Archbishopric of Riga
Archbishopric of Riga Archidioecesis Rigensis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1255–1561 | |||||||||
| Archbishopric of Riga (yellow). Archbishopric of Riga (yellow). | |||||||||
| Capital | Riga | ||||||||
| Common languages | Latin Low German Livonian Curonian Latgalian | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Archbishop of Riga | |||||||||
• 1245 - 1273 | Albert Suerbeer (first) | ||||||||
• 1539 - 1563 | Wilhelm von Brandenburg (last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1255 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1561 | ||||||||
| Currency | Livonian Penny Livonian Schilling | ||||||||
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The Archbishopric of Riga (Template:Lang-la, Low German: Erzbisdom Riga) was an independent archbishopric established in 1255.
Archbishops of Riga
The Archbishops of Riga (1202) 1255-1561 were the secular rulers of Riga, the capital of Livonia (now the capital of Latvia). It was abolished in 1561 due to the conversion of the territory of the Livonian Order from Catholicism to Lutheranism. The see was restored as a bishopric of the Catholic Church in 1918 and raised into an archbishopric in 1923.
Bishops and Archbishops of Riga
The Bishopric of Riga, 1186-1255
- Meinhard, 1186 - 1196
- Berthold, 1196 - 1198
- Albert of Buxhoeveden, 1199-1229
- Nikolaus von Nauen 1229 - 1253
The Archbishopric of Riga, 1255-1561
- Albert Suerbeer 1245 - 1273
- Johannes I von Lune, 1273 - 1284
- Johannes II von Vechten, 1285 - 1294
- Johannes III von Schwerin, 1294 -1300
- Isarnus Takkon, 1300 - 1302,
- Friedrich von Pernstein, 1304 - 1341
- Engelbert von Dolen, 1341 - 1347
- Bromhold von Vyffhusen, 1348 - 1369
- Siegfried Blomberg 1370 - 1374
- Johannes IV von Sinten, 1374 - 1393. 24.IX)
- Johannes V von Wallenrodt, 1393 - 1418
- Johannes VI Ambundi, 1418-1424
- Henning Scharpenberg, 1424-1448
- Silvester Stodewescher, 1448-1479
- Sede Vacante (empty seat), 1479-1484
- Michael Hildebrand, 1484-1509
- Jasper Linde, 1509-1524 (due to deflation, no coins were minted during the reign of Jasper Linde; biographical data exists in alternate formats)
- Johannes VII Blankenfeld, 1524-1527 (due to deflation, no coins were minted during the reign of Johannes VII Blankenfeld; biographical data exists in alternate formats)
- Thomas Schoning, 1528-1539
- Wilhelm von Brandenburg, 1539-1563
See secularized 1563, restored 1918.
Restored Bishopric of Riga, 1918-1923
- Eduard Graf O'Rourke, 1918-1920
Archbishopric of Riga, 1923-present
- Antonijs Spingovics, 1920-1958
vacant
- Jānis Pujāts, 1991-present
The coinage
The Archbishops of Riga were innovators in the field of minting currency, reviving techniques abandoned since the collapse of Rome. The names of individual archbishops after 1418, as well as the years of their respective reigns, are stamped on Livonian pennies excavated at archaeological sites; in many cases, this is the only biographical data available. No Livonian pennies before 1418 have been found.
More information about the role of the Archbishopric of Riga in the history of coinage is available at Medieval Livonian Numismatics by William Urban