Burgraviate of Friedberg

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Friedberg town and castle in the 17th century, engraving by Matthäus Merian
Burggrafschaft Friedberg (blue) at the end of the Old Kingdom (1789)
Coat of arms of Friedberg Castle on the fountain bowl of the St. Georgsbrunnen in the castle

The Burggrafschaft Friedberg was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire . It was created in the late Middle Ages from the castle team of the Reichsburg Friedberg in Hesse . Unique within the empire were the co-operative constitution of the burgraviate and the granting of lordly privileges by the emperor, which were confirmed several times before its dissolution in 1806. Due to the formation of its own territory, which, in addition to the control of the neighboring imperial city Friedberg and the free court Kaichen, encompassed a narrow strip of land in the southern Wetterau , Friedberg Castle can be regarded as the only imperial castle since it was included in the imperial register in 1431 . According to their self-image, the Imperial and Holy Empire Castle Friedberg , as it was called, was a prominent institution of the Imperial Knighthood and directly subordinated to the king or emperor.

history

Foundation and the Hohenstaufen era

Friedberg Castle was first mentioned in a document in 1217, when King Friedrich II confessed to the Friedberg Burgrave Giselbert, the Burgmannen and the Frankfurt mayor that he was returning the goods to Ulrich von Münzenberg that his father and brother had owned. It was probably a planned Staufer foundation, which may have taken place a few years earlier. This is indicated by the remains of a Romanesque predecessor church under the town church . The layout of the city and castle can be seen as part of the Hohenstaufen imperial policy. The expansion of the Wetterau into a Hohenstaufen estate was accelerated after 1171, when, with the extinction of the Counts of Nürings, their fiefs, which were concentrated in this region, fell to the Reich. The founding of Friedberg has regional parallels in the founding and expansion of the castles and imperial cities of Gelnhausen and Wetzlar .

interregnum

During the interregnum period (1245–1273), the castle and town of Friedberg, like most of the imperial cities founded by the Hohenstaufen emperors, initially remained on the Hohenstaufen side. But when Conrad IV set out for Italy in 1252, Friedberg changed sides. For the first time, on September 17, 1252, documents issued there by the anti-king Wilhelm of Holland are documented. The change of sides and the end of the loyalty relationship with the Hohenstaufen paid off just a few days later, as Wilhelm released the Burgmannen on September 20, 1252 from the obligation to travel to the Imperial Army , but made them voluntary personal and financial participation.

Furthermore, during this time the Burgmannen had succeeded in developing from their status as Reichsministeriale (Reichsministeriales) to the lower nobility , in that at the end of the interregnum they had full control over their castle feuds and thus full feudal power. Later kings could only confirm this condition in order to secure the support of this group, which is attested by a document of Albrecht I in 1298. For the Burgmannen this meant an increase in status, as they became imperial direct in the cooperative association.

Previously, King Rudolf I had already confirmed extensive rights to the castle and its castle men and privileged their prominent position. This was to have a decisive influence on the further constitutional history of the burgraviate:

  • In the autumn of 1275 he provided material support to the castle service by letting the castle pay the annual tax of the Friedberg Jews of 130  Cologne pfennigs marks . This may be due to the maintenance costs for the exceptionally large castle complex. From these donations it was occasionally concluded that the castle had previously been destroyed by the city, but this cannot be clearly proven. As a similar support, the castle was awarded the Ungeld raised in the city in 1285 (in subsidium edificiorum et reparacionis castri nostri) .
  • Even more important is the court privilege of May 1, 1287, which was granted to the castle men as thanks for their loyal service. This meant that they could not be tried or sued before any judge other than their burgrave, with the exception of the royal court. This right has been confirmed again and again by subsequent rulers, mostly in the context of general confirmations of the castle privileges, up to modern times. A separate castle court is likely as early as the first half of the 13th century.
  • The maintenance of the cooperative character was supported in 1276 by a privilege that forbade the inheritance of the burgrave office.
  • In another document from the same day, Rudolf forbade the construction of castles, fortifications or permanent houses near Friedberg in order to secure the spatial dominance of the Reichsburg.
  • In 1285 Rudolf granted the castle men the privilege of not accepting free men or men into the castle team without their consent, which meant a de facto right to have a say which soon developed into a privilege. As early as the 14th century, the king no longer had any influence on the co-opting of new members of the cooperative.

