Editing Imperial circle (section)

==Formation==
Initially the 1500 [[Diet of Augsburg]] set up six imperial circles as part of the [[Imperial Reform]]:
* the [[Bavarian Circle]]
* the [[Franconian Circle]]
* the [[Saxon Circle]]
* the [[Swabian Circle]]
* the [[Upper Rhenish Circle]]
* the [[Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle]]

Originally, the territories held by the Habsburg dynasty and the electors remained unencircled. In 1512, the Diet at [[Trier]] and [[Cologne]] organized these lands into three more circles:
* the [[Austrian Circle]], including the Habsburg territories inherited by [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]]
* the [[Burgundian Circle]], including the patrimony of Maximilian's late wife, [[Mary of Burgundy]]
* the [[Electoral Rhenish Circle]], including the ecclesiastical Electorates of [[Archbishopric of Mainz|Mainz]], [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]] and [[Electorate of Trier|Trier]], and the secular [[Electorate of the Palatinate]].
Also, the Saxon Circle was divided into:
* the [[Lower Saxon Circle]]
* the [[Upper Saxon Circle]], including the Electorates of [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]] and [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]]

Although the empire lost several western territories after the secession of the [[Dutch Republic|Seven United Netherlands]] in 1581 and during the French annexations of the 1679 [[Treaties of Nijmegen|Peace of Nijmegen]], the ten circles remained largely unchanged until the early 1790s, when the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] brought about significant changes to the political map of Europe.

Some of the circles were ''de facto'' controlled by a powerful noble house. The Austrian Circle corresponded almost exactly with the [[Erblande|Habsburg hereditary lands.]] The Burgundian Circle encompassed the territory controlled by the Spanish Habsburgs (Franche-Comte and the [[Habsburg Netherlands]]). The Bavarian Circle mostly consisted of the Wittelsbach [[Duchy of Bavaria]] plus its satellites. The Upper Saxon Circle was dominated by the electorates of [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]] (plus its satellite [[Ernestine duchies]]) and [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]].