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History of the Roman-German Empire in the early modern period

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in the early modern period is being appreciated again as a successful political model of order, which was peaceful on the inside and principally defensive from the outside, after a prolonged disregard in former historiography by the more recent early modern researchers. The Roman-German Empire also garnered interest because it offers exciting illustrative materials for the opportunities and risks of political integration processes which have not lost any currency over the years (for example, the current developments in the EU). The history of the Roman-German Empire is one of the foci of Marburg’s research into the early modern period, whereby the particular interest is on both central empirical institutions in the time after the Peace of Westphalian 1648, which was long neglected by researchers: the Habsburg empire and the eternal Reichstag, also in European contexts. Furthermore, the department of early modern history also deals with issues of religious and denominational development, the complicated, strained relationships between various religions and denominations and their consequences for peace and security, both internally and externally.