Late Middle Ages

Depiction of Friedberg Castle and St. George as the patron saint of the castle in the Salbuch of the Naumburg Monastery

The rights already acquired in the interregnum, which went far beyond what is customary in the organization of imperial castles, were consolidated in the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1347 Count Adolf I von Nassau-Wiesbaden was defeated by the castle team in a feud. With the ransom, the mighty Adolfsturm was built as the second keep and landmark of the castle. By 1349 under Charles IV. Wrote truce the castle team has the right to use the viscount, given that previously was responsible for the king.

While the burgraviate was at the height of its power with the admission into the imperial register in 1431, the city began to decline in the 14th century. The Friedberg trade fairs lost their importance due to the nearby Frankfurt trade fair and were discontinued. In addition to a decline in cloth production, two city fires in 1383 and 1447, epidemics and the emigration of citizens are suspected to be the cause. In the 15th century, the burgraviate finally won the repeated disputes with the imperial city of Friedberg, because the castle men knew how to skillfully exploit the city's weak position. At the height of the crisis, the town went bankrupt in 1454. Due to the Friedberg debts, Frankfurt canceled the escort that Friedberg citizens had been able to use on the way to the Frankfurt trade fair. As a result, the city's economy, especially cloth production, was hit hard. In February of the following year, the council was replaced, with the burgrave and the six castle men remained in the council and took a mediating position. The keys to the city were given to the castle, initially only due to the unrest that accompanied the event. But the process was not only symbolic, because in the period that followed, the influence of the castle team on the city increased considerably.

1455 bought the castle county that had behaved initially hesitant, the first parts of the Empire Pawn shaft , based on which they 1482 the so-called Verherrungsrevers the Council (it was thus prohibited the city to change without permission of the Lord, in fact the submission of the city) and 1483 to a certificate of homage (regulated details in the relationship between the city and the castle as its master). Further shares of the pledge previously shared between different parties followed in the next few years. As early as 1376, the burgraviate had acquired the first rights in the Kaichen free court , whose sovereignty was finally granted in 1475. Also in 1475 she received the sovereign position in parts of the Mörler Mark . In addition, there was a share in the Staden inheritance around Staden Castle in the Wetterau, which had existed since 1405 .

Instead of the previous city tax and judicial income, the sovereignty gained considerably in importance. In 1541 the minting privilege in Friedberg was added, the coins were issued in the name of the respective burgrave.

Modern times

Coat of arms of Friedberg Castle with an imperial eagle above the south gate of the castle

The decline of the nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries was not without consequences for the burgraviate. The extinction and impoverishment of many knightly families in the region meant that the supporting pillars of the castle team (residence obligation, castle hat, castle court, castle fief) fell into disrepair. The number of Burgmannen sank to the lowest level at the end of the Thirty Years War .

The influence of the remaining local nobility was subsequently pushed back even further. Conflicts of interest occurred due to service obligations with larger sovereigns. A large part of the castle team was in fact excluded from influencing castle politics. Due to the increasing importance and the number of members, it was customary since the 15th century to place government and the exercise of office in the hands of a smaller body, the so-called castle regiment of twelve castle men. Even in burgrave elections, the common castle team had little more than a right of acclamation towards the candidates selected by the regiment . Accordingly, participation in castle conventions and manorial administrative events fell to almost zero in the 18th century.

While membership in a unique cooperative of the imperial knighthood in modern times mainly served the social prestige of the individual in the estate society, the burgraviate was gradually paralyzed by the influence of larger sovereigns. The Archbishops of Mainz ultimately brought the burgraviate on a political, Catholic and imperial course. In the middle of the 18th century, the Burgmann families , which had been mostly Protestant since the Reformation, were ousted from the burgrave office and the regiment. The establishment of the Order of St. Joseph in 1768 consolidated this policy and at the same time increased the reputation of the castle team, which was no longer in proportion to its actual importance.

resolution

From the 17th century, the castle increasingly turned into a manor. This is evidenced by representative buildings, such as the castle, initially the seat of the Lords of Kronberg , then Burgraviato, the spacious castle garden and the castle church. When, in the 18th century, different types of shareholders increasingly penetrated the burgraviate, such as the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel or Roman Catholic members sponsored by Kurmainz , the traditional cooperative structure was paralyzed and the burgraviate sank into political insignificance.

