German city; capital of Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, and former state of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally the Celtic Radasbona, in Roman days Castra Regina, a frontier fortress, Ratisbon was the seat of the apostolic labors of Saint Rupert, c.697,Saint Emmeran, c.710,who founded a monastery, and Saint Erhard, 720. In 739 it was made a bishopric by Saint Boniface. Ratisbon was the seat of the German Diet from 1663 to 1806. Secularization was finally accomplished in 1810 when Prince-Primate Dalberg was compelled to surrender his territory to Bavaria. In the city are numerous monasteries, that of Saint James possessing an 8th-century chapel, a Gothic cathedral (1275-1534), and the Stephanskirche dating from the 10th century. See also the patrons of the city, the article on the diocese.