Bremen Citizens' Convention

The Bremen citizens Convention , before 1813 Bürgerconvent was in Bremen since the Middle Ages until 1848 a corporative representation of citizens. Bremen's citizenship has existed since 1849 .

history

middle Ages

Since the 12th century, the judicial assessors of the archbishop's bailiff developed into a citizens' committee, which represented the communal interests towards the city lord, the archbishopric of Bremen . This became the town council around 1225 .

The four parishes (quarters) of Our Lady , St. Ansgarii , St. Martini and St. Stephani organized themselves in assemblies called the "meenheit" (general public) to represent the affairs of the citizens of the (church) parishes . The majority of the parishes also elected the council, provided that it did not bypass the primary election by granting himself lifelong membership and determining the successor for deceased councilors himself.

Every now and then the general meeting was called. How often this happened is not known. One of the few general meetings that have been handed down to us is the initiation of the new town hall building at the beginning of the 15th century. After all, the upper town hall was built so large that all citizens with voting rights could have gathered in it.

The council achieved a distinct exclusivity through high property requirements for the council ability , but since many regulations of urban life were agreements between the council and individual guilds and guilds , these also had a share in the city's decisions.

However, there were repeated uprisings against the council.

Since 1534 and the New Eintracht

Bremen Town Hall , Liebfrauenkirche and Bremen Cathedral as a map section by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg (1572–1618)

After the collapse of the uprising of 104 men , the council passed the new constitution in 1534, the New Unity . This was restrictive in many ways, but created a new outlet for the concerns of the urban public. In § 18 it was said that the council of the community could invite the majority of the parishes, the parents of the merchants and the offices ( guilds ). For this assembly, the name Citizens Convention prevailed. Initially, the convention was rarely invited, and the invitation was initially not sent to all social groups, but only to powerful and security-relevant groups. For example, the lords of the wall , who were responsible for the Bremen fortifications , or the merchant's parents , who were able to assert the importance of trade for the well-being of the entire city. The citizens' convention mostly met in the Upper Town Hall . The Council's proposals were from Ratssyndicus read to the Convent and handed over in writing. Until 1813/14 the convent advised separately according to the four parishes. If at least three parishes accepted the proposal, it was recognized as valid.

In the 17th century, the Collegiums Seniorum (made up of acting and former parents of the large merchants) demanded an even greater participation in government affairs. By increasing influence and using powerful means of pressure, they achieved that the council had to rely on the approval of the citizens' convention, which was dominated by the merchants, for important decisions.

In 1738 the Citizens' Convention enforced the formation of a financial deputation from 32 citizens. The formation of the thirty - two deputation, which existed until 1766, is called a new constitutional fact.

After the French era

Market and town hall, engraving by Wilhelm Jury (1820) based on a template by Anton Radl

In 1813, after the French era in Bremen , the city council was reconstituted and reintroduced the old city law . The changes proposed by the Council were rejected by the Citizens' Convention, which traditionally advises separately by parish. A preparatory commission for the constitution negotiations worked out a counter-proposal with the formation of a bicameral parliament, separation of powers with a clear separation of judiciary , legislative and executive . The council should only be executive. In 1814 a mixed constitutional deputation was formed to deliberate on contemporary changes. The right to vote should continue to be class-oriented, with the involvement of the craftsmen.

It sat down in 1814 in the deputation the restorative by forces. A sharper delimitation of the competences of the council and the citizenship was planned, otherwise much remained with the old constitution. The Convention has since played a decisive role in the legislative process and in financial affairs. Laws could only come into force with the consent of the Council and the Convention.

Now the convention met about once a month in a plenary session under the leadership of the parents . A citizen spokesman chaired the meetings of the Convention. He communicated his results to the council through the parental syndicate . In the citizens' convention of the city of Bremen in 1814, 269 of the 387 citizens invited by the Senate were merchants. The convention expanded and now consisted of the merchant's parents, representatives of the important guilds, the builders and deacons of the Protestant churches, the holders of the great civil rights with freedom of action, and representatives from Bremen Neustadt . The Bremen rural communities and Vegesack were not represented in the convention.

Of the 300 to 400 people invited, only around 60 to 70 citizens appeared. Since 1818, certain people were required to attend and the resolutions only came into effect when there were 50 people present.

Until 1848 the representatives of the merchants had a decisive influence in the citizens' convention. After the revolution of 1848/49 , according to the state constitution, a Bremen citizenry was elected on March 29, 1849.

literature

Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . 2nd, updated, revised and expanded edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X .

Individual evidence

^ Herbert Black Forest: History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . 2nd Edition. Vol. I, Edition Temmen, Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-86108-283-7 , pp. 476-492.
^ Adam Storck : Views of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and its surroundings . Friedrich Wilmans, Frankfurt am Main 1822, pp. 135f. (Facsimile reprint: Schünemann, Bremen 1977, ISBN 3-7961-1688-4 ).
↑ Lothar Gall, Dieter Langewiesche (Ed.): Liberalismus und Region . Supplement 19, Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, p. 139.

[1] Herbert Black Forest: History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen . 2nd Edition. Vol. I, Edition Temmen, Bremen 1995, ISBN 3-86108-283-7 , pp. 476-492.

[2] Adam Storck : Views of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and its surroundings . Friedrich Wilmans, Frankfurt am Main 1822, pp. 135f. (Facsimile reprint: Schünemann, Bremen 1977, ISBN 3-7961-1688-4 ).

[3] Lothar Gall, Dieter Langewiesche (Ed.): Liberalismus und Region . Supplement 19, Oldenbourg, Munich 1995, p. 139.