Cologne

Cologne was an ecclesiastical electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by its archbishop. In 1337 the elector was Walram of Jülich; after the defeat at Worringen in 1288, the city of Cologne governed itself and the archbishops resided at Bonn.

In 1582 Archbishop Gebhard converted to Calvinism and tried to secularize the electorate, provoking the Cologne War. His Bavarian rival Ernst prevailed, beginning Wittelsbach rule over the see until 1761. French troops occupied Bonn in 1794; the left bank was annexed in 1801 and the remaining electorate secularized in 1803.