Printable ScholarHoly Roman Empire Map
Free printable map of the Holy Roman Empire at its medieval height around 1200 AD, showing the empire’s reach across central Europe — from the Low Countries and northern Italy to Bohemia and Austria.
Choose your version
Labeled or blank.
Both are free PDFs sized for US Letter paper.
Labeled
Regions, cities, rivers and seas named, on shaded relief.
downloadLabeled PDF
Blank
The same terrain, border and city markers with no names, for labeling practice.
downloadBlank PDFInk-saving black and white
The same map with no terrain shading: white land, the empire in light gray, the kingdoms and cities named. The blank one keeps the city markers with no names.
Black and white
Labeled, with no terrain shading.
downloadBlack and white PDF
Black and white blank
City markers with no names, for labeling practice.
downloadBlack and white blank PDF
Teaching pack · Grades 6–8
Teaching Medieval Europe? The whole unit, ready to teach.
Two weeks of lessons in one download: slides to present, notes for students to fill in, and printable pages that use these maps and pictures.
Every slide comes with teacher notes: what to say, what to ask, and sample answers.
- 47 lesson slides (PowerPoint you can edit) and 2 pages of guided notes
- 4 illustrated reading pages and a GRAPES organizer
- Maps: Europe about 1200 labeled and blank, Read and Measure the Map, and "Follow the Black Death": trace the plague from Caffa to Bergen on a real map and fill in the chart
- Activities: Parts of a Castle (labeled), the real Bayeux Tapestry, how a medieval manor worked (labeled and blank), the feudal pyramid, the road to Magna Carta, Magna Carta as a primary source, the Crusades from both sides, and a timeline sort
- A 15-question quiz, a teacher guide with a two-week plan, and answer keys for everything
Every answer is in the pack. The readings, slides, maps and pictures teach everything the sheets and quiz ask, so no textbook is needed.
Get the Medieval Europe pack for $7Teaching more than one? Get all six medieval world packs (West Africa, the Silk Road, the Byzantines, Medieval Europe, Feudal Japan and the Ottomans) for $29, with a bonus chart comparing all six: about twelve weeks of lessons.
Get all 6 packs for $29See all six packsOr get every history pack (23) in one download:Get all 23 for $49
One-time purchase. Instant download. Color and ink-saving black-and-white editions. Secure checkout by Stripe.
The Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire lasted from 962 to 1806 — nearly 850 years — making it one of the longest-lived political entities in European history. Yet Voltaire’s famous quip captures its essential paradox: it was "neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." Founded when Pope John XII crowned the German king Otto I as emperor, it stretched at its medieval height across modern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Low Countries, Bohemia, and much of northern Italy. But it was never a unified state — more a loose confederation of kingdoms, duchies, free cities, and church territories, each with its own laws and ruler.
The empire’s great fault line ran between emperors and popes. For two centuries the Investiture Controversy paralyzed the empire as popes and emperors fought over who could appoint bishops. The Hohenstaufen emperors — especially Frederick Barbarossa and his grandson Frederick II — came closest to establishing real imperial authority over Germany and Italy, but the Italian city-states and the papacy together blocked every attempt. The Golden Bull of 1356 cemented the power of the seven prince-electors who chose each emperor, making the office effectively elective rather than hereditary (until the Habsburgs managed to hold it continuously after 1438).
The Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) reduced much of central Europe to ruin and permanently broke imperial authority. The Peace of Westphalia granted the princes full sovereignty, turning the emperor into a figurehead. When Napoleon swept through Germany in 1806 and forced Emperor Francis II to abdicate the title, few mourned the empire’s end. Its legacy, however, was enormous: the patchwork of German territories it left behind eventually unified into modern Germany in 1871, while Austria became its own empire and later republic.
Pair it with a timeline
Add the dates to the geography with the free printable Holy Roman Empire Timeline.
Holy Roman Empire TimelineFind it on the map
- The Alps, dividing the German and Italian kingdoms
- The Rhine and the Danube
- Rome, just outside the empire in the Papal States
The empire boundary is approximate, adapted from the open historical-basemaps dataset by A. Ourednik (GPL-3.0) with corrections. Bohemia and Burgundy are added by hand. Coastlines and rivers are shown as they are today.
Frequently asked questions
Was the Holy Roman Empire actually German?
Yes — the empire was centered on German-speaking lands and its emperors were German kings, though it also included Italian territories, Bohemia (Czech lands), and the Low Countries. It is sometimes called the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation," a title that became official in the 15th century. The emperor was elected by German princes, and the empire’s political life centered on German cities like Aachen, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg.
Why does the map show Italy as part of the Holy Roman Empire?
Northern and central Italy were formally imperial territory throughout much of the empire’s history. German emperors frequently fought to enforce their authority over the wealthy Italian city-states — Frederick Barbarossa led six campaigns into Italy. In practice, however, Italian cities were largely self-governing; the emperor’s Italian authority was contested by popes, city-states, and local nobles. The map shows the formal claim, not necessarily effective control.
What paper size should I print this on?
Every version is a PDF sized for standard US Letter paper (8.5 × 11 in.). Print at 100% or choose "fit to page".