In 1806 it was mediated in the Grand Duchy of Hesse , although the last Burgrave, Clemens August von Westphalen, intervened with Napoleon and his Minister Talleyrand . Hesse-Darmstadt had previously tried to occupy the burgraviate in 1803, but was prevented from doing so by the emperor at that time. The Act of Confederation of 1806 said to the Burgrave's the Grand Duchy in with Article 21. The burgrave received permission to continue his title until his death and kept the income from the castle. At the Congress of Vienna he tried again to revive the burgraviate, but had to agree to an assignment contract in 1817, which left him only his title and the rank of Grand Ducal Hessian landlord . He died in Frankfurt in 1818. In 1846, Sigmund Löw zu Steinfurth, the last of the castle men, died.

scope

The Burggrafschaft Friedberg included

  • the Friedberg Castle , consisting of
    • Castle
    • Suburb
    • Hunter's House
  • the free court Kaichen

Constitution

Inner constitution

The castle team was organized as a cooperative. She chose a burgrave and builder as a tour . Despite appropriate attempts, this group succeeded in preventing the penetration of larger dynasts in the Middle Ages and at the beginning of the early modern period . Reinhard I. von Hanau received a castle loan as bailiff of the Wetterau around 1275. However, the Hanau residents left the group again in 1409. Something similar happened with the lords von Eppstein in 1292 and Konrad von Trimberg in 1297. These castle fiefs, mostly given by the king, were exceptions, however, which had no lasting influence on the constitution of the castle team. Another exception was the castle law of the Teutonic Order Commander in Sachsenhausen and Marburg . The latter was of longer duration, but initially also had no consequences for the constitution of the burgraviate.

Burgrave

Portraits of the three last Friedberg burgraves in the Wetterau Museum , v. l. To the right: Franz Heinrich von Dalberg , Johann Maria Rudolf Reichsgraf Waldbott von Bassenheim , Clemens August von Westphalen

The office of burgrave is mentioned in the earliest document in 1217 and has been understandable since that time. The burgrave was first appointed by the king, and it was not until the middle of the 14th century that an election was made, which had to be confirmed by the king, for life. Another difference to the other - mostly hereditary - burgraves in the empire was that the Friedberg burgraves came from the imperial ministry.

The burgrave was in charge of the castle team in all matters: he was the military commander, supreme representative and judge of the castle court. From the beginning his office extended to the imperial city, where he was the highest representative of the head of the empire (in the 14th century: the empire bailiff ) at the head of the city officials and - as in the castle - was the chief judge. The burgrave also repeatedly carried out orders from the king outside the castle and town.

builder

The two master builders were an integral part of the castle administration, of which one older and one younger is documented in later times. Originally responsible for the maintenance of the castle, its importance grew with the enlargement of the administration, so that later on they mainly headed the financial administration. They belonged to the more distinguished castle members and were often mentioned in documents together with the burgraves and regimental castle men. As a representative of the burgrave and economic administrator of the burgrave, they were obliged, like the burgrave, to take their permanent residence within the castle in the 16th century.

Burgmannen

Former Burgmannen houses within Friedberg Castle

In the late Middle Ages, the very extensive Friedberg Castle had a constant need for castle people to fulfill the duties of the castle guard. For the first time in 1478, a so-called reception statute was recorded, which was intended to ensure the homogeneity of the rank of knightly members when new members were accepted. Evidence of the right to inherit a castle loan was no longer compulsory; in some cases it was sufficient to pay a fee of 100 guilders, which was extremely high for the time .

More important was the proof of equality through an ancestral test , which can also be proven since the reception statute. Over time, it has become the most important requirement and has accordingly been refined and complex. The castle regiment decided in 1652 that the family tree had to be presented in color. In 1692 size and writing material were even prescribed. From 1712 certificates from knightly families were required, which had to prove the ancestry of the applicant. In some cases she had up to 32 knightly ancestors. In practice, however, the evidence was limited to four generations (16 knightly ancestors).

