Prince-Bishopric of Basel

Prince-Bishopric of Basel Fürstbistum Basel
1032–1803
Flag Coat of arms
The Prince-Bishopric in the 18th century
Status	Prince-Bishopric
Capital	Basel (to 1528) Porrentruy (to 1792) Schliengen
Common languages	Franc-Comtais, High Alemannic, Latin
Religion	Catholic Swiss Reformed Church (from early 16th century) Judaism (from late 12th century)
Government	Elective principality
Prince-Bishop
• 1032–1040	Ulrich II
• 1794–1803	Franz Xaver von Neveu
History
• Diocese established	740
• Elevated to     Prince-Bishopric	1032
• Joined     Upper Rhenish Circle	1495
• Swiss Reformation	1528
• Treaty of Campo Formio	1797
• Mediatised to Baden	1803
Currency	Rappen Basel thaler (1576–1798)
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Burgundy Mont-Terrible Margraviate of Baden

The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (German: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at Porrentruy, and thereafter at Schliengen. As an imperial estate, the prince-bishop had a seat and voting rights at the Imperial Diet. The final dissolution of the state occurred in 1803 as part of the German Mediatisation.

The Prince-Bishopric comprised territories now in the Swiss cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Jura, Solothurn and Bern, besides minor territories in nearby portions of southern Germany and eastern France. The city of Basel ceased to be part of the Prince-Bishopric after it joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501.