Imperial Circle Estates
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In 1495, the Holy Roman Empire was divided into Imperial Circles (in German: Reichskreise). This act was part of the Reichsreform (Imperial Reform) concluded at the Reichstag at Worms.
Initially, there were six Reichskreise; the number was raised to ten in 1512.
Each circle was organized so that the states in a different region of the Empire would be able to organize a common defense. The Imperial Circle Estates (Reichskreisstandschaft) were the assemblies of each Circle. This article will attempt to list the various states represented in each Imperial Circle Estate.
As of 1792, the Empire was divided into ten circles - Austrian, Bavarian, Burgundian, Franconian, Electoral Rhenish, Lower Rhenish-Westphalian, Lower Saxon, Upper Rhenish, Upper Saxon, and Swabian. However, some areas that were considered to be, at least theoretically, part of the empire - including the crownlands of Bohemia (Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia), and Northern Italy, were not included in any circle. The Imperial Knights, also, were not included in any of the Circle Estates, nor were certain other territories. Names in parentheses indicate the owner of these territories, as many different territorial units were frequently ruled by the same prince.
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Austrian Circle
- Archduke of Austria, etc.
- Bishop of Trent
- Bishop of Brixen
- Bishop of Chur
- Landkomtur in Austria (Teutonic Order)
- Trasp (Dietrichstein)
Bavarian Circle
Ecclesiastical Bench
- Archbishop of Salzburg
- Bishop of Regensburg
- Bishop of Passau
- Provost of Berchtesgaden
- Abbot of St. Emmeran in Regensburg
- Abbess of Niedermünster in Regensburg
- Abbess of Obermünster in Regensburg
Secular Bench
- Sternstein (Lobkowicz)
- Haag (Bavaria)
- Staufenehrenfels (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Ortenburg
- Bavaria
- Palatinate-Neuburg (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Palatinate-Sulzbach (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Leuchtenberg (Bavaria)
- Obersulzbürg and Pyrbaum (Bavaria)
- Hohen-waldeck (Bavaria)
- Breiteneck (Bavaria)
- Regensburg (free city)
Burgundian Circle
Franconian Circle
Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes
- Bishop of Bamberg
- Bishop of Würzburg
- Bishop of Eichstätt
- Mergentheim (Grand Master of the Teutonic Order)
Bench of the Secular Princes
- Brandenburg-Bayreuth (Prussia/Ansbach)
- Brandenburg-Ansbach (Prussia)
- Henneberg-Schleusingen (Electoral Saxony)
- Henneberg-Römhild (Ernestine Saxon lines)
- Henneberg-Schmalkalden (Hesse-Kassel)
- Schwarzenberg
- Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort
- Hohenlohe-Waldenburg
The Bench of Counts and Lords
- Hohenlohe-Neuenstein
- Castell
- Wertheim (Löwenstein)
- Rieneck (Nostitz)
- Erbach
- Limpurg-Gaildorf (Prussia and Württemberg)
- Limpurg-Speckfeld
- Seinsheim (Schwarzenberg)
- Reichelsberg (Schönborn)
- Weisentheid (Schönborn)
- Welzheim (Württemberg)
- Hausen (Prussia/Ansbach)
The Bench of Cities
- Nuremberg
- Rothenburg
- Windsheim
- Schweinfurt
- Weissenburg-im-Nordgau
Electoral Rhenish Circle
- Archbishop-Elector of Mainz
- Archbishop-Elector of Trier
- Archbishop-Elector of Cologne
- Palatinate
- Arenberg
- Thurn und Taxis
