Diocese of Havelberg

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Diocese of Havelberg
Coat of arms of the diocese of Havelberg

The Diocese of Havelberg was allegedly in 948 by King Otto I founded. As a suffragan diocese, it was under the Archdiocese of Magdeburg . The territory of the bishopric was captured by the Electorate of Brandenburg in 1571 after the secularization .

history

Statue of Bishop Johann Wöpelitz (term of office 1385–1401) in the Wunderblutkirche in Bad Wilsnack

With a victory in the Battle of Lenzen , about 50 kilometers down the Elbe from Havelberg , Heinrich I (Eastern Franconia) made an important advance into the territory of the Slavic tribes in 929 . Heinrich's son Otto I continued the conquest of East Elbe territories and founded the dioceses of Havelberg and Brandenburg to evangelize the local population. The founding of the diocese is also the first mention of Havelberg. As early as 983, an uprising of Slavic groups broke out in the region, in the course of which the bishopric of Havelberg was conquered, so that the sphere of influence of the German kings was pushed back to the west side of the Elbe. Another period of Slavic rule followed in Havelberg.

High and late Middle Ages

The Archbishop of Magdeburg, Norbert von Xanten , consecrated a bishop for Havelberg in 1129, the still famous Anselm von Havelberg , later Archbishop of Ravenna . In 1150 Anselm founded a cathedral chapter consisting of Premonstratensians for his diocese . As early as 1151 the bishopric's property was separated from that of the bishop . The chapter belonged to the Saxon circari of the Premonstratensian order. The cathedral provost was also archdeacon for Havelberg. Of the 20 to 30 canons, half to two thirds were of aristocratic descent, but the trend was rising.

The spiritual structure of the diocese continued into the 13th century. The nine archdeaconates were called Propsteien in the diocese of Havelberg . The episcopal sovereignty in the bishopric was divided into four offices. These included the areas around Wittstock and Dossow (Wittstock office with 17 villages), Bad Wilsnack and the Plattenburg ( Plattenburg office with ten villages), Schönhausen and Fischbeck (Schönhausen office with these two places) and Fehrbellin (Bellin office with three villages).

The most important place of pilgrimage of the diocese was Wilsnack in the Prignitz with its miracle blood church . The blood miracle hosts , which had been controversial since Jan Hus (around 1403), led to constant disputes between the Suffragan diocese and the Archdiocese of Magdeburg .

Reformation and Secularization

In 1506 the bishop and chapter applied for a transmutation (conversion) of the cathedral chapter so that it became a secular canon monastery . In 1514 the elector of Brandenburg was given the right to appoint the provost of the cathedral. In 1522 the chapter committed itself not to elect a bishop without the consent of the elector.

As part of a visit from Martin Luther , the diocese was reformed between 1540 and 1545 . In the following years the cathedral chapter elected exclusively sons of the Electors of Brandenburg to be bishops. In 1571 the diocese was secularized ; the territory of the bishopric was annexed by the electorate of Brandenburg.

In the course of secularization, the Protestant cathedral monastery was dissolved in 1819.

residence

Near Havelberg the bishops resided on the Plattenburg near Wilsnack, but preferred the old bishop's castle in the easily accessible and well fortified town of Wittstock from 1271 until the death of the last Catholic bishop of Havelberg in 1548 ; Wittstock with its Marienkirche became the actual residence of the bishop, while life in Havelberg was determined by the cathedral chapter that remained there .

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. see: forged deed of foundation of the diocese of Havelberg
  2. Jürgen Schrader: The Patch Calvörde - A 1200-year history. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2011, p. 54