Prince-Bishopric of Basel
Prince-Bishopric of Basel Fürstbistum Basel | |||||||||||
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| 1032–1803 | |||||||||||
The Prince-Bishopric in the 18th century | |||||||||||
| Status | Prince-Bishopric | ||||||||||
| Capital |
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| Common languages | Franc-Comtais, High Alemannic, Latin | ||||||||||
| Religion | Catholic Swiss Reformed Church (from early 16th century) Judaism (from late 12th century) | ||||||||||
| Government | Elective principality | ||||||||||
| Prince-Bishop | |||||||||||
• 1032–1040 | Ulrich II | ||||||||||
• 1794–1803 | Franz Xaver von Neveu | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Diocese established | 740 | ||||||||||
• Elevated to Prince-Bishopric | 1032 | ||||||||||
| 1495 | |||||||||||
| 1528 | |||||||||||
| 1797 | |||||||||||
• Mediatised to Baden | 1803 | ||||||||||
| Currency | Rappen Basel thaler (1576–1798) | ||||||||||
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The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (German: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at Porrentruy, and thereafter at Schliengen. As an imperial estate, the prince-bishop had a seat and voting rights at the Imperial Diet. The final dissolution of the state occurred in 1803 as part of the German Mediatisation.
The Prince-Bishopric comprised territories now in the Swiss cantons of Basel-Landschaft, Jura, Solothurn and Bern, besides minor territories in nearby portions of southern Germany and eastern France. The city of Basel ceased to be part of the Prince-Bishopric after it joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1501.