Bishopric of Hildesheim

Territory of the Holy Roman Empire

The Bishopric of Hildesheim and the Bishopric of Hildesheim or the Principality of Hildesheim was the worldly possessions of the diocese of Hildesheim.

Territory

The territory of the Bishopric of Hildesheim included in the north Hildesheimer Borde with the city of Peine and handed to the south of Hanover. West of Hildesheim it extended into the Leinebergland with the cities Elze, Gronau and Alfeld. In the southwest Freden and Lamspringe still lay within its borders as well as the western Ambergau with the central city Bockenem and the southern headquarters Bilderlahe. In the east the Innerstetal with Baddeckenstedt and Ringelsheim up to the edge of the Harz immediately before the walls of the imperial city of Goslar and the northwestern Harz foothills to love castle up to Oker with Ohrum in the Northeast, with Schladen and Vienenburg part of the prince-bishopric were. In addition, the area around Dassel belonged am Solling than larger exclave this. The Principality of Hildesheim was thus smaller than the spiritual diocese of Hildesheim.

Since 1500 the diocese was part of the Lower Saxon kingdom circle.

History

The diocese of Hildesheim was founded in 815 by Louis the Pious. Here, the Saxon Gau Astfala formed the core area of the diocese. In the following period it could land on the Moselle, acquire in the Odenwald and in the county Harzgau. 1310 nor was added in the county of Dassel. On August 15, 1235 reached Bishop Conrad II at the Diet of Mainz official recognition as a sovereign principality. At the battle of Dinklar on September 3, 1367 in Hildesheim Bishop Gerhard triumphed over Duke Magnus of Braunschweig, Braunschweig after the looting had invaded the territory of the Bishopric.

At the beginning of the 16th century became the diocese in conflicts with parts of the Hildesheim pin nobility and the Duchy of Brunswick -Lüneburg. This led in 1519 to a military conflict, the so-called Hildesheim pin Feud ( 1519-1523 ). It ended with the Quedlinburg recess of 13 May 1523. This contract wrote the military successes of the Guelph on hildesheimischem territory firmly. For the Bishopric of Hildesheim, the contract meant the loss of the great congregation, and the future modesty on the so-called Small pin. Consisting of 22 offices to pin feud episcopal country rule was limited now to the offices Steuerwald, Marienburg and Peine and the cities of Peine and Hildesheim, but which was placed under the special protection of the Duke Erich von Calenberg in its far-reaching independence. Furthermore, they still belonged to the provost with a few villages north of Hildesheim, as Borsum, Harsum, Achtum and Algermissen. The Office was also Peine come since 1522 deposit owned by the city of Hildesheim, where it should remain the following eighty years. The Guelphs were at the expense of the congregation enlarge their territories. The Bishopric of Hildesheim, however, reduced to a quarter of its original territory, had ceased to be an independent factor of power among the northern German principalities.

The Hildesheimer bishops Merklin Balthasar (1528-1531) and Valentin of Tetleben (1537-1551) studied the Bishopric of Hildesheim not. This has favored the spread of Lutheran doctrine in the small pen. 1542, the city of Hildesheim joined the Reformation. Civil rights received from now on only who confessed to the Lutheran denomination. In office Steuerwald led Adolf of Holstein, who had held the office in mortgage possession, in 1556 the Lutheran doctrine a. Under Prince Bishop Ernest of Bavaria (1573-1612) sat in the meantime redeemed office a recatholicisation. In many places, the population resisted at first, some places, such as Kemme and Schellerten ultimately remained Lutheran.

1643 the disputes between the pin Hildesheim and the Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg was settled with the Hildesheim main recess. The Great pen dropped back to the Bishopric of Hildesheim. The administration was carried out in 16 offices. About 90 % of the subjects of the Catholic Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim were henceforth Lutheran religion. The bishops did not succeed due to the normal year ( Peace of Westphalia ), to change this ratio significantly. The so-called pin villages ( Algermissen, Bettmar, Borsum, Detfurth, Diekholzen, Dinklar, Förste, Giesen, Harsum, Ottbergen and others), however, remained predominantly Catholic.

1802 lost the Bishopric of its sovereignty to Prussia, where it remained until 1807. In the Napoleonic period 1807-1813 it belonged to the Kingdom of Westphalia. The country Hildesheim was for this short period the district of Hildesheim with 16 cantons in the department Oker. 1813 it had ( with the exception of it occurring monasteries which fell to the monastery chamber Hannover), the Kingdom of Hanover slammed, which in turn was annexed in 1866 by Prussia. Since 1946 the area of the old pen to Lower heard.

Coat of Arms of the Principality of Hildesheim

Blazon: The coat of arms of the Principality of Hildesheim is cleaved by red and gold. On the crowned helmet with red and gold helmet covers a split of red and gold pointed hat, top with golden button two ostrich feathers in red and gold. The same color Hutstulp sullied with two flags on golden stahlbespitzten skewers, from the split from the right gold-red, the left red - golden.

The diocese of Hildesheim coat of arms since led the Bishop Heinrich (1310-1318) on seals. But here was the front and rear red gold The Hutstulp was red -gold split.

The coat of arms appears as a basic motif even today in some current coat of arms, such as:

Hildesheim

Markoldendorf

Peine

Sarstedt