Prince-Bishopric of Speyer
Prince-Bishopric of Speyer | |||||||||||
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| 888–1803 | |||||||||||
Coat of arms
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The Prince-Bishopric of Speyer circa 1700 | |||||||||||
| Status | Prince-Bishopric | ||||||||||
| Capital | Speyer (to 1379) Udenheim2 (1379–1723) Bruchsal (from 1723) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Rhine Franconian, South Franconian | ||||||||||
| Government | Ecclesiastical principality | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | 3rd or 4th century | ||||||||||
• Gained territory | 888 | ||||||||||
| 1294 | |||||||||||
• Lost territory to France | 1681–97 | ||||||||||
| 1801–03 1803 | |||||||||||
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The Prince-Bishopric of Speyer, formerly known as Spires in English, (German: Hochstift Speyer, Fürstbistum Speyer, Bistum Speyer) was an ecclesiastical principality in what are today the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg. It was secularized in 1803. The prince-bishop resided in Speyer, a Free Imperial City, until the 14th century, when he moved his residence to Uddenheim (Philippsburg), then in 1723 to Bruchsal. There was a tense relationship between successive prince-bishops, who were Roman Catholic, and the civic authorities of the Free City, officially Protestant since the Reformation. The prince-provostry of Wissemburg in Alsace was ruled by the prince-bishop of Speyer in a personal union.