Imperial Circles
The later Holy Roman Empire was organized to a considerable degree by systems of regional administration. These regions were termed Kreise (Circles). They were headed up by a Kreisoberst, drawn from local nobility, and each had a legislative assembly, the Kreistag. The function of each Circle was primarily the administration of Imperial law and the maintenance of order, but the assemblies also served to assess local opinion and to direct regional efforts as circumstances dictated. The system was formalized in 1500, when Emperor Maximilian I created 6 circles (Bavaria, Franconia, Lower Saxony, Swabia, Upper Saxony, Westphalia), and reorganized twelve years later into ten, with the addition of Austria, Burgundy, the Rhenish Electorates, and the Rhine Palatinate. There were three estates, the secular noble Houses, the ecclesiastic seats, and free cities with Imperial charters. The table below shows those members with votes in the Imperial Diet (Reichstag), but it is important to remember that the Circle Assemblies could include lesser families and communities who had no national suffrage, as well. Membership in the circles was not entirely fixed, and could shift from decade to decade as circumstances changed. Even so, the membership was stable to a large degree, and seats within noble estates tended to remain even though the territories involved might change dynasties or be subdivided. The following tables give membership for the very end of the Imperial era, in the late 18th century. Each chart gives the name of a district, often with a link to an entry elsewhere in the archive, organized alphabetically within ranks. The next column gives ranking of the particular territory, and the final column shows ownership, status, or dynastic association.
     Note that nearly all the Empire was involved in one circle or another - still, there were some regions lying outside any circles; most notably the Kingdom (and Electorate) of Bohemia, the Margraviate of Moravia, the Dukes of Silesia, and the Margraves of Lausitz (Ostmark). Moravia, Silesia, and Lausitz were all possessions of Bohemia at one time or another, and the entire region (together with smaller states such as the Bishopric of Breslau) formed a contiguous area that could have been a circle in-and-of-itself, had that been thought useful.

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Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Bishops A-G
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Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Bishops R-W
Go to: Imperial Ecclesiastic States: Abbacies and Convents
Go to: Teutonic Tribes


IMPERIAL CIRCLES (Kreisstände): 1769-1806

Bayrischer Kreis (Bavarian Circle)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Salzburg Archbishopric: Elect. 1803 Ecclesiastic state Secularized 1803
Freising, with Werdenfels Chapter Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1803
Passau Chapter or Bishop Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1803
Regensburg Chapter: Archbishopric 1805 Ecclesiastic state
Nieder- and Obermünster in Regensburg Abbeys (Nunneries) Ecclesiastic state - To Regensb. '03
St. Emmeran in Regensburg Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To Regensb. '03
Berchtesgaden Provostry Ecclesiastic state - To Salzb. 1803
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Bavaria Duchy (Electorate) Wittelsbach
Ortenburg County von Ortenburg
Sternstein County Lobkowicz
Reichsstädte (Free Cities)
Regensburg Imperial Free City Republic- To Aschaffenburg 1803

Burgundischer Kreis (Burgundian Circle)
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Brabant Duchy To Austria - To France 1794
Gelderland Duchy To Austria - To France 1794
Limburg Duchy To Austria - To France 1794
Luxembourg Duchy To Austria - To France 1794
Antwerp Margraviate To Austria - To France 1794
Flanders County To Austria - To France 1794
Hainault (Hennegau) County To Austria - To France 1794
Namur County To Austria - To France 1794
Malines (Mechelen) Barony To Austria - To France 1794
Tournai Barony To Austria - To France 1794

Frankischer Kreis (Franconian Circle)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Bamberg Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1802
Würzburg Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1802
Eichstädt Bishopric (sec. Princip. 1803) Ecclesiastic state - Secularized 1803
Mergentheim Bailiwick Of the Teutonic Order
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Ansbach and Bayreuth Principality Hohenzollern - To Prussia 1791
Hohenlohe Principality von Hohenlohe
Castell County von Castell
Erbach County von Erbach
Henneberg County To Saxony
Schwarzenberg, with Seinsheim County & Barony von Seinsheim (Pr. Schwarzenberg)
Reineck County To C. Nostiz-Rieneck
Wertheim County von Löwenstein
Limpurg Barony 8 lines in various families *
Reichelsberg Barony To Count Schönborn
Welsheim Barony To Duke of Württemberg
Reichsstädte (Free Cities)
Nürnberg Imperial Free City Republic
Rothenburg (ob der Traub) Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1803
Schweinfurt Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1803
Weissenburg (im Nordgau) Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1803
Windheim Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1803
* In 1789 Limpurg was represented by 3 different Solms lines and one line each of Isenburg, Waldeck, Pückler, Rechteren, and Löwenstein.

