What would happen to a longer surviving Holy Roman Empire?

I think there was a rule about one dynasty having more than one, but they switched them around over the centuries a little. The Bavarians and the Palantine were able to get Bohemia thrown out of the election a few times so the Bavarians got their vote. Near the end of the Empire they were just trying to keep things balanced between Catholics and Protestants. And I wonder how the Austrians would feel with Bavaria, as the Prussians had the areas directly to the north that were annexed by the Bavarians during the Napoleonic Wars in exchange for their areas not the lower Rhine.

Ahh, and downsizing or retaining some noble houses would have an interesting effect on marriages. If Thuringia was bundled together or annexed by the senior Wetting branch in Saxony you could limit the amount of Protestent marriage candidates to go everywhere. Or if Oldenberg were annexed to Hanover. Less likely, as the Danes had some claims to the area, I believe. Might just be thinking of Oldenberg and Denmark fighting over Holstein.

I think we need to assume a pre-Napoleon POD to get the HRE to survive. That means no Prussian Rhineland and no Bavarian expansion. Let's say that, come the industrial revolution, the Rhineland is still scattered among the various tiny principalities. The French are going to be looking to the area with greedy eyes. If France invades at some point, the German princes, including Prussia, would likely back the imperial forces to get rid of them. Perhaps there's then a Reichstag decision to consolidate the Rhineland into two to three states to protect from future attacks?
 
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