duchy · Germany and Central Europe
Grand Duchy of Würzburg
Origins
The Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg was secularised in 1803 and given to Bavaria. Under the Peace of Pressburg in 1805, Bavaria handed it to Ferdinand III, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, in exchange for Salzburg, and it became the Electorate of Würzburg. Joining the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806, it was renamed a grand duchy.
Rule and society
Ferdinand, a brother of Emperor Francis I, governed from the great baroque Würzburg Residenz, keeping a cultured court and a largely Catholic administration. The state was obliged to supply troops for Napoleon's campaigns, including the invasion of Russia in 1812. Wine growing on the Main was central to its economy.
Decline and legacy
In 1814 Ferdinand recovered Tuscany, and Würzburg was returned to the Kingdom of Bavaria, becoming part of the province of Lower Franconia. Ferdinand's line, the Habsburg-Tuscany branch, ruled in Florence until 1859.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Grand Duchy of Würzburg was part of Confederation of the Rhine1806 CE – 1813 CE
More states of Germany and Central Europe →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Grand Duchy of Würzburg. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/grand-duchy-of-wurzburg
- MLA
- “Grand Duchy of Würzburg.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/grand-duchy-of-wurzburg. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Grand Duchy of Würzburg.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/grand-duchy-of-wurzburg.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Grand Duchy of Würzburg’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/grand-duchy-of-wurzburg (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