electorate · Germany and Central Europe

Electorate of Mainz

780 CE – 1803 CE (approx.) · capital Mainz

The most powerful church state of the Holy Roman Empire, whose archbishop was arch-chancellor of Germany and convened the elections of kings.

Origins

The see of Mainz was raised to an archbishopric around 780 to 782, building on the work of Saint Boniface, archbishop there from 746. Its province became the largest in Latin Christendom. Royal grants from the Ottonians onwards gave the archbishops temporal lordship over Mainz and scattered lands along the Main, the Rhine, in Hesse and the Eichsfeld.

Rule and society

From 965 the archbishop held the title of arch-chancellor of Germany, and the Golden Bull of 1356 confirmed him as first among the seven prince-electors, presiding over imperial elections. Mainz was governed by its cathedral chapter and archbishop. Gutenberg invented printing there in the 1450s, and the university was founded in 1477.

Decline and legacy

France occupied the left bank of the Rhine during the Revolutionary Wars, and the short-lived Republic of Mainz was proclaimed in 1793. The Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803 dissolved the electorate; its last elector, Karl Theodor von Dalberg, kept a state centred on Aschaffenburg and Regensburg.

Lineage

Imperial Abbey of Lorsch 764 CE – 1232 CEElectorate of MainzArchchancellor's Electorate 1803 CE – 1810 CE

Connections (4)

Electorate of Mainz was part of Carolingian Empire800 CE – 843 CE
Electorate of Mainz was part of East Francia843 CE – 962 CE
Electorate of Mainz was part of Holy Roman Empire962 CE – 1803 CE
Republic of Mainz split from Electorate of Mainz1793 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Electorate of Mainz. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/electorate-of-mainz
MLA: “Electorate of Mainz.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/electorate-of-mainz. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Electorate of Mainz.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/electorate-of-mainz.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Electorate of Mainz’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/electorate-of-mainz (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