Reichsidee and Reichstag in the Phase of Immerwährender Reichstag in Regensburg (1663–1806)

Abstract

After the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, concluded with the Peace of Westphalia, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation entered a new phase of its existence. From 1663 to 1806, its central governing body became the so-called Perpetual Diet of the Empire (Immerwährender Reichstag), a permanent assembly composed of the representatives of princes, of bishops, of free imperial cities, and of other Imperial Estates (Reichsstände). Based in Regensburg, this body functioned without interruption for more than 140 years, serving as a forum for negotiations, dispute resolution, and the coordination of policies within the territorially fragmented Empire.

The Peace of Westphalia not only brought an end to the long and devastating conflict between the Catholic League and the Protestant Union but it also cemented the religious and political division of the Empire. Internal disputes gave way to a system of balance between confessions, while the imperial authority was curtailed in favour of the autonomy of individual principalities, of electorates, and of free cities. From the medieval idea of the Empire (Reichsidee) – as a universal Christian empire – there remained primarily the symbolic authority of the emperor, grounded in tradition and ceremonial, yet diminished in the sphere of practical politics.

Participants in the political life of the Empire primarily sought the preservation of peace, the protection of their estate rights, and economic security. For some, the idea of the Empire still signified a cultural and legal community rooted in the heritage of the Roman Empire; for others, it was more a mechanism for maintaining the balance of power and for safeguarding autonomy against external interference. Thus, in the period after 1648, the Holy Roman Empire evolved into a federal, multi-confessional, and multi-ethnic structure, enduring until its dissolution in 1806 under the impact of the Napoleonic Wars.