List of German Kings and Emperors
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cs:Seznam panovníků Svaté říše římské da:Tyske kejsere de:Liste der Kaiser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches eo:Imperiestroj de la Sankta Romia Imperio es:Emperadores del Sacro Imperio fr:Liste des souverains du Saint-Empire it:Imperatori del Sacro Romano Impero nl:Keizers van het Heilige Roomse Rijk no:Liste over tyske konger og keisere pl:Cesarze niemieccy sv:Lista över Tysklands statsöverhuvuden fi:Luettelo Pyhän saksalais-roomalaisen valtakunnan hallitsijoista wa:Djivêye des Impreus do Sint Impire Romin Djermanike zh:神圣罗马帝国皇帝列表
The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents.
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Notes
The relationship between the title of "king" and "emperor" in the area that is today called Germany is just as complicated as the history and the structure of the Holy Roman Empire itself. The following remarks may or may not clarify things a little (for details, refer to the Holy Roman Empire article):
- The Holy Roman Empire (although only titled as such much later) started out as the eastern section of the Frankish kingdom, which was split by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 (while the western section eventually became France). The first rulers of the eastern area thus called themselves reges Francorum, kings of the Franks. A reference to the "Germans", indicating the emergence of a German nation of some sort, did not appear until the 11th century.
- For most of the time, at least until 1508, becoming king was a prerequisite for becoming emperor. The kingdom was never entirely hereditary; instead, ancestry was only one of the factors that determined the succession of kings. The king was formally elected by the leading nobilty in the realm, continuing the Frankish tradition. With the Golden Bull of 1356, a collegiate of Electors was formally established which elected the king. Following an election, a King did not assume the title "Holy Roman Emperor" until crowned by the Pope.
- In 1508 Maximilian I, who had not yet been crowned by the Pope, announced that henceforth he would use the title of "Emperor-Elect", which was used by all succeeding emperors. His successor, Charles V, was the last emperor to be crowned by the Pope - henceforth, all Holy Roman Emperors were merely "Emperors-Elect," although they were normally referred to as "the Emperor." At the same time, the chosen successors of the Habsburg emperors began to be elected as "King of the Romans" during their father's lifetime.
Conrad I
With the death of the last Carolingian king of East Francia, Louis the Child, the East Frankish nobles elected a replacement. Conrad came from a family as old as the Carolingians, and which had established substantial connections in East Francia.
- Conrad I, king 911-918
Ottonian (Saxon) Dynasty
- Henry I the Fowler, king 919-936
- Otto I the Great, king 936, emperor 962-973
- Otto II, emperor 973-983
- Otto III, king 983, emperor 996-1002
- Henry II, king 1002, emperor 1014-1024
Franconian Dynasty
- Conrad II, king 1024, emperor 1027-1039
- Henry III, king 1039, emperor 1046-1056
- Empress Agnes, regent 1056-1068
- Henry IV, king 1056, emperor 1084-1106
- Henry V, king 1106, emperor 1111-1125
Supplinburger
- Lothair II, king 1125, emperor 1133-1137
Staufen (or Hohenstaufen dynasty)
- Conrad III, king 1138-1152
- Frederick I Barbarossa, king 1152, emperor 1155-1190
- Henry VI, king 1190, emperor 1191-1197
- Philip of Swabia, king 1198-1208
Welfs (Guelphs)
- Otto IV of Brunswick, king 1208, emperor 1209-1215
Staufen (Hohenstaufen)
- Frederick II, king 1212, emperor 1220-1250
- Conrad IV, king 1250-1254
Interregnum
- Count William II of Holland, rival king 1247-1256
- Alfonso X of Castile, rival king 1257-1273
- Richard of Cornwall, rival king 1257-1272
Miscellaneous Houses
- Rudolph I of Habsburg, king 1273-1291
- Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg, king 1292-1298
- Albert I of Habsburg, king 1298-1308
- Henry VII of Luxemburg, king 1308, emperor 1312-1313
- Louis IV Wittelsbach, king 1314, emperor 1328-1347
- Frederick (III), co-regent 1314-1326
- Charles IV of Luxemburg, king 1347, emperor 1355-1378
- Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, king 1378-1400
- Ruprecht III Wittelsbach of Palatinate, king 1400-1410
- Sigismund of Luxemburg, king 1410, emperor 1433-1437
House of Habsburg
- Albert II of Habsburg, king 1438-1439
- Frederick III, king 1440, emperor 1452-1493
- Maximilian I, king 1486 (under his father), emperor-elect 1508-1519
- Charles V, emperor-elect 1519-1530, emperor 1530-1558
- Ferdinand I, king 1531, emperor 1558-1564
- Maximilian II, king 1562, emperor 1564-1576
- Rudolf II Habsburg, king 1575, emperor 1576-1612
- Matthias, emperor 1612-1619
- Ferdinand II, emperor 1619-1637
- Ferdinand III, king 1636, emperor 1637-1657
- Ferdinand IV, king 1653-1654
- Leopold I, emperor 1658-1705
- Joseph I, king 1690, emperor 1705-1711
- Charles VI, emperor 1711-1740
Interregnum (1740-1745)
House of Wittelsbach
- Charles VII Albert, antiemperor 1742-1745, and illegal King of Bohemia; he fought against Maria Theresa of Austria, to whom he should hold to her as Bavarian Prince-Elector.
Habsburg-Lorraine
- Francis I, emperor 1745-1765, the husband of Maria Theresa of Austria
- Joseph II, king 1761, emperor 1765-1790, the son of Maria Theresa of Austria
- Leopold II, emperor 1790-1792
- Francis II, emperor 1792-1806, after that Francis I of Austria
In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire collapsed under the military pressure from Napoleon I of France. From 1806 until the foundation of the 1871 German Empire, there was no single leader of a united German territory.
List of emperors of the German Empire
- Wilhelm I, emperor 1871-1888
- Friedrich III, emperor 1888
- Wilhelm II, emperor 1888-1918