kingdom · Germany and Central Europe

Kingdom of Germany

962 CE – 1806 CE

The German kingdom at the heart of the Holy Roman Empire, an elective monarchy whose kings claimed the imperial crown for more than eight centuries.

Origins

The kingdom grew out of East Francia. Its kings, from Henry the Fowler in 919, were elected by the great nobles. When Otto I was crowned emperor in Rome in 962, the German crown became joined with the imperial title and with kingship of Italy and later Burgundy, a link that defined the Holy Roman Empire.

Rule and society

German kings were elected, from 1356 by the seven prince-electors under the Golden Bull, and crowned at Aachen. Royal power weakened during the Investiture Controversy and after the fall of the Hohenstaufen, while princes, bishops and free cities gained autonomy. From 1438 the Habsburgs held the crown almost without break, governing with the Imperial Diet.

Decline and legacy

The Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, ended by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, left Germany a federation of nearly sovereign states. Under Napoleonic pressure, Francis II abdicated on 6 August 1806, dissolving the Empire and the German kingdom with it.

Lineage

East Francia 843 CE – 962 CEKingdom of Germany

Connections (1)

More states of Germany and Central Europe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Germany. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-germany
MLA
“Kingdom of Germany.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-germany. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Germany.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-germany.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Germany’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-germany (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