Imperial capital
Reich capital describes the political center of a state that sees itself as an empire . The designation imperial capital was mainly used for the cities of Vienna and Berlin . The title was never used for London or Madrid - both former capitals of the (world) empires ( British Empire and Spanish Colonial Empire ), and hardly ever for St. Petersburg ( Russian Empire ).
Rome
As the largest city in the ancient world, Rome became the capital of the ancient Roman Empire . After Carthage , the leading sea power, had been defeated, Rome grew rapidly and reached the million mark in the time of Emperor Augustus . During the end of the republic , Rome's strength as the unrestricted control center of the Mediterranean area consolidated . Rome had a particularly splendid time during the Pax Augusta period. During this time, the title " Urbs urbium orbis terrarum " was created, which in German should mean "City of all cities on earth". The city was expanded under the emperors and reached the 2 million mark during the reign of Emperor Vespasian .
Later the popes continued this old tradition and Rome became the central city of the Catholic Church from the imperial capital .
Constantinople
In addition to Rome, Emperor Constantine the Great built his own imperial capital, Constantinople . It did not quite reach the height of the power of Rome, but it served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire . From the 3rd century onwards, the entire Roman administration was in Constantinople. Important economic business took place in the city on the Bosporus . Constantinople was particularly large during the Great Migration Period , when many Western Roman officials sought refuge in the city. In 1453 Sultan Mehmet II conquered the old Eastern Roman capital. Under the name Istanbul , the city became the leading city of the newly established Ottoman Empire .
Vienna
As the residence of the Habsburg emperors, Vienna actually became one of the capitals of the Holy Roman Empire . The empire had no capital in today's sense. The city of Vienna was the residence of the emperor and the capital of the Habsburg monarchy , Regensburg was the seat of the Reichstag , Wetzlar was the seat of the Reich Chamber of Commerce , and Frankfurt was the place of choice and coronation. For Emperor Joseph II in 1782, Rome was the “real capital and real center of the empire”.
After the end of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in 1806, the title did not expire for Vienna. It remained the imperial capital and residence city until 1918, initially for the Austrian Empire founded in 1804 and the Emperor of Austria and after the Compromise (1867) of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy . Budapest, on the other hand, became the capital and residence of the Kingdom of Hungary after the equalization .
Berlin
Berlin received the function of an imperial capital with the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. During the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), the city was designated as the capital in Prussian laws; The term “Reich capital” was only introduced as an official title in the period of National Socialism (until 1945) by law of December 1, 1936.
See also
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ See Hagen Schulze : State and Nation in European History , Munich 1994.
- ^ Law on the provisional regulation of various points of the municipal constitutional law for the capital Berlin of March 30, 1931
- ↑ Overview of the law
- ^ Law on the constitution and administration of the Reich capital Berlin of December 1, 1936