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Archiepiscopatus Rigensis (la) Erzbisdom Riga (nds) Archbishopric of Riga State of the Holy Roman Empire ← 1255 – 1561 → Flag Coat of arms Archbishopric of Riga (in yellow), shown within the Livonian Confederation Capital Riga Language(s) Latin Low German Livonian Curonian Latgalian Government Monarchy Archbishop of Riga  - 1245–73 Albert Suerbeer (first)  - 1539–63 Wilhelm von Brandenburg (last) Historical era Middle Ages  - Established 1255  - Disestablished 1561 Currency Livonian Penny Livonian Schilling

The Archbishopric of Riga (Latin: Archiepiscopatus Rigensis, Low German: Erzbisdom Riga) was an independent archbishopric established in 1255.

Contents 1 Archbishops of Riga 2 Bishops and Archbishops of Riga 2.1 The Bishopric of Riga (Livonia), 1186-1255 2.2 The Archbishopric of Riga, 1255-1561 2.3 Restored Bishopric of Riga, 1918-1923 2.4 Archbishopric of Riga, 1923-present 3 The coinage 4 See also 5 External links

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.

See also: Livonian Confederation, Livonian Order, Conquest of Estonia, and Northern Crusades

• Meinhard, 1186 - 1196
• Berthold, 1196 - 1198
• Albert of Buxhoeveden, 1199-1229
• Nikolaus von Nauen 1229 - 1253

• 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
• Jens Grand, 1303 – 1310 (titular, never came to Riga)
• 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.

• Eduard Graf O'Rourke, 1918-1920

• Antonijs Spingovics, 1920-1958

vacant

• Jānis Pujāts, 1991-present

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

• Bishopric of Courland
• Bishopric of Dorpat
• Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
• Bishopric of Reval
• Conquest of Estonia
• Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
• Kingdom of Livonia
• Livonian Brothers of the Sword
• Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights
• United Baltic Duchy

• Archbishopric of Riga
• Rīgas arhibīskapija (1255-1562)
• Rīgas bīskapija un virsbīskapija