Bremen (state)
• Dioceses established in the 8th century
• 787 establishments
• 1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
• 1180 establishments in Europe
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• Medieval history of Germany
• Former Catholic dioceses in Sweden
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