Hochrheinischer Kreis (Upper-Rhenish Circle)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Basel Chapter or Bishop Ecclesiastic state - To France 1801
Fulda Chapter Ecclesiastic state - To Or.-Nassau 1802
Speyer Chapter or Bishop Ecclesiastic state - To France 1797
Strassburg (Strasbourg) Chapter Ecclesiastic state - To Baden 1803
Worms Chapter or Bishop Ecclesiastic state - To France 1801
Prüm Abbey Attached to Trier: To France 1803
Wissemburg Provostry Ecclesiastic state - To France 1803
Heitersheim Imp. Grand Priory (Princ.) Of the Knights of St. John
Knights at Bruchsal Chapter Ecclesiastic state
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Nassau Principality Nassau
Simmern, Lautern, and Veldenz Principalities To Pfalz - To France 1794
Territories of the Princes and Counts of Salm (Prince & Count) To Salm
Zweibrücken Principality (Elector) To Pfalz - To France 1794
Hesse Landgraviate Hesse
Falkenstein (am Donnersberge) County To Nassau-Weilburg
Hanau County To Hesse
Isenburg County von Isenburg
Kirchingen County To Wied-Runkel
Königstein County von Königstein
Linange County de Linange
Solms County von Solms
Sponheim County To Pfalz - To France 1794
Waldeck County von Waldeck
Wartenberg County Kolb
Wittgenstein County von Wittgenstein
Bretzenheim Barony To Isenburg
Dachstuhl Barony To Öttingen-Baldern
Münzfelden Barony von Münzfelden
Hanau-Lichtenberg Barony To Hesse
Ollbruck Barony To Waldbott-Bassenheim
Reichsstädte (Free Cities)
Frankfurt (am Main) Imperial Free City Republic
Friedberg Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Speyer Imperial Free City Republic - To France 1801
Wetzlar Imperial Free City Republic - To Nassau 1803
Worms Imperial Free City Republic - To France 1801

Hohersächsicher Kreis (Circle of Upper Saxony)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Walkenried Chapter Ecclesiastic state Secularized 1803
Weltlische Bank (Lords Temporal)
Pommern (Pomerania) Duchy To Sweden
Sachsen (Saxony) Duchy (Electorate) Wettin
Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld Duchy Wettin
Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg Duchy Wettin
Sachsen-Hildburghausen Duchy Wettin
Sachsen-Meiningen Duchy Wettin
Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach Duchy Wettin
Anhalt Principality Anhalt (Ascanian)
Reuss Principality von Reuss
Brandenburg (within the Kingdom of Prussia) Margraviate (Electorate) Hohenzollern
Mansfeld County To Brandenburg & Saxony
Schwarzburg County von Schwarzburg
Stolberg and Wernigerode County von Stolberg

Kurrheinischer Kreis (Circle of the Rhenish Electorates)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Köln (Cologne) Archbishopric (Electorate) Ecclesiastic state - To France 1798
Mainz (Mayence) Archbishopric (Electorate) Ecclesiastic state - To France 1797
Trier Archbishopric (Electorate) Ecclesiastic state - To France 1802
Koblenz Bailiwick Of the Teutonic Order
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Aremberg Duchy de Ligne
Westphalen (Westphalia) Duchy To Köln - To France 1794
Nieder-Isenburg County To Duke of Aremberg
Recklinghausen County To Köln - To France 1794
Rheineck Burggraviate von Sinzendorf
Beilstein Barony To Count Metternich

