The Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek ' onMouseout='HidePop("70289")' href="/topics/Low_German">Low German

Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...

: Bisdom Ösel–Wiek; contemporary ) was a semi-independent Roman Catholic

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 prince-bishop

Prince-Bishop

A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...

ric in what is now Saare

Saare County

Saare County , or Saaremaa, is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa , the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it. The county borders Lääne County to the east and Hiiu County to the north...

, Hiiu and Lääne

Lääne County

Lääne County , or Läänemaa , is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-east, Rapla County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, and the island counties of Saare and Hiiu to the west...

 counties of Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

.

The bishopric was created as a state of Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 on 1 October 1228, by Henry, King of the Romans

King of the Romans

King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...

. One of the five members of the Livonian Confederation

Livonian Confederation

Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia...

, the seat of the bishop was successively Leal (Lihula)

Lihula

Lihula is a town in Estonia with population of 1,614 . It is a centre of a rural municipality in Lääne County.The castle of Leal was first mentioned in 1211. It was the centre of Diocese Saare-Lääne...

, Perona (Vana-Pärnu), Hapsal (Haapsalu)

Haapsalu Castle

Haapsalu Castle is a castle with cathedral in Haapsalu, western Estonia. It was founded in the thirteenth century to be a center for the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek...

, and the castle of Arensburg (Kuressaare)

Kuressaare

Kuressaare is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the capital of Saare County. The current population is about 14,706 Kuressaare is a town and a municipality on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the capital of Saare County. The current population is about 14,706...

 on the island of Ösel (Saaremaa)

Saaremaa

Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...

; the cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 and chapter

Cathedral chapter

In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...

 remained in Hapsal. Administratively the state was divided into two bailiwick

Bailiwick

A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...

s (advocaciae, Vogteien). The bishop was also the lord of the Teutonic Order over its fiefs on the bishopric's territory.

The principality ceased to exist in 1560 when its last prince-bishop

Prince-Bishop

A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...

, Johannes V von Münchhausen, sold it to Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. King Frederick II of Denmark

Frederick II of Denmark

Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...

's brother Magnus

Magnus of Livonia

Magnus of Holstein was a Prince of Denmark and a member of the House of Oldenburg. As a vassal of Ivan IV of Russia, he was the titular King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578.-Early life:...

, Duke of Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

, was elected bishop on 13 May 1560, despite being Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

. Denmark ceded Wiek (Lääne County

Lääne County

Lääne County , or Läänemaa , is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-east, Rapla County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, and the island counties of Saare and Hiiu to the west...

) to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

 in exchange for parts of Ösel belonging to the Livonian Order

Livonian Order

The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...

. Later Ösel became a Danish possession

Danish Estonia

Danish Estonia refers to the territories of present-day Estonia that were ruled by Denmark firstly during the 13th–14th centuries and again in the 16th–17th centuries....

.

Bishops and Prince-Bishops

• Gottfried, 1228–1229, still living in 1257
• Vacant
• Heinrich I, 1234–1260
• Hermann I de Becheshovede (Buxhoevden), 1262–1285?
• Heinrich II, 1290–1294
• Vacant
• Konrad I 1297?–1307?
• Vacant
• Hartung, 1310–1321
• Jakob, 1322–1337
• Hermann II Osenbrügge (de Osenbrygge), 1338–1362
• Konrad II, 1363–1374
• Heinrich III, 1374–1381
• Vacant
• Winrich von Kniprode, 1385–1419
• Caspar Schuwenflug, 1420–1423
• Christian Kuband, 1423–1432
• Johannes I Schutte, 1432–1438
• Johannes II Creul (Kreuwel), 1439 de jure – 1457 (de facto since 1449 in Wiek as the younger Bishop) with
• Ludolf Grove, 1449–1458 (de facto 1439, since 1449 in Saaremaa
  Saaremaa
  Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...
  
   and Dagö
  Hiiumaa
  Hiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...
  
   as the older Bishop)
• Jodokus Hoenstein, 1458–1471
• Peter Wetberg, 1471–1491
• Johannes III Orgas (Orgies), 1492–1515
• Johannes IV Kyvel (Kievel), 1515–1527
• Georg von Tiesenhausen, 1528–1530
• Reinhold Buxhoevden, 1532–1541, died 1557
• Johannes V von Münchhausen, 1542–1560
• Magnus of Livonia
  Magnus of Livonia
  Magnus of Holstein was a Prince of Denmark and a member of the House of Oldenburg. As a vassal of Ivan IV of Russia, he was the titular King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578.-Early life:...
  
   (also Prince of Denmark
  Denmark
  Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
  
   and Duke of Holstein), 1560–1572 (Protestant bishop, died 1583)