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The Bishopric of Dorpat (German: Bistum Dorpat) was a medieval prince-bishopric, i.e. both a diocese of the Catholic Church and a temporal principality ruled by the bishop of the diocese. It existed from 1211 until 1558, generally encompassing the area that now comprises Tartu County, Põlva County, Võru County, and Jõgeva County in Estonia. The prince-bishopric was a sovereign member of the Holy Roman Empire (formally from 6 Nov 1225) and part of the Livonian Confederation until its dissolution in 1561.
The state was originally established as the Bishopric of Leal in 1211, based in Leal, modern Lihula. When the Sword Brothers in 1224 captured Yuryev (modern Tartu), they renamed it Dorpat. Prince-bishop Hermann Buxhövden of Leal took up residence there and ordered the construction of the Dorpat Cathedral. Around 1235, the bishopric was renamed from Leal to Dorpat.
The first Bishop of Dorpat (present-day Tartu) was Hermann von Buxhövden, the brother of Albert von Buxhövden, Bishop of Riga and leader of the Livonian Crusade. The Estonian Diocese was established by the Bishop of Riga in 1211 and its first nominal seat was Leal (Lihula) in western Estonia. In 1224, Bishop Hermann took possession of parts of what is today southeastern Estonia and chose Dorpat as the centre of his bishopric. On 6 November 1225, he was enfeoffed with the regalia by Henry (VII) of Germany. A further charter dated 1 December 1225 purported to elevate Hermann's territory to a march of the Holy Roman Empire. The authenticity of this provision has, however, been disputed. The principality was founded mainly on territories of the Ugaunian tribe of ancient Estonians. In 1242, Bishop Hermann with his Ugaunian subjects was defeated by Novgorod's prince Alexander Nevsky in the famous Battle on Lake Peipus.
During 1268, Fredrik, the then Bishop of Dorpat, is known to have called himself also as the "Bishop of Karelia", the background of the short-lived title remaining open.
The Bishopric of Dorpat was an important Hanseatic trade center.
At the end of the 14th century, former Dietrich Damerow became the Bishop of Dorpat. He was the archenemy of the Livonian Order and made a coalition against it with Lithuania, Mecklenburg, and the Victual Brothers (notorious pirates of the Baltic Sea). He even asked King Richard II of England to take Dorpat under his protection. The Order invaded the bishopric in 1379 with no success. After settling the conflict the Livonian Order lost its right to demand that vassals of bishoprics take part in military campaigns.
During its last years, the Bishopric of Dorpat had a dispute with Russia which became later the main pretext of the Livonian War. Tsar Ivan the Terrible demanded that the bishopric pay a huge tribute of 40,000 talers. Ivan insisted that the Dorpat was the ancient Russian fortress of Yuryev (referring to its conquest by Yaroslav the Wise). The rulers of Dorpat tried to negotiate a smaller amount in the interest of extending the truce, but Ivan dismissed the diplomats and started the war. In 1558 Tartu was conquered by Russian troops and the Bishopric of Dorpat ceased to exist.
Beside Dorpat (Tartu) there were five more stone castles in the Bishopric:
There was also an outstanding Cistercian monastery, Kärkna Abbey (also Valkena or Falkenau) near Dorpat.
The center of the bishopric was the Tartu (Dorpat) castle (Estonian: Toomemägi). The castle was damaged during the Northern War and was dismantled during the 18th century. Later (at the beginning of 19th century) an observatory was built on the site. The seat of the bishopric, Dorpat Cathedral, was damaged during the Protestant Reformation and has been in ruins since the 17th century.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bishopric of Dorpat”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.