page_title: Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg
section_title: Reformation period
hierarchical_section_title: Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg / Reformation period
caption_attribution_description: Diet of Augsburg by Christian Beyer Augsburger Reichstag gemeinfrei Holzschnitt aus dem 16.Jahrhundert in Nürnberg: Kanzler Dr.Christian Beyer verliest vor Karl V die "Confessio Augustana" von Phillipp Melanchton
context_page_description: The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, and belonged to the Swabian Circle. It should not be confused with the larger diocese of Augsburg, over which the prince-bishop exercised only spiritual authority.
  The city of Augsburg proper, after it gained free imperial status, was a separate entity and constitutionally and politically independent of the prince-bishopric of the same name. The prince-bishopric covered some 2365 km² and had approximately 100,000 inhabitants at the time it was annexed to Bavaria in the course of the German mediatization.
context_section_description: The Reformation brought disaster on the Diocese of Augsburg, which extended well beyond the territory of the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg and over which the Bishop exercised only spiritual authority. It included 1,050 parishes with more than 500,000 inhabitants. Besides the cathedral chapter, it could boast eight collegiate foundations, forty-six monasteries for men, and thirty-eight convents for women. Luther, who was summoned to vindicate himself in the presence of the papal legate before the Imperial Diet at Augsburg (1518), found enthusiastic adherents in this diocese among both the secular and regular clergy, but especially among the Carmelites, in whose convent of St. Anne he dwelt; he also found favor among the city councillors, burghers, and tradesmen. Bishop Christoph von Stadion (1517–43) did all in his power to arrest the spread of the now teachings; he called learned men to the pulpit of the cathedral, among others Urbanus Rhegius, who, however, soon went over to Martin Luther; he convened a synod at Dillingen, at which it was forbidden to read Luther's writings; he promulgated throughout his diocese the Bull of Pope Leo X (1520) against Luther; he forbade the Carmelites, who were spreading the new doctrine, to preach; he warned the magistrates of Augsburg, Memmingen, and other places not to tolerate the reformers, and he adopted other similar measures.
  Despite all this, the followers of Luther obtained the upper hand in the city council, which was facilitated by the fact that Augsburg, being a Free Imperial City, was totally independent of the Prince-Bishop. By 1524, various Catholic ecclesiastical usages, notably the observance of fast days, had been abolished in Augsburg. The apostate priests, many of whom, after Luther's example, had taken wives, were supported by the city council, and the Catholics were denied the right of preaching. During the German Peasants' War, many monasteries, institutions, and castles were destroyed.
  Between 1524 and 1573, there was a significant Anabaptist presence in Augsburg. It was the venue for the Martyrs' Synod in late August 1527, an international meeting of representatives from various Anabaptist groups. A majority of the participants died as martyrs for their witness within a short time.
  At the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, at which the so-called Confessio Augustana was delivered to the emperor in the chapel of the episcopal palace, the emperor issued an edict according to which all innovations were to be abolished, and Catholics reinstated in their rights and property.
  The city council however, set itself up in opposition, recalled (1531) the Protestant preachers who had been expatriated, suppressed Catholic services in all churches except the cathedral (1534), and in 1537 joined the Schmalkaldic League. At the beginning of this year a decree of the council was made, forbidding everywhere the celebration of Mass, preaching, and all ecclesiastical ceremonies, and giving to the Catholic clergy the alternative of enrolling themselves anew as citizens or leaving the city. An overwhelming majority of both secular and regular clergy chose banishment; the bishop withdrew with the cathedral chapter to Dillingen, whence he addressed to the pope and the emperor an appeal for the redress of his grievances. In the city of Augsburg the Catholic churches were seized by Lutheran and Zwinglian preachers; at the command of the council pictures were removed, and at the instigation of Bucer and others a disgraceful storm of popular iconoclasm followed, resulting in the destruction of many splendid monuments of art and antiquity.
  The greatest intolerance was exercised towards the Catholics who had remained in the Free Imperial City; their schools were dissolved; parents were compelled to send their children to Lutheran institutions; it was even forbidden to hear Mass outside the city under severe penalties. Under Otto Truchsess von Waldburg (1543æ73) the first signs of improvement were noted in the attitude towards Catholics. At the outbreak of hostilities (1546) between the emperor and the S
caption: Reading of the Confessio Augustana by Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg, 1530
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