Electorate of Salzburg

The Electorate of Salzburg was a short-lived state of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1803 from the secularized Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg. During the German mediatisation that followed the French Revolutionary Wars, the archbishopric was dissolved and its lands, enlarged by the Berchtesgaden provostry and parts of the bishoprics of Eichstatt and Passau, were reorganized as a secular principality. The electoral dignity was granted to Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg-Lorraine, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, as compensation for the loss of Tuscany in 1801. Ferdinand took possession after Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus von Colloredo resigned in February 1803. His reign was brief: by the Peace of Pressburg in December 1805, Salzburg was transferred to the Austrian Empire, and the electorate was replaced by the Duchy of Salzburg. During its two years of existence the new state began administrative and educational reforms, including the creation of a medical faculty at Salzburg University. Ferdinand also improved mountain roads and promoted school reform.