Electorate of Trier

Electorate of Trier
Kurfürstentum Trier (German)
Électorat de Trèves (French)
898–1801
Flag of Trier
Flag
Coat of arms of Trier
Coat of arms
The Electorate of Trier in 1720
The Electorate of Trier in 1720
StatusState of the Holy Roman Empire
CapitalTrier, Ehrenbreitstein
Common languages
Religion
Catholic Church
GovernmentPrince-Bishopric
Elector of Trier 
• 1768–1803
Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony
Historical era
• Autonomy granted
772
898
• Raised to electorate
between 1189 and 1212
1212
1512
9 February 1801
9 June 1815
Preceded by
Succeeded by
County Palatine of the Rhine
Rhin-et-Moselle
Sarre (department)
Nassau-Weilburg
The Roman Bridge across the Moselle River
The Constantine Basilica in Trier (Aula Palatina)
Archdioceses of Central Europe, 1500
Map from the 18th century by Frederik de Wit

The Electorate of Trier (German: Kurfürstentum Trier or Kurtrier or Trèves) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince-archbishop of Trier (Erzbistum Trier) who was, ex officio, a prince-elector of the empire. The other ecclesiastical electors were the electors of Cologne and Mainz.

The capital of the electorate was Trier; from the 16th century onward, the main residence of the Elector was in Koblenz. The electorate was secularized in 1803 in the course of the German mediatisation.

The Elector of Trier, in his capacity as archbishop, also administered the Archdiocese of Trier, whose territory did not correspond to the electorate (see map below).


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