Confession of Augsburg: see creed 4.

Augsburg, Peace of, 1555, temporary settlement within the Holy Roman Empire of the religious conflict arising from the Reformation. Each prince was to determine whether Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism was to prevail in his lands (cuius regio, eius religio). Dissenters were allowed to emigrate, and the free cities were obligated to allow both Catholics and Lutherans to practice their religions. Calvinists and others were ignored. Under a provision termed the ecclesiastic reservation, the archbishops, bishops, and abbots who had become Protestant after 1552 were to forfeit their offices and incomes.

Augsburg, League of, defensive alliance formed (1686) by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I with various German states, including Bavaria and the Palatinate, and with Sweden and Spain so far as their German interests were concerned. It was an acknowledgment of a community of German feeling against French expansion. The war that broke out after the French attack on the Palatinate in Oct., 1688, is sometimes designated the War of the League of Augsburg. In 1689 a new coalition against the French, the Grand Alliance, was formed by Austria, England, and the Netherlands. Savoy and Spain later joined the Alliance, and the war of 1688-97 is more properly known as the War of the Grand Alliance (see Grand Alliance, War of the).

Augsburg Interim: see Reformation.

Augsburg Confession: see creed 4.

Augsburg, city (1994 pop. 264,764), capital of Swabia, Bavaria, S central Germany, a major industrial center on the Lech River. The major industries include the manufacture of textiles, clothing, machinery, computers, electronic equipment, motor vehicles, and airplanes. The city is an important rail junction.

Augsburg was founded (c.14 B.C.) by Augustus as a Roman garrison called Augusta Vindelicorum. In early medieval times it was controlled by the Frankish kings. It was made a free imperial city in 1276 and was later a powerful member of various Swabian leagues, including the Swabian League of 1488-1534.

Augsburg was one of Europe's most important commercial and banking centers in the 15th and 16th cent. and was a rallying point of German science and art. The city was the home of the Fugger and Welser families and was the birthplace of Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, and Hans Burgkmair. Several important agreements, including the Augsburg Confession (1530), were concluded there during the Reformation. Augsburg suffered greatly in the Thirty Years War (1618-48). In 1806 it became part of Bavaria.

Augsburg's many noteworthy structures include the cathedral (begun in the 9th cent.); the 16th-century Fuggerei, an enclosed settlement for poor persons founded by the Fugger family; and the 17th-century town hall. Bertolt Brecht was born in Augsburg.

Convention promulgated in 1555 by the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, which provided the first permanent legal basis for the existence of Lutheranism in addition to Catholicism in Germany. The Diet determined that no member of the empire would make war against another on religious grounds. It recognized just two denominations, the Roman Catholics and the Lutherans, and it stipulated that in each territory of the empire, only one denomination was allowed. However, people were allowed to move to states where their faith was adopted. Despite numerous shortcomings, the accord saved the empire from serious internal conflicts for over 50 years. Seealso Reformation.

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Convention promulgated in 1555 by the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, which provided the first permanent legal basis for the existence of Lutheranism in addition to Catholicism in Germany. The Diet determined that no member of the empire would make war against another on religious grounds. It recognized just two denominations, the Roman Catholics and the Lutherans, and it stipulated that in each territory of the empire, only one denomination was allowed. However, people were allowed to move to states where their faith was adopted. Despite numerous shortcomings, the accord saved the empire from serious internal conflicts for over 50 years. Seealso Reformation.

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Basic doctrinal statement of Lutheranism. Its principal author was Philipp Melanchthon, and it was presented to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530. Its purpose was to defend the Lutherans against misrepresentations of their teachings and to provide a statement of theology that Roman Catholics might accept. It consisted of 28 articles that outlined Lutheran doctrine and listed abuses that had crept into Western Christendom over the centuries. The unaltered document has remained authoritative for Lutherans, and a heavily revised version by Melanchthon is accepted by some Reformed churches. Translated into English in 1536, it had a major influence on the Anglican Church's Thirty-nine Articles and the Methodists' Twenty-five Articles of Religion.

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City (pop., 2002 est.: 257,800), Bavaria, southern Germany. Founded as a Roman colony by Augustus circa 14 BC, it was the seat of a bishopric by AD 739. It became an imperial free city in 1276 and joined the Swabian League in 1331. The Fugger and Welser families made the city a major banking and commercial centre in the 15th–16th centuries. The Augsburg Confession was read at the Diet of 1530; the Peace of Augsburg was concluded in 1555; and the League of Augsburg was formed in 1686. The city became part of Bavaria in 1806. It was heavily bombed during World War II. Sites of interest include the Fuggerei (1519), the world's oldest housing settlement for the poor.

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