- Landkomtur in Koblenz (Teutonic Order)
- Beilstein (Nassau-Dillenburg)
- Nieder-Isenburg (Archbishop of Trier)
- Rheineck (Sinzendorf)
Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle
- Bishop of Münster
- Duchy of Cleves, County of Mark, Lordship of Ravensberg (Prussia)
- Duchy of Jülich and Berg (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Bishop of Paderborn
- Bishop of Liège
- Bishop of Osnabrück
- Verden (Hanover)
- Minden (Prussia)
- Abbot of Corvey
- Abbot of Stablo and Malmedey
- Abbot of Werden
- Abbot of Kornelismünster
- Abbess of Essen
- Abbess of Thorn
- Abbess of Herford
- Nassau-Hadamar (Nassau-Dillenburg)
- Nassau-Dillenburg
- East Friesland (Prussia)
- Mörs (Prussia)
- Oldenburg (Holstein-Gottorp)
- Delmenhorst (Holstein-Gottorp)
- Wied
- Sayn (Prussia/Ansbach)
- Schaumburg-Hesse (Hesse-Kassel)
- Schaumburg-Lippe
- Lippe
- Bentheim
- Steinfurt (Bentheim-Steinfurt)
- Tecklenburg and Lingen (Prussia)
- Hoya (Hanover)
- Virneburg (Löwenstein)
- Diepholz (Hanover)
- Spiegelberg (Hanover)
- Rietberg (Kaunitz)
- Pyrmont (Waldeck)
- Gronsfeld (Törring-Jettenbach)
- Reckheim (Aspremont-Linden)
- Anholt (Salm)
- Winnenburg and Beilstein (Metternich)
- Holzappel (Anhalt-Bernburg-Hoym)
- Witten, Eyss (Plettenberg)
- Blankenheim and Geroldstein (Manderscheid/Sternberg)
- Gehmen (Limburg-Styrum)
- Gimborn and Neustadt (Wallmoden)
- Wyckradt (Quadt)
- Mylendonk (Ostein)
- Reichenstein (Nesselrode)
- Kerpen and Lommersum (Schäsberg)
- Schleiden (Mark/Prussia)
- Hallermund (Platen)
- Fagnolles (Ligne)
- Cologne (free city)
- Aachen (free city)
- Dortmund (free city)
Lower Saxon Circle
- Halberstadt (Prussia)
- Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
- Mecklenburg-Güstrow (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- Magdeburg (Prussia)
- Bremen (Hanover)
- Brunswick-Celle (Hanover)
- Brunswick-Grubenhagen (Hanover)
- Brunswick-Calenberg (Hanover)
- Holstein-Glückstadt (Denmark)
- Holstein-Gottorp (Denmark - the House of Holstein-Gottorp ruled independently in Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, having traded Gottorp itself to Denmark in 1772)
- Bishop of Hildesheim
- Saxe-Lauenburg (Hanover)
- Bishop of Lübeck
- Schwerin (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
- Ratzeburg (Mecklenburg-Strelitz)
- Blankenburg (Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel)
- Rantzau (Denmark)
- Lübeck (free city)
- Goslar (free city)
- Mühlhausen (free city)
- Hamburg (free city)
- Bremen (free city)
- Nordhausen (free city)
Upper Rhenish Circle
Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes
- Bishop of Basel
- Bishop of Fulda
- Heitersheim (Order of St.John of Malta)
- Abbot of Prüm (Archbishop of Trier)
- Bishop of Worms
- Bishop of Speyer
- Bishop of Strassburg
- Provost of Odenheim and Bruchsal (Bishop of Speyer)
Bench of the Secular Princes
- Palatinate-Simmern (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Palatinate-Kaiserslautern (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Palatinate-Veldenz and Lautereck (Bavaria/Palatinate)
- Palatinate-Zweibrücken
- Hesse-Kassel
- Hesse-Darmstadt
- Hersfeld (Hesse-Kassel)
- Sponheim (Baden)
- Nomény (Austria)
- Salm
- Nassau-Weilburg
- Nassau-Usingen
- Nassau-Idstein
- Nassau-Saarbrücken
- Nassau-Ottweiler
- Waldeck
- Solms-Braunfels
