Conflicts & Resolutions · Treaty · Peace

Peace of Westphalia

1648 · 17th century · Part of the Thirty Years' War

The Peace of Westphalia was the series of treaties signed in 1648 that ended the Thirty Years' War. It recognised the right of the Holy Roman Empire's princes to conduct their own foreign policy and confirmed their power over religion in their territories. It gave the Swedish Empire territories in northern Germany, recognised Dutch independence from Spain, and helped shape the modern idea of territorial sovereignty.

Peace of Westphalia
Image: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 8 profiles

Holy Roman EmpireMilitary, ImpactSpanish EmpireDeclineSwedish EmpireFoundationKingdom of SwedenImpact, SummaryDuchy of PomeraniaDecline, SummaryMargraviate of BrandenburgImpactOld Swiss ConfederacySummaryHabsburg MonarchyMilitary

Mentioned in 37 state histories

Principality of HersfeldPrince-Bishopric of ToulKingdom of GermanyArchbishopric of MagdeburgPrince-Bishopric of MetzPrince-Bishopric of VerdunDuchy of PomeraniaPrince-Archbishopric of BremenPrince-Bishopric of VerdenPrince-Bishopric of SchwerinPrince-Bishopric of MünsterPrince-Bishopric of Halberstadtand 25 more

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Peace of Westphalia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peace-of-westphalia
MLA
“Peace of Westphalia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peace-of-westphalia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Peace of Westphalia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peace-of-westphalia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Peace of Westphalia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peace-of-westphalia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