Niedersächsicher Kreis (Circle of Lower Saxony)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Hildesheim Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To Prussia 1803
Lübeck Chapter Ecclesiastic state - To Oldenburg '03
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Territories of the Elector of Hannover Duchy (Electorate) Welf
Braunschweig (Brunswick) Duchy Welf
Holstein Duchy Oldenburg
Magdeburg Duchy To Prussia 1648
Mecklenburg Duchy Mecklenburg
Halberstadt Principality To Prussia 1648
Reichsstädte (Free Cities)
Bremen Imperial Free City Republic - To France 1801
Goslar Imperial Free City Republic - To Prussia 1802
Hamburg Imperial Free City Republic
Lübeck Imperial Free City Republic
Mühlhausen Imperial Free City Republic - To Prussia 1802
Nordhausen Imperial Free City Republic - To Prussia 1802

Österreichischer Kreis (Austrian Circle)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Brixen (Bressanone) Bishopric Ecclesiastic state To Austria 1803
Trient (Trento) Bishopric Ecclesiastic state To Tirol 1801
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Österreich (Austria) Archduchy: Empire 1804 Lotharingen-Habsburg
Kärnten (Carinthia) Duchy To Austria
Krain (Carniola) Duchy To Austria
Steiermark (Styria) Duchy To Austria
Dietrichstein zu Nikolsburg (Trasp) Principality von Dietrichstein
Görz (Gorizia) [with Trieste] County To Austria
Tirol (Tyrol) County To Austria: To Bavaria 1805-14

Schwäbischer Kreis (Swabian Circle)
Geistlichen Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Augsburg Chapter or Bishop Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1803
Constanz Chapter or Bishop Ecclesiastic state - To Baden 1803
Buchau Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To Thurn-Taxis 1803
Ellwangen Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To Württ. 1803
Kempten Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1803
Lindau Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To Bavaria 1803
Territories of the Teutonic Order (Order) Of the Teutonic Order
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Württemberg, with Weilsheim and Justingen Duchy Württemberg
Territories of the Princes Fugger (Prince) Fugger
Fürstenberg Principality von Fürstenberg
Hohenzollern Principality von Hohenzollern
Liechtenstein Principality von Liechtenstein
Thurn-Taxis Principality von Thurn-Taxis
Baden Margraviate von Zahringen
Bonndorf County To Abbacy of St. Blasius
Hohenems County To Austria
Hohengeroldseck County To Count van der Leyen
Klettgau County To Prince Schwarzenberg
Territories of the Counts Königsegg (Count) Königsegg
Öttingen County von Öttingen
Thengen County To Prince Auersperg
Territories of the Count of Waldburg (Count) von Waldburg
Biesensteig, Mindelheim, and Schwabeck Baronies To Bavaria
Egloff Barony To Traun und Abensberg
Tettnang und Argen Barony To Austria
Thannhausen Barony To Count of Stadion
Reichsstädte (Free Cities)
Aalen Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Augsburg Imperial Free City Republic
Biberach Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Bopfingen Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Buchau Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Buchhorn Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Dinkelsbuhl Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Esslingen Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Gengenbach Imperial Free City Republic - To Baden 1803
Giengen Imperial Free City Republic- To Württemberg 1803
Gmund (Schwäbisch) Imperial Free City Republic- To Württemberg 1803
Hall (Schwäbisch) Imperial Free City Republic- To Württemberg 1803
Heilbronn Imperial Free City Republic- To Württemberg 1803
Isny Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Kaufbeuern Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Kempten Imperial Free City Republic- To Bavaria 1802
Leutkirchen Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Lindau Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1803
Memmingen Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Nördlingen Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Offenburg Imperial Free City Republic - To Baden 1803
Pfullendorf Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Ravensburg Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1802
Reutlingen Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Rottweil Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Überlingen Imperial Free City Republic - To Baden 1803
Ulm Imperial Free City Republic - To Bavaria 1803
Wangen Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Weil Imperial Free City Republic - To Württemberg 1803
Wimpfen Imperial Free City Republic - Hesse-Darmstadt 1803
Zell Imperial Free City Republic - Aust. 1802, Baden '05