The legal status of a castle man was hereditary. The loss of membership was only possible if at Aufschwörung misrepresentation or Burgmann against the truce violated. Exclusions were extremely rare. Possibly they were threatened by a resignation of the membership beforehand.

To fulfill the castle hat, the ministerials were initially provided with service goods by the king, but they had no legal entitlement to them. The transformation of these service goods into hereditary castle loans seems to be related to Rudolf I's imperial land policy. In 1276 it was mentioned that the king had set up the feudal relationships in the Reichsburg Rödelheim based on Friedberger's model. The extent of this equipment cannot be precisely determined in Friedberg. Loans of money and goods or both were given together, and loans in kind to support the Burgmannen can also be proven. The awards to higher dynasts and counts, which were still customary at the time of Rudolf, seem to have been better paid than those to former ministerials. Later goods in the Friedberger possessions in the Mörler Mark and the Freigericht Kaichen were awarded.

The Burgmannen were originally subject to a residence obligation . To meet this, they built Burgmannenhäuser within the castle since the 14th century. In later times the residence obligation no longer existed and the duties of the Burgmannen were often performed by officials appointed by them and residing there. The castle hat became obsolete in the 16th and 17th centuries with the advent of mercenary armies. During the Sickingic feud in 1523 such a feud was ordered, but an additional 100 servants were accepted and paid. In 1535 the castle regiment decided to request ten castle men and six to eight men from the Kaichen free court to reinforce the guards. In 1546 the Burgmannen should appear in person, otherwise two from the nobility, where they cannot be obtained, otherwise send two believable Reissige or Landsknecht in their armor to Friedberg (...). When the castle hat was requested in 1657 , the replacement of the personal castle hat by a monetary payment had already prevailed; twelve Reichstaler could be paid as a substitute for four months.

The castle team can already be understood as a cooperative in the first documents of the early 13th century. The wealthy families of the lower nobility of the region gathered in their ranks . In the Middle Ages these initially consisted of the knight nobility of the Wetterau . The number of castle men fluctuated greatly over time. Originally a number from 20 to 30 is to be assumed. By the end of the 13th century it should have risen to 40-50, it increased in parallel to the increasing importance of the burgraviate up to around 100 at the beginning of the 14th century. In 1400 there were 99 castle men from 49 different families, so that some families had more than two castle men at the same time. Around 50 were the rule in the 16th century until the number bottomed out at only 19 Burgmanns in the mid-17th century. With the admission of new members, mainly from Roman Catholic families, it grew again and reached a high of 113 in 1783. Between 1473 and 1806 230 families can be identified who made Burgmannen.

The office building in Friedberg Castle, built in 1512, rebuilt in 1705. For a long time the building was the seat of the Middle Rhine Imperial Knighthood, today it is part of the Burggymnasium.

Castle Regiment

Due to the increasing number of Burgmanns it became necessary in the 14th century to put the administration in the hands of a smaller, more capable committee of twelve Burgmanns. The castle regiment is first mentioned in 1467. However, it has probably existed since the beginning of the 15th century, since a small group of castle men from influential families has repeatedly appeared in documents since that time. In addition to the builder and five Burgmannen delegated to the Friedberg Council, this initially included the burgrave, later he assumed a special role.

The castle regiment was responsible for managing the castle and town, and later also the imperial territories. In addition, the twelve committee was congruent with the castle court chaired by the burgrave. Since 1491 at the latest, the burgrave had to be elected by the entire castle team, but had previously been a regimental castle man. Together with the selection of the two master builders from among them, the organization of the Reichsburg was concentrated in the hands of the regiment. The regimental castle men had to have their seat in the vicinity of Friedberg, so that they were more quickly available to the other castle men in decisions and could be convened more often than the general assembly of all castle men , castle ban , also called castle convention .

Law

In the Burgrave's Friedberg was a special particular law , the Friedberger police order . In 1679 it was renewed and printed. This is the first time that it can be put into writing. She mainly dealt with police , administrative , police and regulatory law . In this respect, the Solms land law remained the main source of law for the broad area of civil law . The Common Law was, moreover, if all these regulations did not contain provisions for a fact. This legal situation remained in effect in the 19th century after the burgraviate was transferred to the Grand Duchy of Hesse . It was not until the Civil Code of January 1, 1900, which was uniformly valid throughout the German Reich , that this old particular law was suspended.