- Isenburg-Birstein
- Savoy
The Bench of Counts and Lords
- Hanau-Münzenberg (Hesse-Kassel)
- Hanau-Lichtenberg (Hesse-Darmstadt)
- Solms-Hohensolms
- Solms-Rödelheim
- Solms-Laubach
- Königstein (Archbishop of Mainz)
- Königstein (Stolberg-Wernigerode)
- Isenburg-Büdingen
- Isenburg-Wächtersbach
- Isenburg-Meerholz
- Grehweiler (Salm, Wild & -Rheingrafen)
- Grumbach (Salm, Wild & -Rheingrafen)
- Dhaun (Salm, Wild & -Rheingrafen)
- Leiningen-Dagsburg
- Leiningen-Westerburg
- Münzfelden (Archbishop of Trier and Nassau-Usingen)
- Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein
- Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
- Falkenstein (Austria)
- Reipoltskirchen (Hillesheim and Parkstein)
- Kriechingen (Wied-Runkel)
- Wartenberg
- Bretzenheim (Heydeck)
- Dachstuhl (Oettingen-Baldern)
- Ollbrück (Walbott of Bassenheim)
Bench of Cities
Upper Saxon Circle
- Electoral Saxony
- Brandenburg (Prussia)
- Saxe-Weimar
- Saxe-Eisenach (Saxe-Weimar)
- Saxe-Coburg
- Saxe-Gotha
- Saxe-Altenburg (Saxe-Gotha)
- Querfurt (Electoral Saxony)
- Hither Pomerania (Sweden)
- Further Pomerania (Prussia)
- Kammin (Prussia)
- Anhalt (divided into Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Zerbst, Anhalt-Bernburg, Anhalt-Köthen)
- Abbess of Quedlinburg
- Gernrode (Anhalt)
- Walkenried (Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel)
- Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
- Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
- Mansfeld
- Stolberg
- Barby (Electoral Saxony)
- Reuss
- Schönburg
- Hohenstein (Prussia)
Swabian Circle
Bench of the Ecclesiastical Princes
Bench of the Secular Princes
- Württemberg
- Baden-Baden (Baden)
- Baden-Durlach (Baden)
- Baden-Hochberg (Baden)
- Hohenzollern-Hechingen
- Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
- Abbess of Lindau
- Abbess of Buchau
- Tengen (Auersperg)
- Heiligenberg (Fürstenberg)
- Oettingen-Oettingen
- Klettgau (Schwarzenberg)
- Liechtenstein
- Scheer and Friedberg (Thurn und Taxis)
The Bench of Prelates
- Abbot of Ursperg
- Abbot of Elchingen
- Abbot of Irsee
- Abbot of Salmanweiler
- Abbot of Weingarten
- Abbot of Ochsenhausen
- Abbot of Kaisersheim
- Abbot of Roggenburg
- Abbot of Roth
- Abbot of Weissenau
- Abbot of Schussenried
- Abbot of Marchthal
- Abbot of Petershausen
- Abbot of Wettenhausen
- Abbot of Zwiefalten
- Abbot of Gengenbach
- Abbot of Neresheim
- Abbot of Hegbach
- Abbess of Guttenzell
- Abbess of Rothenmünster
- Abbess of Baindt
- Abbess of Söfflingen
- Abbot of St. Georg in Isny
The Bench of Counts and Lords
- Eglingen (Thurn und Taxis)
- Altshausen (Teutonic Order)
- Tettnang and Langenargen (Austria)
- Oettingen-Baldern
- Stühlingen and Hohen-höwen (Fürstenberg)
- Weisensteig (Bavaria)
- Baar (Fürstenberg)
- Kinzigerthal (Fürstenberg)
- Mösskirch (Fürstenberg)
- Oettingen-Wallerstein
- Waldburg-Zeil-Wurzach
- Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee
- Rothenfels and Stauffen (Königsegg-Rothenfels)
- Königsegg-Aulendorf
- Mindelheim and Schwabegg (Bavaria)
- Gundelfingen (Fürstenberg)
- Eberstein (Baden)
- Fugger (Line of Markus)
- Fugger (Line of Johann)
- Fugger (Line of Jakob)
- Hohenems (Austria)
- Justingen (Württemberg)
- Bondorf (Abbot of St. Blasien)
- Egloff (Abensberg-Traun)
- Tannhausen (Stadion)
- Hohengeroldseck (Leyen)
- Sickingen
The Bench of Cities