To do away with the political influence in his territories of the bishops of Passau, who were also princes of the Empire, emperor Joseph II decided to found two new dioceses.

By an agreement of 4 July 1784, the confiscation of all the properties and rights belonging to the Diocese of Passau in Austria was annulled, and the tithes and revenues were restored to it.

Much of the credit for this growth is due to the vigorous and unwearied labours of the fifth bishop, the Franz-Josef Rudigier (1853–84), who opposed the Interconfessional laws of 1868.

In the next bishop, Franz Maria Doppelbauer (1889–1908), the diocese received a truly apostolic head, whose influence extended far beyond his own sphere of work.

The Gothic cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, built from the plans of the Cologne architect, Vincenz Statz, was begun in 1862 and consecrated in 1905; the tower, 443 feet (135 m) high, was finished in 1902.