Holy Roman Empire: Timeline, Electors and How It Worked, 800/962-1806
The Holy Roman Empire from Charlemagne or Otto I to its dissolution on 6 August 1806: the timeline, the seven electors of the Golden Bull, how the emperor, Diet and territories worked, the Reformation and Thirty Years' War, and why it ended.
Last updated September 2026
Contents14
- The Holy Roman Empire at a glance
- Timeline of the Holy Roman Empire
- The dynasties of the Holy Roman Empire
- How the Holy Roman Empire was governed
- How an emperor was made
- The seven electors
- Emperors and popes
- The Reformation and the Thirty Years' War
- The empire and the Ottomans
- Free cities and trade
- The end of the Holy Roman Empire
- Famous emperors of the Holy Roman Empire
- Legacy
- Verdict: the Holy Roman Empire in brief
The Holy Roman Empire was one of the longest-lasting states in European history. For about 850 years it joined hundreds of kingdoms, duchies, church lands and free cities. At its head stood an emperor who claimed the heritage of ancient Rome. It was never a unified kingdom. By the end it was more a legal framework than a state.
This page gives the timeline and explains how the empire was run. It also sets out the disputed start date and the reasons it ended in 1806.
TL;DR: The Holy Roman Empire began with Otto I's crowning in 962, or with Charlemagne in 800. It ended on 6 August 1806. Seven prince-electors chose the emperor under the Golden Bull of 1356. The Habsburgs held the title almost without a break from 1438. The Reformation and the Thirty Years' War split it. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 left its princes largely free. Napoleon's victories brought its end.
The Holy Roman Empire at a glance
| Field | Record | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Start | 962 (Otto I) or 800 (Charlemagne) | Disputed |
| End | 6 August 1806, dissolved by Francis II | Reviewed |
| Ruler | An elected emperor; the "King of the Romans" before imperial coronation | Reviewed |
| Electors | Seven from the Golden Bull of 1356; later nine | Reviewed |
| Main dynasty | Habsburg, 1438-1740 and, as Habsburg-Lorraine, 1745-1806 | Reviewed |
| Core lands | Germany, Austria, Bohemia, the Low Countries, northern Italy | Reviewed |
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When the Holy Roman Empire began
Start date of the Holy Roman Empire, 800 or 962.
Status: Disputed Both dates are used by reliable sources.
Note: The World History Encyclopedia says the empire "officially lasted from 962 to 1806". It counts from Otto I's crowning in Rome on 2 February 962. Many historians start instead with Charlemagne's crowning by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800.
Later emperors saw themselves as his heirs. Between the two dates, the imperial title passed through Carolingian and Italian rulers. After 924 it lapsed entirely.
Sources: World History Encyclopedia, "Holy Roman Empire"; Britannica, "Holy Roman Empire: Coronation of Charlemagne as emperor".
Timeline of the Holy Roman Empire
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 800 | Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne emperor in Rome |
| 843 | Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian empire |
| 962 | Otto I, king of the Germans, crowned emperor in Rome |
| 1077 | Henry IV at Canossa during the Investiture Controversy |
| 1122 | Concordat of Worms settles the appointment of bishops |
| 1155 | Frederick I Barbarossa crowned emperor |
| 1250-1273 | Great Interregnum after the death of Frederick II |
| 1273 | Rudolf I becomes the first Habsburg king |
| 1356 | Charles IV's Golden Bull fixes seven electors |
| 1438 | Habsburg rule of the empire begins with Albert II |
| 1495 | Imperial reform at the Diet of Worms; Imperial Chamber Court founded |
| 1521 | Martin Luther before Charles V at the Diet of Worms |
| 1555 | Peace of Augsburg lets princes choose Lutheran or Catholic faith |
| 1618-1648 | Thirty Years' War |
| 1648 | Peace of Westphalia |
| 1683 | Ottoman siege of Vienna fails |
| 1803 | Reorganisation removes most church states and free cities |
| 1806 | Confederation of the Rhine formed in July; Francis II dissolves the empire on 6 August |
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The dynasties of the Holy Roman Empire
| Dynasty | Years (as kings and emperors) | Notable rulers |
|---|---|---|
| Ottonian (Saxon) | 919-1024 | Otto I, Otto III |
| Salian | 1024-1125 | Conrad II, Henry III, Henry IV |
| Supplinburg | 1125-1137 | Lothair III |
| Hohenstaufen (Staufer) | 1138-1254 | Frederick I Barbarossa, Frederick II |
| Several houses | 1273-1437 | Rudolf I (Habsburg), Henry VII and Charles IV (Luxembourg), Louis IV (Wittelsbach) |
| Habsburg | 1438-1740 | Maximilian I, Charles V, Leopold I |
| Wittelsbach | 1742-1745 | Charles VII |
| Habsburg-Lorraine | 1745-1806 | Francis I, Joseph II, Francis II |
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The World History Encyclopedia's timeline dates the Staufer dynasty from 1138 to 1254. It gives the Luxembourg dynasty 1347-1437 and the Habsburgs 1438-1806. Habsburg rule had only one break, in 1742-1745. Then the Elector of Bavaria reigned as Charles VII.
