Key Facts
- Duration
- Mid-12th century – 1802/1803
- Type
- Ecclesiastical principality (Hochstift)
- Diocese dissolved
- 1821
- Ecclesiastical province
- Mainz (from 780/782)
- Secularisation
- 1802–1803
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The Prince-Bishopric of Constance emerged as a formal principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the mid-12th century, around 1155, when the Bishop of Constance acquired the status of imperial prince. In this dual role, the prince-bishop held both secular authority over a small territory and ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the vast Diocese of Konstanz, one of the largest in the German-speaking world, stretching well beyond the principality's own boundaries.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, the prince-bishop exercised considerable influence by combining temporal governance of the principality with spiritual oversight of the Diocese of Konstanz, which had existed since approximately 585 AD. The diocese covered an extensive area of what is now southwestern Germany and Switzerland, placing the bishop among the prominent ecclesiastical princes of the Holy Roman Empire and linking the territory to the broader province of Mainz.
Phase III: Decline
The principality was secularised in 1802–1803 amid the Napoleonic reorganisation of German territories, which dissolved numerous ecclesiastical states across the Holy Roman Empire. The Diocese of Konstanz survived the principality but was itself eventually dissolved in 1821, ending over twelve centuries of continuous episcopal administration. The territory was absorbed into surrounding secular states, and the institutional framework of the prince-bishopric ceased entirely.