Formerly part of the Saxon stem duchy along with
Angria and
Eastphalia, the Westphalian lands were
Christianized by the
Cologne archbishops at the behest of the Frankish ruler
Charlemagne upon his conquests in the
Saxon Wars. First parishes were established east of the
Rhenish estates around Soest, where the archbishops extended their
episcopal territory. Numerous monastery foundations, like
Grafschaft Abbey in 1072 by
Anno II of Cologne, stabilized the ecclesiastical rule.
Creation of the duchy (1102–1180) In the fierce
Investiture Controversy, Archbishop
Frederick I of Cologne in 1102 had occupied and seized half of the territory held by the Westphalian counts of
Arnsberg, supporters of Emperor
Henry IV. The other counties of the region could not resist the encroachment of the mighty Archbishopric, and soon after the counties of
Werl,
Rüthen and Volmarstein (near
Wetter) followed. The former counts of Werl created a new county known as Werl-Arnsberg, and managed to keep their smaller and smaller territory independent of the Archbishops until they finally sold in 1368. After the rebellious Saxon duke
Henry the Lion was defeated in 1180, Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa presented the Archbishop of Cologne,
Philip of Heinsberg with these territories and the southwest of the former Duchy of Saxony as the 'Duchy of Westphalia'.
Expansion (1180–1445) Engelbert of Berg, archbishop of Cologne from 1220, began a campaign to force the nobility in Westphalia into submission and to extract from them the stewardship of the various scattered church lands. Engelbert managed to connect the lands of the duchy by annexing the territory from
Hellweg to
Diemel, and secured the south of the
Sauerland at
Attendorn in 1222. Further controversy of its expansion eventually leads to Engelbert's death at the hands of
Frederick I of Isenberg in 1225. In 1260 by an agreement with the Dukes of
Brunswick the
Weser River became the official border of their spheres of influence. In 1277 the archbishops managed to defeat a large confederation of Westphalian and Lower Rhenish opponents, but further action in 1288 forced the archbishops to abandon intentions on much of the greater territory of Westphalia. The purchase and annexation of Werl-Arnsberg in 1368 united the territories of the north and south of the Sauerland. Archbishop
Frederick von Saarwerden began a hopeless campaign to maintain Colognian rights in
Marck, and in 1392 was forced to abandon them. His successor,
Dietrich II of Moers witnessed the last attempts by Cologne to gain rulership in Westphalia by attempting to break the powerful positions of
Cleves and
Marck. The financial burden placed upon the knights and cities of the Duchy of Westphalia led them into union in 1437. Cologne made peace with Cleves in 1441: this led
Soest, the richest town of Westphalia, to refuse recognising Colognian supremacy in 1444 in the
Soest Feud, that lasted until 1449. Soest had become a part of the
Duchy of Cleves. Thereafter the town of
Arnsberg became the administrative capital of Westphalia. Economically the loss of Soest had weakened the duchy. Especially as the surroundings of the town were very fertile and the grain was needed for the mountainous regions in the South. Peace with Marck was made in 1445 which witnessed territorial concessions from both sides.
Westphalia until the end of the Empire (1445–1806) After the
Soest Feud, the city of Soest remained part of the Duchy of Cleves. Starting from 1463, the league of knights and cities in Westphalia began a long and bitter struggle against the archbishops. During the reign of Archbishop
Herman V of Wied (1515–1546), the
Reformation arrived in Westphalia. Eventually the Reformation was suppressed, but during the reign of Archbishop
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg (1577–1583) the Reformation returned and he was forced to attend to Westphalia in 1582 where several knights and cities had adopted the new doctrine. The newly elected Archbishop
Ernest of Bavaria (1583–1612) and his brother
Ferdinand of Bavaria managed to regain the duchy for the archbishopric at the beginning of the
Cologne War in 1583, and Protestantism survived only on the border region of
Waldeck and
Hesse. The Duchy of Westphalia was again confirmed as integral territory of the archbishopric in 1590. Like most other territories of Germany, Westphalia suffered during the
Thirty Years' War. In 1794 the archbishops relocated to Westphalia after the French had annexed the territories west of the
Rhine River. In the
secularisation of 1803 the Duchy of Westphalia became part of
Hesse-Darmstadt.
After the Empire (1806–1815) In 1807 the
Kingdom of Westphalia was created although it did not include the Duchy and had its capital in Hesse at
Kassel. In 1815 the
Congress of Vienna awarded the Duchy of Westphalia to
Prussia in exchange for important lands west of the Rhine, and the Duchy was incorporated into the
Province of Westphalia the same year. ==Sources==