Prince-Bishopric of Brixen

Prince-Bishopric of Brixen
Hochstift Brixen (German)
Principato Vescovile di Bressanone (Italian)
1027–1803
Coat of arms of Brixen
Coat of arms
Ecclesiastical states of the Holy Roman Empire, 1648, with Brixen territories highlighted
Ecclesiastical states of the Holy Roman Empire, 1648, with Brixen territories highlighted
StatusPrince-Bishopric
CapitalBrixen
Common languagesSouthern Bavarian, Ladin
GovernmentPrince-Bishopric
Historical eraMiddle Ages
Early modern period
• Ingenuinus Bishop of Sabiona
579
• Gained Reichsfreiheit
1027
1179
• Joined Austrian Circle
1512
• Mediatised to Tyrol
1803
1814
CurrencyBrixen Thaler
Preceded by
Succeeded by
County of Norital
Duchy of Bavaria
County of Tyrol

The Prince-Bishopric of Brixen (German: Hochstift Brixen, Fürstbistum Brixen, Bistum Brixen) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the present-day northern Italian province of South Tyrol. It should not be confused with the larger Catholic diocese, over which the prince-bishops exercised only the ecclesiastical authority of an ordinary bishop. The bishopric in the Eisack/Isarco valley was established in the 6th century and gradually received more secular powers. It gained imperial immediacy in 1027 and remained an Imperial Estate until 1803, when it was secularised to Tyrol. The diocese, however, existed until 1964, and is now part of the Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen.


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