The Augsburg Peace of 1555

The famous Augsburg world was signed afterThe spread of the new Christian teaching began in Europe. The system, established in 1555, lasted 60 years, until the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.

Reformation

In 1517 in the German city of Wittenbergthere was a significant event. The monk of the Augustinian order Martin Luther hung a paper with 95 theses on the door of the local church. In them he condemned the order that reigned in the Roman Catholic Church. Shortly before this, it was possible to buy indulgences (forgiveness of sins) for money.

Corruption and a departure from the principles of the Gospel stronglystruck the prestige of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther became the founder of the Reformation - the process of struggle for reforms in the Christian world. His followers were called Protestants or Lutherans (this is a narrower term, besides Lutherans among Protestants, for example, there were also Calvinists).

The situation in Germany

The center of the Reformation was Germany. This country was not a single state. Its territory was divided among many princes who submitted to the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The power of this supreme monarch was never monolithic. Princes often led an independent domestic policy.

Many of them supported the Reformation and becameProtestants. The new movement has become popular among ordinary citizens of Germany - townspeople and peasants. This led to a conflict with Rome, and eventually with the imperial power (the emperors remained Catholics). In the years 1546-1547. the Schmalkald War broke out. She ruined the country and showed the ineffectiveness of the old order. There was a need to find a compromise between the opposing sides.

Prolonged preliminary negotiations

Before the parties signed the Augsburg peace,a lot of negotiations went on, which lasted for several years. Their first success was that among the princes and electors there were those who agreed to be intermediaries between Catholics and Protestants. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Charles V Habsburg at this time quarreled with the Pope, which gave even more chance of a successful outcome of the enterprise.

The Augsburg world became possible also becausethe interests of Catholics were represented by the German King Ferdinand I. This title was largely considered formal, but it was worn by the brother of Emperor Charles, who was his right hand. The head of the Protestants at the talks was the Elector Moritz of Saxony.

The neutral princes became rulers of both, andanother branch of Christianity. Among them were the sovereigns of Bavaria, Trier, Mainz (Catholics), as well as Württemberg and the Palatinate (Lutherans). Before the main negotiations, at which the Augsburg peace was signed, there was also a meeting of the rulers of Hessen, Saxony and Brandenburg. On it were agreed positions, which also arranged the emperor. At the same time, Charles V refused to participate in the negotiations. He did not want to make concessions to Protestants and opposition princes. Therefore, the emperor delegated his authority to his brother Ferdinand. At this time, Karl was in his Spanish possessions (the Habsburgs controlled vast territories throughout Europe).

Meeting of the Reichstag

Finally, on February 5, 1555, Augsburg receivedReichstag of the Empire, where all parties and participants in the conflict met. Ferdinand I was the chairman. Negotiations took place in several curiae in parallel mode. The electors, free cities and princes separately agreed among themselves. Finally, in September the Augsburg peace was signed by Ferdinand on conditions in which there were many concessions to the Protestants. This did not please the Emperor Charles. But since he could not sabotage the process so as not to start a war, he decided to abdicate a few days before the signing of the treaty. The conclusion of the Augsburg Peace took place on September 25, 1555.

The conditions and significance of the Augsburg world

For several months the delegates agreed on the terms,registered in the document. The Augsburg religious world fixed official status in the Empire for Lutheranism. However, in this formulation there are serious reservations.

The principle of freedom of religion was established. It extended to the so-called imperial classes, which included privileged members of society: princes, electors, imperial knights and residents of free cities. However, freedom of religion did not affect the vassals of princes and residents of their possessions. Thus, in the Empire, the principle "whose earth, that and faith" triumphed. If the prince wished to turn to Lutheranism, he could do so, but this was not possible, for example, among the peasants who lived on his land. However, the Augsburg religious world allowed the dissatisfied choice of the ruler to emigrate to another region of the empire, where an acceptable faith was established.

At the same time, Catholics have made concessions withLutheran side. The conclusion of the Augsburg peace led to the fact that the abbots and bishops who decided to convert to Protestantism lost their power. So the Catholics were able to retain for themselves all the ecclesiastical lands assigned to them before the meeting of the Reichstag.

As we can see, the significance of the Augsburg world washuge. For the first time, the opposing sides managed to resolve the conflict through negotiations, not war. Also, the political split of the Holy Roman Empire was overcome.