Archbishopric of Salzburg

The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire, consisting of roughly of the present-day state of Salzburg in Austria. It is the ancient Roman city of Iuvavum. When the Romans withdrew in Noricum, in the face of babarian invasion, the abbot-bishop St. Maximus, who was a disciple of St. Severin, was martyred. Soon after the bishopric was abandoned and was only restored when St. Ruprecht (called the Apostle of Bavaria and Carinthia) came to the region (the date of reestablishement is disputed: some say as soon as the Franks took over the region from the Bavarians in 698 or an earlier date of c. 543). The bishopric became an archbishopric in 798. From 1213 the archbishops assumed the title Prince representing their gain in secular power and territory.

Related Topics:
Holy Roman Empire - Salzburg - Austria - St. Ruprecht

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After the Protestant Reformation resulting in the secularization of the Archbishoprics of Bremen and Magdeburg, the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Archbishop of Besançon (whose territorial holdings were minuscule) were the only remaining Archbishops of the Holy Roman Empire who were not also electors.

Related Topics:
Bremen - Magdeburg - Besançon - Electors

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The most famous Archbishop was probably the last with princely authority, Hieronymus von Colloredo, who was an early patron of Salzburg native Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Related Topics:
Hieronymus von Colloredo - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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In 1803, the Archbishopric was secularized and made an Electorate for the former Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany (brother of Emperor Francis II), who had lost his throne. The territory was annexed to Austria in 1806, then to Bavaria in 1809, and finally returned to Austria at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Related Topics:
Tuscany - Emperor Francis II - Congress of Vienna - 1815

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The Archbishop of Salzburg also bears the title "Primas Germaniae" (which means "First of the Germans"). The powers of this title - which are in no way jurisdictional - are limited to being the pope's first correspondent in the German-speaking world.

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