External constitution

The Wetterau in the Topographia Hassiae et regionum vicinarum

Relationship to the Empire

The constitutional position of the Burgmannschaft in the Reich was an exception in the Reich constitutional structure. This resulted from their privileges that arose in the 13th century and their direct legal binding to the head of the Reich. Formally, the burgraviate became imperial immediately at the Nuremberg Reichstag in 1431 when it was included in the registers of the Reich . It had to provide 30 glaives for the Hussite War , comparable to the contingent of the dukes of Mecklenburg or the bishop of Speyer .

The Castle team tried soon to move away from these commitments, because apart from the cost to equip the troops for the Empire attacks were for the use of a dual legal position as the Empire state and member of the imperial knights and the tax burdens twice; Moreover, since the division into fell Reichskreise contributions to. The castle crew relied on the imperial military drive privilege of 1252 and tried as early as the 16th century to renounce the imperial status.

This legal position was only hesitantly recognized by the Reich. Individual emperors exempted the castle team from the imperial tax without this being confirmed by their successors. Friedberg Castle was repeatedly invited to Reichstag until 1662. Since 1564 she no longer accepted the invitation; Before that, however, numerous trips by emissaries can be proven. Through its cooperative association, it had a share in the curate vote of the Wetterau Counts' Association in the Imperial Council of the Reichstag . The disputes ended in 1577 when Rudolf II finally exempted the castle from imperial and district taxes and confirmed its status as part of the imperial knighthood. In the period that followed, the resumption of government was discussed variously internally without any serious initiatives leading up to the dissolution of the Reich.

The castle retained its unique, prominent position within the imperial knighthood as the seat and center of the knight canton Middle Rhine , which was led by the Friedberg burgrave until 1729. The members of the canton were also largely recruited from the castle team. It was not until 1729, finally 1764, that the two corporations were separated from each other.

Relationship to the imperial city Friedberg

The territory of the Burggrafschaft Friedberg initially included the Friedberg Castle, which also formed its own legal unit opposite the city of Friedberg and later a separate territory. Since it was founded, the castle had priority over the imperial city in terms of power politics. The burgrave appeared in a document as early as the 13th century in place of the imperial mayor . The town mayors recorded later were always subordinate to the burgrave. The burgrave was not only an imperial official and commandant of the castle, he also presided over city courts.

Parallel to the function of the burgrave as mayor, the castle succeeded in the late Middle Ages in gradually expanding its priority position over the imperial city to a de facto rule. From 1306 on, King Albrecht I ordered the castle to send six castle men to the city council, the so-called noble sixes . This secured the castle a considerable influence on the politics of the city in the future. Theoretically, the sixes had to report to the king about injustices in the city, especially court cases, market justice and general city life. In fact, the city council had lost its status of a civil institution and every measure of city politics was now carried out under the observation or cooperation of the castle. In the 14th and 15th centuries, disputes arose again when the city councils tried variously to reduce the influence of the Six. With the financial and political crisis of the imperial city in the 15th century and the acquisition of the pledges over the city that had existed since 1349 from the hands of various territorial lords (including the Archbishop of Mainz and the Lords of Eppstein), Friedberg became completely dependent on the castle, so that at the end of the 15th century the citizens had to pay homage to the incumbent burgrave.

West view of the densely built-up Friedberg Castle with the suburb of Zum Garten in the early modern period (watercolor by Hans Döring , 1553)

Rule and rights in the Wetterau

Since its foundation, the burgraviate possessed a multitude of different rights and goods that originally served to supply the imperial castle. Since the 15th century, the castle has succeeded in extending these rights to its own sovereignty in the Wetterau. The original Hohenstaufen equipment included in particular hunting, forest, timber and fishing rights in the vicinity of the castle. Between Dorheim and Ossenheim in the east of Friedberg, the castle has had a meadow area of ​​around 60 hectares to care for the horses since its foundation. In later times, there were repeated disputes about the Markwiesen with the Counts of Solms , whose territorial rule included the two neighboring towns.

