Peace of Prague (1635) - Terms

Terms

The main terms of the treaty were:

• The Edict of Restitution of 1629 was effectively revoked, with the terms of the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 being re-established as at 12 November 1627. However, according to the Reservatum ecclesiasticum Protestant administrators of Prince-Bishoprics and Imperial abbeys still gained neither seat nor vote in the Reichstag. Ferdinand II continued to push the Counter-Reformation in the lands of the Habsburg Monarchy.
• Formal alliances of States of the Empire among themselves or with foreign powers were prohibited, which applied to both the Catholic League and the Protestant Heilbronn League.
• The armies of the various states were to be unified under the command of the Princes as generals of the Emperor, to establish an Imperial Army for the Holy Roman Empire as a whole, which would fight against invading troops.
• Amnesty was granted to those princes who had fought against Imperial troops, with the exception of the exiled descendants of the former "Winter King", Elector Palatine Frederick V.

As well as bringing to an end the fighting between the various states, the treaty also brought to an end religion as a source of national conflict; the principle of cuius regio, eius religio was established for good within the Empire. In return for making concessions in this area, Ferdinand II gained the alliance of the Lutheran princes both in the struggle against the Swedish intervention, and against the expected intervention of France. However, the intended restoration of the Imperial authority ultimatively failed as Emperor Ferdinand III had to acquiesce in a much larger enfeeblement to reach a final peace in 1648.