Middle ages Trier, as the important Roman provincial capital of '''', had been the seat of a bishop since Roman times. It was raised to archiepiscopal status during the reign of
Charlemagne, whose will mentions the bishoprics of
Metz,
Toul and
Verdun as its
suffragans. The bishops of Trier were already virtually independent territorial magnates during the
Merovingian dynasty. In 772, Charlemagne granted Bishop
Wiomad complete immunity from the jurisdiction of the ruling
count for all the churches and monasteries, as well as villages and castles that belonged to the Church of St. Peter at Trier. In 816
Louis the Pious confirmed to Archbishop
Hetto the privileges of protection and immunity granted by his father. At the partition of the
Carolingian empire at
Verdun in 843, Trier was given to Lothair; at the partition of
Lotharingia at Mersen in 870, it became part of the East Frankish kingdom, which developed into the
Kingdom of Germany. In 898, Archbishop
Radbod received complete immunity from all taxes for the entire episcopal territory, granted by
Zwentibold, who was the natural son of Emperor
Arnulf of Carinthia, and who reigned briefly as King of Lotharingia. He was under great pressure from his independent nobles and desperately needed a powerful ally. The gift cemented the position of the archbishops as territorial lords in their own right. Following Zwentibold's assassination in 900, the handlers of the
child-king Louis courted Radbod in their turn, granting him the district and city of Trier outright, permission to impose
customs duties and the right to a
mint (as much a symbol of independent authority as an economic tool). From the court of
Charles the Simple, he obtained the final right of election of the Bishop of Trier by the chapter, free of Imperial interference.
Early modern In early modern times, the Electorate of Trier still encompassed territory along the river
Moselle between Trier, near the French border, and
Koblenz on the
Rhine. From the early 13th century the Archbishop of Trier, as the holder of an imperial office was traditionally an Imperial
Elector of the German king. The purely honorary office of
Arch-chancellor of Gaul arose in the 13th century. In this context, that was taken to mean the
Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, technically from 1242 and permanently from 1263, and nominally until 1803. Arles along with
Germany and the
medieval Kingdom of Italy was one of the three component kingdoms of the
Holy Roman Empire. In 1473, Emperor
Frederick III and
Charles the Bold, Duke of
Burgundy held a meeting in Trier. In this same year, the
University of Trier was founded in the city. A session of the '''' was held in Trier in 1512, during which the demarcation of the
Imperial Circles was definitively established. Between 1581 and 1593, the
Trier witch trials gravely affected the entire territory; it was one of the first mass witch trials of the Holy Roman Empire, and resulted in the death of hundreds of people. In the 17th century, the Archbishops and Prince-Electors of Trier relocated their residences to
Philippsburg Castle in , near
Koblenz. During the
Thirty Years' War, Archbishop-Elector
Philipp Christoph von Sötern supported
France against the
Habsburgs, leading to a rivalry between French and Spanish troops about the strategic cities and fortresses of the Electorate. In 1630, the city of Trier opened its gates to Spanish troops to defend its rights against the absolutist Elector. French troops captured the city in 1632 to help Sötern. In return, they were allowed to install garrisons there and in the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. Spanish troops retook Trier by surprise in 1635 and imprisoned Sötern. During his absence, the cathedral chapter took over administration of the archbishopric. Imperial troops dispelled the French garrison of Ehrenbreitstein in 1637 and occupied the place until the end of the war. The archbishop was released from captivity in 1645 because of French demands in
Westphalia. Warfare returned to the Electorate in 1673 during the
Franco-Dutch War, when the
French Army occupied Trier and stayed until 1675. They heavily fortified the city and destroyed all churches, abbeys and settlements in front of the city walls. In 1684, with the
War of the Reunions, an era of French expansion began. Trier was again captured in 1684; all walls and fortresses were destroyed this time. After Trier and its associated electorate were yet again taken during the
War of Palatinate Succession in 1688, many cities in the electorate were systematically destroyed in 1689 by the French Army. Nearly all castles were blown up and the only bridge across the
Moselle in Trier was burnt. King
Louis XIV of France personally issued the order for these acts of destruction. As the French Army retreated in 1698, it left a starving city without walls and only 2,500 inhabitants. During the
War of the Spanish Succession in 1702, Trier was occupied again by a French army. In 1704–05, an allied
Anglo-
Dutch army commanded by the
Duke of Marlborough passed Trier on its way to France. When the campaign failed, the French came back to Trier in 1705 and stayed until 1714. After a short period of peace, the
War of the Polish Succession started in 1734; the following year Trier was again occupied by the French, who stayed until 1737. The last Prince-Elector,
Clement Wenceslaus of Saxony, relocated to Koblenz in 1786. In August 1794, French Republican troops took Trier. This date marked the end of the era of the old electorate. Churches, abbeys and clerical possessions were sold or the buildings put to secular use, such as stables. The last elector, Clemens Wenceslaus, resided exclusively in Koblenz after 1786. From 1795, the territories of the Electorate on the left bank of the Rhine were under French occupation; in 1801, they were annexed and a separate French-controlled diocese established under Bishop
Charles Mannay. In 1803, the French diocese assumed control of the whole diocese and what was left of the electoral territory on the eastern bank of the Rhine was secularized and annexed by
Nassau-Weilburg in 1803. ==Residential Landscape==