The so-called Mörler Mark northwest of the city was given in parts as a service item to individual castle men and never came into full possession of the castle. The local timber and other usage rights were important for the supply of the castle. The Friedberger Vorstadt Zum Garten was directly under the castle. The residents there were obliged to do manual and tension services . They made an important contribution to the construction and maintenance of the castle in the 14th century. In the 15th century, however, the population of the suburbs fell sharply, as in all Friedberg suburbs. In 1455 the castle finally succeeded in acquiring the pledge for the entire imperial city of Friedberg .

In 1405, the burgraviate bought a share in the Staden inheritance around Staden Castle , initially consisting of four parts and 19 partners, which were greatly reduced over time because when a male family died out, ownership fell back to the inheritance as a whole. In 1806 the inheritance was merged into three partners: Friedberg Castle 12/57, Grafschaft Isenburg 13/57 and Freiherren Löw von Steinfurth with 32/57. The places of Ober-Florstadt , Nieder-Florstadt and Stammheim belonged to the inheritance , the associated judicial district also included other places.

In 1475 Friedberg Castle finally came into the possession of the Kaichen Free Court , in which individual castle men had owned service goods for centuries. This free court included 18 places and four deserted areas. There were gaps associated with case law . In a verdict of 1293, almost exclusively castle men appeared among the witnesses, who also formed the majority of the feudal lords in the free court. Presumably they had received these service goods in the 12th century from the imperial property of the County of Malstatt after the Count of Nürings died out . However, a protective relationship between the free court and the castle initially ruled out the direct collection of taxes by the burgraviate.

Attempts by the burgraviate in the 14th century to tie the Kaichen free court to the castle met energetic resistance from other liege lords. These included several Frankfurt citizens as well as the lords and counts of Hanau , Isenburg and Eppstein . First of all, the dispute broke out with the Frankfurters over their obligation to be present on court days. They invoked their privilege not to be sued in foreign courts outside the imperial city. The increasing influence of the burgraviate, which made more and more villages dependent through its castle men, could not be prevented by the involvement of King Sigismund . In 1431 he again banned taxation by the castle. Emperor Friedrich III. finally recognized the suzerainty of the burgraviate over the free court in three privileges. In 1467 he confirmed ownership of the castle including tax sovereignty and influence on the judiciary. A second privilege from 1474 confirmed the election of the Oberrefen of the Free Court by the Burgmannen and allowed the election of the Burgrave to the Oberrefen . The third privilege of 1475 summarized all rights and confirmed the free court as the territory of the burgraviate.

Noble societies in Friedberg Castle

St. George's Fountain in Friedberg Castle (built in 1738, builder Johann Philipp Wörrishöfer). The coats of arms of Burgrave Herrmann Friedrich Freiherr Riedesel zu Eisenbach (left) and castle builder Freiherr von Breidbach-Bürresheim (right) can be seen on the base. Not in the picture the coat of arms of the other castle builder Groschlag von Dieburg , on the fountain bowl the castle coat of arms and the individual fields with coats of arms of the ten regimental castle men. The sculptor was Burkard Zamels

Two noble societies are known from the late Middle Ages in Friedberg Castle , the Society of Green Minne (1365) and the Society of the Moon ( mane , 1371). Both apparently existed at the same time and consisted of heirs of Friedberg Castle. There are four documents on the Green Minne , only two on the Society of the Moon , but three more that mention its altar. The spiritual center was the altars of the societies in the castle church, badges are not known. They apparently ceased to exist in 1387 when the church service in the castle church was reorganized. After that the altars were named, but not the societies themselves. The members were accepted into a new society.

Brotherhood of St. George

More information has been available about the Fraternitas equestris S. Georgii since 1492 . The main source is a confirmation letter from Archbishop Berthold von Henneberg of Mainz , which contains important provisions and statutes of the brotherhood. It must therefore have been founded before March 26, 1492 (date of writing). Members were the heirs of the imperial castle, including the burgrave, rectores as well as knights and knightly persons. There is no apparent reason for the establishment. It was mentioned that it was founded to praise God, Mary , Saints Anthony and George and for the salvation of its members.