How the Holy Roman Empire was governed
For most of its history, the Holy Roman Empire had no single capital. It had no standing imperial army and no single tax system. Power was shared among several bodies.
- The emperor held the highest rank in Christendom after the Pope, led the empire in war and granted titles and privileges. His real power depended on his own family lands.
- The electors chose the King of the Romans, who became emperor.
- The Imperial Diet (Reichstag) brought together the electors, the other princes and the free cities. From 1663 it met permanently at Regensburg.
- The imperial courts, the Imperial Chamber Court from 1495 and the Aulic Council, settled disputes between members.
- The imperial circles, regional groupings created around 1500, organised defence and keeping the peace.
Below the emperor stood hundreds of lands: electorates, duchies, counties, church states, abbeys and free imperial cities. Each ran its own affairs.
How an emperor was made
Becoming emperor took two steps. First the electors chose a King of the Romans, usually at Frankfurt. He was crowned king, usually at Aachen.
Second, the Pope crowned him emperor, by custom in Rome. Some kings never made the trip to Rome, so they were never crowned emperor. From 1508 the elected ruler took the title of emperor without a papal crowning. After 1530 no pope crowned an emperor again.
The seven electors
| Elector | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of Mainz | Church | Reviewed |
| Archbishop of Cologne | Church | Reviewed |
| Archbishop of Trier | Church | Reviewed |
| King of Bohemia | Lay | Reviewed |
| Count Palatine of the Rhine | Lay | Reviewed |
| Duke of Saxony | Lay | Reviewed |
| Margrave of Brandenburg | Lay | Reviewed |
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Charles IV's Golden Bull of 1356 named these seven. It also set out how elections should be held. Bavaria gained an electoral vote during the Thirty Years' War. Hanover (Brunswick-Lüneburg) gained one at the end of the 1600s. Britannica's entry on the electors covers these changes.
Emperors and popes
For centuries the emperor's bond with the Pope shaped the empire. A German king became emperor only when the Pope crowned him. That drew emperors into Italian politics. The Investiture Controversy was a fight over who could appoint bishops.
In it, Pope Gregory VII cast out Henry IV, who did penance at Canossa in 1077. The Concordat of Worms in 1122 reached a compromise. Later, the Hohenstaufen emperors fought long wars with the popes and the cities of northern Italy. Frederick I and Frederick II led the fiercest of them.
The Reformation and the Thirty Years' War
The Reformation began inside the empire. Martin Luther published his theses in Wittenberg in 1517. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Emperor Charles V declared Luther an outlaw. But many princes protected him. After decades of conflict, the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 let each prince choose Lutheran or Catholic faith for his lands.
Religious and political tensions burst out in the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648. It laid waste to large parts of Germany. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 recognised Calvinism too.
It confirmed the princes' right to make alliances. It also recognised the independence of the Dutch Republic and the Swiss Confederation. After 1648 the emperor had less power over the princes than ever.
The empire and the Ottomans
From the 1500s the Ottoman Empire was the empire's most dangerous neighbour. Ottoman armies laid siege to Vienna in 1529, under Charles V, and again in 1683. In 1683 a relief army defeated the besiegers. It included Polish forces under King John III Sobieski. That victory began the Great Turkish War.
