Ratzeburg

Ratzeburg was an imperial prince-bishopric centred on an island cathedral town in western Mecklenburg. Bishop Volrad von dem Dorne held the see in 1337.

Volrad died in 1355. The bishopric joined the Lower Saxon Circle in 1500, but the Reformation transformed its chapter into a Protestant body. The Catholic diocese was suppressed in 1554, but Lutheran administrators retained the prince-bishopric. The Peace of Westphalia secularised it in 1648, and in 1701 it became an exclave of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.