A primary activity of the brotherhood was the veneration of a Corpus Christi relic , as it is also documented for the Society of the Moon . Every year on the Monday after Corpus Christi, the members held masses in the castle church, followed by a procession with at least ten priests, one of whom was to carry the Corpus Christi relic. On certain days the members had to wear a silver or gold-plated necklace with the image of St. George. In the Salbuch of the Naumburg Monastery , the saint appears as the patron saint of the castle. The medieval castle church, demolished in 1783, was dedicated to St. George. A sandstone figure adorned the St. George's fountain in the castle for centuries . The elaborate decoration of the fountain with the coats of arms of the burgrave, the two builders, the castle coat of arms and the coats of arms of the ten regimental castle men testify to the government organization of the castle.

Order of Saint Joseph

In 1768 Emperor Josef II founded an order of St. Joseph for the Burgmannen von Friedberg. The ruling Roman Emperor was Grand Master, the Burgrave Grand Prior, the builders and regimental castles were commanders and the castles were knights of the order.

literature

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  • Albrecht Eckhardt: Burgrave, court and castle regiment in medieval Friedberg (with an appendix). In: Wetterau history sheets. 20, 1971, pp. 17-81.
  • Friederun Hardt-Friederichs: The royal free court Kaichen in the Wetterau in its national and legal historical importance. (= Wetterau history sheets. 25). Bindernagel, Friedberg 1976, ISBN 3-87076-013-3 , especially pp. 25-29 and pp. 39-41.
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  • Thomas Schilp: Document book of the city of Friedberg, second volume. The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Regest of the documents 1216-1410. (= Publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. 3/2). Elwert, Marburg 1987, ISBN 3-86354-070-0 .
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  • Joachim Schneider: Inheritance and truces in the early modern period - relics or functional adaptations? In: Eckart Conze, Alexander Jendorff, Heide Wunder : Nobility in Hessen. Rule, self-image and lifestyle from the 15th to the 20th century. (= Publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. 70). Historical Commission for Hessen, Marburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-942225-00-7 , pp. 129–148, especially pp. 136–141.
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Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 264.
  2. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, p. 221; Treasures from the Hessian State Archive in Marburg, Part 3: Ancestors put to the test or: How Georg XIV. Riedesel was included in the "highly praiseworthy castle corpus" in Friedberg ( Memento from October 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ); Klaus-Dieter Rack: Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on its constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 252 speaks out against the Reichsstandschaft, which only existed in phases.
  3. ↑ October 26, 1217: Johann Friedrich Böhmer , Friedrich Lau: Codex diplomaticus Moenofrancofurtanus = document book of the imperial city of Frankfurt vol. 1. 794-1314. Unchangeable Reprint of the Frankfurt 1901 edition, Baer, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1970, p. 25.
  4. ^ Reimer Stobbe: The city of Friedberg in the late Middle Ages. Social structure, economic life and political environment of a small imperial city. Darmstadt and Marburg 1992, p. 2f.
  5. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 15.
  6. ^ Ludwig Baur: Document book of the Arnsburg monastery in the Wetterau. Publishing house of the historical association for the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Darmstadt 1851, No. 60.
  7. ↑ a b Regesta Imperii V.1 No. 5124.
  8. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, p. 38f.
  9. ^ Johann Friedrich Böhmer, Friedrich Lau: Codex diplomaticus Moenofrancofurtanus = document book of the imperial city of Frankfurt vol. 1. 794-1314. Unchangeable Reprint of the Frankfurt 1901 edition, Baer, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1970, p. 366ff., No. 733.
  10. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 23.
  11. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 24f., With documents and other sources.
  12. ^ Regesta Imperii VI, 1, pp. 456f. No. 2099.
  13. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, p. 117 and note 447.
  14. ^ Regesta Imperii VI, 1, p. 166. No. 619.
  15. ^ A b Klaus-Dieter Rack: Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on its constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 26f., With further sources.
  16. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, p. 86.
  17. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 195-199.
  18. ↑ For the year 1455 in Friedberg see Reimer Stobbe: The city of Friedberg in the late Middle Ages. Social structure, economic life and political environment of a small imperial city. Darmstadt and Marburg 1992, pp. 144–150.
