Partially true, there was the protestant "Fürstentümer", but alot of places remained catholic and kept all the stuff. It was during Napoleons conquest of europe, that secularism as described above touched all places.
It was basically the french revolutionary ideals spread to half of europe during a interim phase of french expansionism. And they were welcomed as liberators by man peasants, and the french idea of the nation, with the nobles done away wa quite attractive. In those times, lots of the old stuff was thrown out with the "old elites".
Im sorry european history is so confusing. Basically it all happens, over and over again, for different reasons, but the "bilderstürmerei" is such a old tradition, that some anticipating it, just painted over the old stuff with white chalk paint, preserving it below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_mediatisation
It was basically the french revolutionary ideals spread to half of europe during a interim phase of french expansionism. And they were welcomed as liberators by man peasants, and the french idea of the nation, with the nobles done away wa quite attractive. In those times, lots of the old stuff was thrown out with the "old elites".
Im sorry european history is so confusing. Basically it all happens, over and over again, for different reasons, but the "bilderstürmerei" is such a old tradition, that some anticipating it, just painted over the old stuff with white chalk paint, preserving it below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasm