District (Electorate of Hesse)

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In the Electorate of Hesse there were nine districts as administrative units of the middle level from 1848 to 1849 .

history

With the "law concerning the formation of new administrative districts and the introduction of district councils" of October 31, 1848 and the corresponding ordinance of December 22, 1848, which came into effect on February 1, 1849, the previous four provinces were dissolved and nine districts established . This change was a consequence of the March Revolution . Among other things, it was supposed to correct the fact that the provinces were very different in size. The province of Niederhessen was almost as big as the three other provinces combined.

At the top was the "Upper District Authority" or "District Directorate", which replaced the government of the provinces. Below that, the districts remained largely unchanged, but were renamed administrative offices. At the head of the administrative offices stood a first and a second administrative officer.

At the head of the districts was a district executive appointed by the elector. This was supported by an elected district council and a district committee elected by the district council. The legal basis was the “law concerning the elections of the district councils” of March 14, 1850.

In connection with the introduction of the districts, minor changes were made to the assignments to districts. So the area of ​​the Justice Office Naumburg was transferred from the Wolfhagen district to the Fritzlar district. The area of the Grebenstein justice office went from the Hofgeismar district to the Wolfhagen district.

The new administrative structure was dissolved shortly after the reaction prevailed. With the ordinance and the “provisional” “law relating to the reshuffle of the internal state administration and the executive power of the administrative authorities and the district councils” of July 7, 1851, the old order was restored.

District Council and District Committee

The district council consisted of twelve, 18 or 24 members, depending on the size of the district. These were elected by the electors who also elected the members of the Kurhessische estates assembly . One third of the district council members should be chosen from the curia of the "scientifically educated", the landowners and the tradesmen. Men aged 30 and over were eligible. The members were elected for three years. The district council met once a year.

The district committee consisted of six members who were elected by the district assembly from among its members. It met once a month.

The district council had the right to have all orders submitted to the administration and to change or revoke them. He still had the right to request investigations for all district authorities. He decided on the use of the district budget. The district committee acted as a standing committee and exercised the rights of the district assembly in urgent matters.

The district's budget was fed by income from the dog tax , the liquor tax and the district's fines.

List of districts

The districts each bore the name of the district capital.

literature

  • Thomas Klein: Volume 11: Hessen-Nassau, the series: Walther Hubatsch: Outline of German Administrative History 1815-1945, 1979, ISBN 3-87969-126-6 , p. 60 ff.
  • The present: An encyclopedic presentation of the latest contemporary history for all stands, Volume 6, Brockhaus Verlag, 1851, p. 565 ff., Online
  • Philipp Hoffmeister: The rights and freedoms of the year 1848 for Kurhessen: According to their influence and their obligations, compiled in an open address to the people, 1850, p. 48 ff., Online

Individual evidence

  1. kurhess GS p. 237 ff. And 277 ff.
  2. kurhess GS p. 10
  3. Min. Letter from January 29, 1849
  4. kurhess GS p. 27 ff., 31 ff.
  5. Friedrich Schunder: The Fritzlar-Homberg District, 1960, pp. 64–67.