By the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, the Habsburgs won most of Hungary. The long wars against the Ottomans made the Habsburgs a great power in their own right.
Free cities and trade
Free imperial cities answered only to the emperor. Among the best known were Nuremberg, Augsburg, Frankfurt and Cologne. Councils of merchants and craftsmen ran them.
They sent their own members to the Imperial Diet. Northern cities such as Lübeck led the Hanseatic League, a trade network across the Baltic and North Sea. Augsburg was home to the Fugger banking family. Their loans helped Charles V win the imperial election of 1519.
The end of the Holy Roman Empire
The wars that followed the French Revolution destroyed the old empire. France took the lands west of the Rhine. In 1803 a major shake-up abolished most church states and free cities. Their lands went to larger princes. In 1804 Francis II took a new title, Emperor of Austria.
In July 1806, sixteen German states left the empire. They formed the Confederation of the Rhine under Napoleon's protection. On 6 August 1806, Francis II laid down the imperial crown and declared the empire dissolved.
Famous emperors of the Holy Roman Empire
A few emperors stand out. Otto I, crowned in 962, beat the Magyars at the Lechfeld in 955 and revived the imperial title. Frederick I Barbarossa, crowned in 1155, fought to assert imperial power in Italy.
He drowned on the Third Crusade in 1190. Frederick II, crowned in 1220, also ruled Sicily. He was famed for his learning and clashed often with the popes.
Charles IV, crowned in 1355, issued the Golden Bull and made Prague a great capital. Charles V, elected in 1519, ruled Spain, the Netherlands and much of Italy as well as the empire.
Legacy
The Holy Roman Empire left behind the Habsburg monarchy of Austria and the German Confederation of 1815. It also left a habit of federal rule in the German lands. Historians once saw it as a failed state that blocked German unity.
Many now see it as a complex but working system. It kept the peace among hundreds of lands for centuries. Its name is explained on the sacred Roman empire page. Its rulers are listed on the Holy Roman emperor page.
Verdict: the Holy Roman Empire in brief
The Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962, or from 800, until 6 August 1806. It was an elected monarchy of hundreds of lands. It had seven electors from 1356. Habsburgs held the crown for most of its last four centuries. The Reformation and the Thirty Years' War weakened the emperor, and Napoleon ended the empire.
Its start date is the one record on this page that sources give differently. For its most powerful emperor, see the Charles V page.
The wider story, from Augustus to 1453, is on the Eastern Roman Empire page.
Sources checked for this page
- Britannica, "Holy Roman Empire"
- World History Encyclopedia, "Holy Roman Empire"
- Britannica, "Elector"
- Britannica, "Peace of Westphalia" (summary)
- Britannica, "Francis II, Holy Roman emperor"
- Deutschland Museum, "962: The establishment of the Holy Roman Empire"
- History.com, "Holy Roman Empire"
Questions people also ask
When did the Holy Roman Empire begin?
Most historians date it from the coronation of Otto I as emperor on 2 February 962. Others trace it back to Charlemagne's coronation in Rome on 25 December 800.
When did the Holy Roman Empire end?
On 6 August 1806, when Emperor Francis II laid down the imperial crown and dissolved the empire, under pressure from Napoleon.
Who chose the Holy Roman emperor?
The prince-electors. The Golden Bull of 1356 fixed them at seven: the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne and Trier, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony and the Margrave of Brandenburg.
Was the Holy Roman Empire the same as Germany?
No. Its core was in the German lands, but it also included Austria, Bohemia, the Low Countries, and for long periods northern Italy and parts of eastern France.
Why was it called the Holy Roman Empire?
'Roman' reflected the claim to succeed the ancient Roman emperors; 'holy' (sacrum), used from 1157, stressed its Christian and divine mission. The full Latin form, Sacrum Romanum Imperium, is dated to 1254.
Who was the last Holy Roman emperor?
Francis II, who reigned from 1792 until he dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806. He continued to rule as Francis I, Emperor of Austria, until 1835.
What countries were part of the Holy Roman Empire?
At different times its lands covered modern Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, together with parts of northern Italy, eastern France, Slovenia and Poland.