Electorate of Trier

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Electorate of Trier Kurfürstentum Trier (German) Électorat de Trèves (French)
898–1801
Flag Coat of arms
Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony
Historical era	Middle Ages Early Modern
• Autonomy granted	772
• Imperial immediacy	898
• Raised to electorate	between 1189 and 1212
• Trier city rights	1212
• Joined Electoral Rhenish Circle	1512
• Treaty of Lunéville	9 February 1801
• Reconstituted as Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine within Prussia	9 June 1815
Preceded by Succeeded by County Palatine of the Rhine Rhin-et-Moselle Sarre (department) Nassau-Weilburg

The Electorate of Trier (

.

The capital of the electorate was Trier; from the 16th century onward, the main residence of the Elector was in Koblenz. The electorate was secularized in 1803 in the course of the German mediatisation.

The Elector of Trier, in his capacity as archbishop, also administered the Archdiocese of Trier, whose territory did not correspond to the electorate (see map below).

History

Middle ages

.

The bishops of Trier were already virtually independent territorial magnates during the

the privileges of protection and immunity granted by his father.

At the partition of the

.

In 898, Archbishop

, he obtained the final right of election of the Bishop of Trier by the chapter, free of Imperial interference.

Early modern

In early modern times, the Electorate of Trier still encompassed territory along the river

.

In 1473, Emperor

gravely affected the entire territory; it was one of the first mass witch trials of the Holy Roman Empire, and resulted in the death of hundreds of people.

In the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residences to Philippsburg Castle in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz.

During the Thirty Years' War, Archbishop-Elector Philipp Christoph von Sötern supported France against the Habsburgs, leading to a rivalry between French and Spanish troops about the strategic cities and fortresses of the Electorate. In 1630, the city of Trier opened its gates to Spanish troops to defend its rights against the absolutist Elector. French troops captured the city in 1632 to help Sötern. In return, they were allowed to install garrisons there and in the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. Spanish troops retook Trier by surprise in 1635 and imprisoned Sötern. During his absence, the cathedral chapter took over administration of the archbishopric. Imperial troops dispelled the French garrison of Ehrenbreitstein in 1637 and occupied the place until the end of the war. The archbishop was released from captivity in 1645 because of French demands in Westphalia.^[1]

Warfare returned to the Electorate in 1673 during the Franco-Dutch War, when the French Army occupied Trier and stayed until 1675. They heavily fortified the city and destroyed all churches, abbeys and settlements in front of the city walls.

In 1684, with the

personally issued the order for these acts of destruction. As the French Army retreated in 1698, it left a starving city without walls and only 2,500 inhabitants.

During the

, relocated to Koblenz in 1786. In August 1794, French Republican troops took Trier. This date marked the end of the era of the old electorate. Churches, abbeys and clerical possessions were sold or the buildings put to secular use, such as stables.

The last elector, Clemens Wenceslaus, resided exclusively in Koblenz after 1786. From 1795, the territories of the Electorate on the left bank of the Rhine were under French occupation; in 1801, they were annexed and a separate French-controlled diocese established under Bishop Charles Mannay. In 1803, the French diocese assumed control of the whole diocese and what was left of the electoral territory on the eastern bank of the Rhine was secularized and annexed by Nassau-Weilburg in 1803.

Archbishop-Electors of Trier

• John I
  1189–1212
• Theoderich von Wied 1212–1242
• Arnold II von Isenburg 1242–1259
• Heinrich II von Finstingen [de] 1260–1286
• Bohemond I von Warnesberg
  1286–1299
• Diether von Nassau 1300–1307
• Heinrich II von Virneburg
  1300–1306 (in opposition)
• Baldwin von Luxemburg
  1307–1354
• Bohemond II von Saarbrücken
  1354–1362
• Kuno II von Falkenstein 1362–1388
• Werner von Falkenstein 1388–1418
• Otto von Ziegenhain [de] 1418–1430
• Raban von Helmstatt 1430–1438
• Jakob I von Sierck [de] 1439–1456
• John II of Baden 1456–1503
• Jakob II von Baden 1503–1511
• Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads 1511–1531
• Johann von Metzenhausen 1531–40
• Johann Ludwig von Hagen 1540–47
• John of Isenburg-Grenzau 1547–56
• Johann von der Leyen 1556–67
• Jakob von Eltz-Rübenach 1567–81
• Johann von Schönenberg 1581–99
• Lothar von Metternich 1599–1623
• Philipp Christoph von Sötern 1623–52
• Karl Kaspar von der Leyen-Hohengeroldseck
  1652–76
• Johann Hugo von Orsbeck 1676–1711
• Charles Joseph of Lorraine 1711–15
• Franz Ludwig of Palatinate-Neuburg
  1716–29
• Franz Georg von Schönborn-Buchheim
  1729–56
• Johann IX Philipp von Walderdorff 1756–68
• Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony 1768–1803^[2]

Footnotes

49°46′N 6°39′E / 49.767°N 6.650°E / 49.767; 6.650