Westphalischer Kreis (Westphalian Circle)
Geistliche Fürstenbank (Lords Spiritual)
Lüttich (Liége) Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To France 1793
Münster Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To Hannover '02
Osnabrück Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To Hannover '02
Paderborn Bishopric Ecclesiastic state - To Prussia 1803
Corvey Abbey: Bp. 1783: Princ. '03 Ecclesiastic state - Secularized 1803
Essen Abbey (Nunnery) Ecclesiastic state - To Prussia 1803
Herford Abbey (Nunnery) Ecclesiastic state - To Prussia 1803
Malmédy Abbey (united with Stavelot)
St. Cornelismünster Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To France 1803
Stavelot Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To France 1794
Thorn Abbey (Nunnery) Ecclesiastic state - To France 1795
Werden and Helmstädt Abbey Ecclesiastic state - To Prussia 1803
Weltliche Bank (Lords Temporal)
Territories of the Elector of Hannover (Duke-Electorate) To Hannover
Jülich and Berg Duchies To Pfalz - To France 1794
Territories of the Princes of Orange-Nassau (Principality) To Netherlands - To France 1794
Territories of the Elector of Brandenburg (Margrave-Electorate) To Brandenburg-Prussia
Bentheim County Götterswyk
Blankenheim and Gerolstein County To C. Limpurg
Gronsfeld County To C. Törring
Hallermund County To Count of Platen
Kaunitz County von Kaunitz
Pyrmont County To Prince of Waldeck
Reckheim County To Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg
Sayn County von Sayn
Schaumburg-Lippe County von Lippe
Schleiden County To Duke of Aremberg
Virneburg County To Pr. Löwenstein-Wertheim
Wied County von Westerburg
Anholt Barony To Prince Salm-Salm
Kerpen Barony To Duke of Aremberg
Gimborn Barony To Count Wallmoden
Mylendonk Barony To Count of Ostein
Reichenstein Barony To Count Nesselrode
Wickeradt Barony To Count of Quadt
Winneburg and Beilstein Barony To Count Metternich
Witten Barony To Count of Plettenberg
Reichsstädte (Free Cities)
Aachen Imperial Free City Republic - To France 1801
Dortmund Imperial Free City Republic - Nassau-Dillenb.1803
Köln Imperial Free City Republic - To France 1794

IMPERIAL ELECTORS The Holy Roman Empire was not technically an hereditary monarchy as such (although the almost complete dominance of the Habsburgs in this office from 1452 on mocked the formal arrangement), but rather an elective sovereignty and, as the theoretical secular ruler of all Christendom, available in just such a theoretical sense to any Christian male of sterling character. As a practical matter though, the office was contained exclusively within the higher German nobility, a circumstance made certain by the members of the Imperial electorate, German nobility all. The system of electors slowly emerged out of the early Middle Ages - there are several references to it in the 12th century - and by 1263 the seven electors had become more-or-less fixed. Here, then, is a catalogue of the electors, including the additional princes who gained electoral privilege after the final confirmation of the Imperial constitution in 1356.
 
Archbishop of Mainz
Archbishop of Trier
Archbishop of Köln
King of Bohemia*
Duke of Saxony
Margrave of Brandenburg**
Count Palatine of the Rhine
Duke of Bavaria
Duke of Hannover****
Archbishop of Salzburg
Duke of Württemberg
Margrave of Baden
Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel
Archchancellor of Germany
Archchancellor of Gaul
Archchancellor of Burgundy
Imperial Cup-Bearer
Archmarshal of the Empire
Archchamberlain of the Empire
Archseneschal of the Empire***
Archseneschal of the Empire***
Archtreasurer of the Empire***
-
-
-
-
1263-1806
1263-1806
1263-1806
1263-1806
1263-1806
1263-1806
1263-1623, 1648-1806
1623-1777***
1692-1806
1803-1806
1803-1806
1803-1806
1803-1866

**** To the Archdukes of Austria from 1526 (who had been nearly always Holy Roman Emperors themselves, from 1440).

**** Dukes of Prussia from 1618, Kings of Prussia from 1701.

**** Count Palatine was Archseneschal (or Archsteward) to 1623, then 1706-1714. Bavaria held that office 1623-1706, 1714-1806. Bavaria was inherited by the Count Palatine in 1777, who thereafter was Duke, and held both votes. Count Palatine was Archtreasurer 1648-1706, 1714-1777, Hannover held that office 1710-1714, 1777-1806.

**** Kings of Great Britain and Ireland from 1714.



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