page_title: Electorate of Cologne
hierarchical_section_title: Electorate of Cologne
caption_attribution_description: English: Cologne Cathedral, from Southeast (2007) Deutsch: Kölner Dom, Ansicht von Südosten (2007) Español: Catedral de Colonia, vista desde el Sureste (2007)
context_page_description: The Electorate of Cologne, sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift — the temporal possessions — of the Archbishop of Cologne and ruled by him in his capacity as prince-elector. There were only two other ecclesiastical prince-electors in the Empire: the Electorate of Mainz and the Electorate of Trier. The Archbishop-Elector of Cologne was also Arch-chancellor of Italy and, as such, ranked second among all ecclesiastical and secular princes of the Empire, after the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, and before that of Trier.
  The capital of the electorate was Cologne. Conflicts with the citizens of Cologne caused the Elector to move to Bonn. The Free Imperial City of Cologne was recognized after 1475, thus removing it from even the nominal secular authority of the Elector. Cologne and Bonn were occupied by France in 1794. The right bank territories of the Electorate were secularized in 1803 during the German mediatization.
context_section_description: The Electorate of Cologne (German: Kurfürstentum Köln), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (German: Kurköln), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift — the temporal possessions — of the Archbishop of Cologne and ruled by him in his capacity as prince-elector. There were only two other ecclesiastical prince-electors in the Empire: the Electorate of Mainz and the Electorate of Trier. The Archbishop-Elector of Cologne was also Arch-chancellor of Italy (one of the three component titular kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, the other two being Germany and Burgundy) and, as such, ranked second among all ecclesiastical and secular princes of the Empire, after the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz, and before that of Trier.
  The capital of the electorate was Cologne. Conflicts with the citizens of Cologne caused the Elector to move to Bonn. The Free Imperial City of Cologne was recognized after 1475, thus removing it from even the nominal secular authority of the Elector. Cologne and Bonn were occupied by France in 1794. The right bank territories of the Electorate were secularized in 1803 during the German mediatization.
  The Electorate should not be confused with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, which was larger and included suffragant bishoprics such as Liège and Münster over which the Elector-Archbishop exercised only spiritual authority (see map below).
caption: Cologne Cathedral
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