prince bishopric · Germany and Central Europe
Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück
Origins
Charlemagne founded the diocese of Osnabrück around 780 after his conquest of the Saxons. Its bishops acquired estates and comital rights between the Ems and the Weser, and in the 13th century, around 1225, they emerged as imperial princes ruling a consolidated territory free of the counts of Tecklenburg.
Rule and society
The cathedral chapter and estates held strong rights. Osnabrück and Münster hosted the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia. Under its terms the see alternated between a Catholic bishop and a Lutheran prince of the house of Brunswick-Lüneburg; Ernest Augustus, father of George I of Great Britain, and later Frederick, Duke of York, held it. The territory was known for linen and for the writer and statesman Justus Möser.
Decline and legacy
In 1803 the see was secularised and given to Hanover. After the Napoleonic interlude it remained Hanoverian until Prussia annexed the Kingdom of Hanover in 1866. The Catholic diocese continues.
Lineage
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- Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück was part of Holy Roman Empire1225 CE – 1803 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-osnabruck
- MLA
- “Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-osnabruck. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-osnabruck.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-osnabruck (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