Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn Fürstbistum Paderborn | |||||||||
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| 1281–1802 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
.svg) Map of theLower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle around 1560, Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn highlighted in red | |||||||||
| Status | Prince-Bishopric | ||||||||
| Capital | Paderborn | ||||||||
| Common languages | West Low German | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Bishopric established | 799 | ||||||||
| c. 1200 | |||||||||
• GainedReichsfreiheit | 1281 | ||||||||
• Secularised to Prussia | 1802 | ||||||||
• Ceded toKgdm Westphalia | 1807–13 | ||||||||
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ThePrince-Bishopric of Paderborn (German:Fürstbistum Paderborn; Hochstift Paderborn) was an ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift) of theHoly Roman Empire from 1281 to 1802.
The Diocese of Paderborn was founded in 799 byPope Leo III. In the early years it was subordinated to the bishop ofWürzburg. Since 855 the clergy had the right to elect the bishop. The diocese included the larger part ofLippe,Waldeck, and nearly half of theCounty of Ravensberg.
In 1180 when theDuchy of Saxony ceased to exist, the rights which the old dukedom had exercised over Paderborn were transferred to theArchbishopric-Electorate of Cologne. The claims of the archbishops of Cologne were settled in the 13th century, almost wholly in favor of Paderborn. Under Bernhard II, Bishop of Paderborn (Bernhard of Ibbenbüren [Wikidata]) (1188–1203) thebailiwick over the diocese, which since the middle of the 11th century had been held as a fief by the Counts of Arnsberg, returned to the bishops. This was an important advance in the development of the bishops' position as a secular ruler in histemporalities, forming aHochstift ofimperial immediacy since. From this time on the bishops did not grant the bailiwick as a fief, but managed it themselves, and had themselves represented in the government by one of their clergy. They strove successfully to obtain the bailiwicks over the abbeys and monasteries situated in their diocese.
Bishop Otto von Rietberg had to contend with Cologne; in 1281, when only bishop-elect, he received the regalia fromRudolph of Habsburg, and full judicial power (except penal judicature). After the defeat of the Cologne arch bishop at theBattle of Worringen 1288 the bishops of Paderborn became increasingly sovereigns, though not over the whole of their diocese.Bernhard V of Lippe (1321–41) established a first territorial constitution ("Privilegium Bernhardi"). However he had to acknowledge the city of Paderborn as free from his judicial supremacy.Heinrich III Spiegel zum Desenberg (1361–80), alsoAbbot of Corvey, left his spiritual functions to a suffragan; in 1371 he rebuilt the Burg Neuhaus at Paderborn.Simon II, Count of Sternberg (1380–89), involved the bishopric in feuds with the nobility, who after his death devastated the country.Wilhelm Heinrich van Berg, elected 1399, sought to remedy the evils which had crept in during the foregoing feuds, but when in 1414 he interested himself in the vacancy in the Archbishopric of Cologne, the cathedral chapter in his absence choseDietrich III of Moers (1415–63). The wars of Dietrich, also Archbishop of Cologne, brought heavy debts upon the bishopric; during the feuds of the bishop with the city ofSoest (1444–49) Paderborn was devastated.
UnderEric, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1502–32), theProtestant Reformation obtained a foothold in the diocese, although the bishop remained loyal to the Church.Hermann von Wied (1532–47), also Archbishop of Cologne, sought to introduce the new teaching at Paderborn as well as Cologne, but he was opposed by all classes. The countships ofLippe,Waldeck, andPyrmont, the part of the diocese in theCounty of Ravensberg, and most of the parishes on the right bank of theWeser became Protestant.
Heinrich IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (1577–85), was a Lutheran; he permitted the adoption of theAugsburg Confession by his subjects. In the city ofPaderborn only the cathedral and the Monastery of Abdinghof remained faithful. To save the Catholic cause, the cathedral chapter summoned theJesuits to Paderborn in 1580.Dietrich IV of Fürstenberg (1585–1618) restored the practice of the Catholic religion, built agymnasium for the Jesuits, and founded theUniversity of Paderborn in 1614.
During theGerman Mediatisation in 1802, the bishopric becamePrussian, from 1807 until 1813 it was part of theKingdom of Westphalia, and then part of the Prussianprovince of Westphalia.
While the bishopric as a state had been permanently dissolved, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paderborn was recreated byPope Pius VII in 1821. Through thePrussian Concordate, it was promoted to an archdiocese in 1930; at the same time, Paderborn lost its districts aroundErfurt andHeiligenstadt to theDiocese of Fulda, and two small areas to theArchdiocese of Cologne. The dioceses of Fulda andHildesheim were made subordinate to it.
When theDiocese of Essen was created in 1958, Paderborn lost a significant portion of its district to it. In 1994 Paderborn lost the part of its district located in the formerEast Germany to the newly createdDiocese of Magdeburg. Both Magdeburg and theDiocese of Erfurt were made subordinate to Paderborn. At the same time, Hildesheim was made subordinate to theArchdiocese of Hamburg.
In the 1990s, the conflict between the archdiocese and renegade priestEugen Drewermann made headlines.
The current archbishop isHans-Josef Becker.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Paderborn".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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1 from 1648 2 until 1648 3 without seat inImperial Diet ? status uncertain Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon
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51°43′07″N8°45′23″E / 51.7187°N 8.75628°E /51.7187; 8.75628
