Bishopric of Halberstadt

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The Bishopric of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese from 804 until 1648 and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the late Middle Ages until around 1800. Its capital was Halberstadt and it was located around the Harz.

The diocese was founded by Charlemagne in 804 in order to missionize Saxons and Slavs. Its capital was initially Osterwieck, but was soon moved to Halberstadt. When the Archbishopric of Magdeburg was founded in 968, Halberstadt lost the eastern half of its district to it, and was made subordinate to Magdeburg.

Around 1540 the Bishopric became Protestant. In the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, it was secularized as the Principality of Halberstadt, and given to the electors of Brandenburg. This was negotiated by Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal, the Great Elector's representative at the Westphalia negotiations, who was made Halberstadt's first secular governor as a reward. At this time in 1648, the newly created Principality of Halberstadt consisted of two longstanding counties--one of which was Osterwieck, the ancient Principality of Anhalt-Aschersleben, the County of Regenstein (including Hainburg), and the County of Valkenstein. Later the Lordship of Darenburg was added in 1701 and after the Congress of Vienna, the Principality of Halberstadt obtained the Barony of Schauen and the Lordship of Hessenrode.

Lost territories include the eastern half of its district to the newly created Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 968, the County of Weferlingen in 1701, the County of Hohnstein about the same time, Stapelburg in 1727, Hesserode in 1714, and the Lordships of Wolfsberg and Erichsberg in 1815.

From its secularization in 1648, the Princes of Halberstadt were the Prince/Electors of Brandenburg, who became the Kings of Prussia and later the Emperors of Germany. The principality was a recognized part of the grand arms of the Imperial and Royal House of Prussia and was one of the acknowledged possessions of the last emperor, HIRM Wilhelm II. The Principality was governed under a royal Prussian system of Provinces--specifically the Brandenburgish Province of Saxonystarting in 1817 to the end of the Germany Empire in 1918.