Elector of Mainz

The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and held significant influence as both Archbishop of Mainz and ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz during the Middle Ages. The Elector served as president of the electoral college, archchancellor of the empire, and Primate of Germany until the empire's dissolution in 1806. The title originated in 747 when Mainz became an archbishopric, and notable figures like Hatto I, Adalbert of Mainz, and Albert of Brandenburg shaped its history. The Electorate covered about 3,200 square miles by the end of the empire. The Archbishop of Mainz was a key ecclesiastical and secular leader, holding the title of primas Germaniae and presiding over the electoral college from 1263 until 1803. The archbishopric included lands near Mainz on both sides of the Rhine, as well as territories in Lower Saxony, Thuringia, and around Frankfurt. The see was established in Roman times but gained prominence when elevated to an archdiocese in 780-782. Boniface's accession in 747 further enhanced its importance. By 1803, due to secularization, the Electorate lost territories to France, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau princes, and Prussia. The last elector, Karl Theodor von Dalberg, retained Aschaffenburg, which became part of his Grand Duchy of Frankfurt after the empire's dissolution in 1806. After Dalberg's resignation in 1813, his territories were divided among Bavaria, Hesse, Hesse-Darmstadt, and the Free City of Frankfurt by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The modern Diocese of Mainz was established in 1802 under French ...