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East Germany Early Habsburg Dynasty
The interregnum ended in 1273 with the election of Rudolf of
Habsburg. In the post-interregnum period, German emperors had
their power base in the dynastic principalities; the houses of
Luxemburg (Bohemia), Wittelsbach (Bavaria), and Habsburg
(Austria) alternated on the imperial throne, until the crown
returned in the mid-fifteenth century to the Habsburgs, who
retained it until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in
1806. The post-interregnum period was an age of decline during
which emperors and territorial lords sought primarily to increase
their personal possessions and prestige. The Golden Bull of 1356,
promulgated by the Luxemburg emperor Charles IV (1355-78),
provided the basic constitution of the Holy Roman Empire up to
its dissolution. This edict, which established the principle of
elective monarchy and confirmed the right of seven princeelectors to choose the emperor, paved the way for the political
consolidation of the principalities. By the close of the
fifteenth century, Germany consisted of a collection of sovereign
states under the control of the Habsburg Dynasty.
Data as of July 1987
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