Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht

Origins

Utrecht had been the seat of Willibrord's mission to the Frisians since the late 7th century. In the early 11th century the German kings granted Bishop Adalbold and his successors counties and secular rights, including lands in Drenthe and along the IJssel, turning the see into a principality of the Holy Roman Empire.

Rule and society

The territory had two parts: the Nedersticht around Utrecht and the Oversticht, today Overijssel and Drenthe. Utrecht was an imperial favourite, where Conrad II and Henry V died. The bishops were elected by chapters but often imposed by neighbours: David of Burgundy, son of Philip the Good, held the see from 1456. Towns such as Deventer and Kampen grew rich in the Hanseatic trade.

Decline and legacy

Weakened by wars with Holland and the Duchy of Guelders, Bishop Henry of Bavaria transferred his temporal power to Charles V in 1528. The lands became the Lordship of Utrecht and Lordship of Overijssel in the Habsburg Netherlands.