Bistum Limburg

About Bistum Limburg

The history of the Diocese of Limburg begins with the collapse of secular and ecclesiastical power structures in Europe as a result of the French Revolution. Through the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, the last law of the Holy Roman Empire, territories of the old electoral bishoprics of Mainz and Trier are assigned to the Duchies of Nassau, including the area around Limburg, which until then represented the right-bank part of the Trier diocese. The Duchy of Nassau, with its seat of government in Wiesbaden, initiated the establishment of its own diocese together with the free imperial city of Frankfurt. On November 23, 1827, the diocese was founded and the first bishop, Jakob Brand, took up his duties. At that time, the diocese had 134 parishes with 175,000 Catholics. The former collegiate church of St. George, whose own history dates back to the 10th century, became the cathedral, the church of the Bishop of Limburg. Today, around 2.4 million people live in the area of the diocese, of whom about 580,000 are Catholics.