  19. ^ Reimer Stobbe: The history of Friedberg: From the foundation to the Reformation time. In: Michael Keller (Ed.): Friedberg in Hessen. The history of the city. Volume I. From the beginnings to the Reformation. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1997, pp. 210f. with Fig. 22; The document dated November 22, 1482 is preserved in the Hessian State Archives in Darmstadt, Dept. A3 111/627
  20. ^ Reimer Stobbe: The city of Friedberg in the late Middle Ages. Social structure, economic life and political environment of a small imperial city. Darmstadt and Marburg 1992, pp. 125-144.
  21. ↑ For Mörler Mark see: Waldemar Küther : Die Mörler Mark. Your history, origin and development. With a certificate attachment. In: Wetterauer Geschichtsblätter 19, 1970, pp. 23–132.
  22. ^ Karl Ernst Demandt: History of the State of Hesse. Kassel and Basel, 1972, p. 470.
  23. ^ Fritz H. Herrmann: The efforts of the burgrave Joh. Brendel von Homburg for the right to mint for Friedberg Castle. In: Wetterauer Geschichtsblätter 32, 1983, pp. 124–128; on the coins of Friedberg Castle, see Ernst Lejeune : The coins of Friedberg Castle in the Wetterau, which is immediately part of the empire. Reprint of the edition from 1905, Winkel, Bielefeld 1974, ISBN 3-88049-120-8 ; Wolfgang Eichelmann: The coins of the Reichsburg Friedberg from the beginning of the modern era to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire 1569–1806. Monsenstein and Vannerdat, Münster 2011, ISBN 978-3-86991-446-6 .
  24. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 264.
  25. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 267.
  26. ↑ Original text at wikisource .
  27. ^ Boris Olschewski: The mediatization of Friedberg Castle by Hessen-Darmstadt 1802–1806. In: Wetterauer Geschichtsblätter Volume 52 , Bindernagel, Friedberg 2003, ISBN 3-87076-097-4 , pp. 2-69; Klaus-Dieter Rack: Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on its constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 250f.
  28. ↑ Arthur Benno Schmidt, p. 26, note 85.
  29. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 76, 120.
  30. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 40-48.
  31. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 84-86.
  32. ^ Hans K. Schulze : Burggraf, -schaft . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 2, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1983, ISBN 3-7608-8902-6 , Sp. 1048-1050.
  33. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 90f.
  34. ↑ For the master builders see Thomas Schilp: Die Reichsburg Friedberg im Mittelalter. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 100-105; Klaus-Dieter Rack: Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on its constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, pp. 149-170.
  35. ↑ Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt F3 No. 57/2; Friedrich Karl Mader: Reliable news from the Imperial and Holy Reich Castle Friedberg and the associated county and free court of Kaichen, collected from reliable archival documents and authenticated history books, also explained now and then. Part 2, Lauterbach 1767, p. 20.
  36. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 40f.
  37. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 42.
  38. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 43; For the revolts see Treasures from the Hessian State Archive Marburg, Part 3: Ancestors on the test or: How Georg XIV. Riedesel was included in the "highly commendable castle corpus" in Friedberg ( Memento from October 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ); Albrecht Eckhardt: The castle man revocations and ancestral samples of the Reichsburg Friedberg in the Wetterau 1473-1805. In: Wetterau history sheets; 19, 1970, pp. 133-167.
  39. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, pp. 44-46.
  40. ↑ Johann Friedrich Böhmer (Ed.): Codex diplomaticus Moenofrancofurtanus. Document book of the Imperial City of Frankfurt, Volume 1: 794–1314. Frankfurt 1901 pp. 177-178 No. 365.
  41. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, pp. 59-61.
  42. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, p. 77, with further sources.
  43. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, pp. 120f .; further p. 393, Tab. 9.
  44. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, p. 66.
  45. ↑ Numbers and information from Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 56-59 and 61.
  46. ↑ For the castle regiment see Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 106-114; Albrecht Eckhardt: Burgrave, court and castle regiment in medieval Friedberg (with an appendix). In: Wetterauer Geschichtsblätter 20, 1971, pp. 17–81.
  47. ↑ * Hans Eitel Diede zum Fürstenstein , Burgrave of Friedberg (ed.): Renewed and improved police order of the Kaiserl. and des Heil. Imperial Castle Friedberg . Johann Niclas Hummen, Frankfurt 1680.
    * Renewed and improved police order of the Kayserl. and salvation. Reichs Burg Friedberg. Without the slightest change. Reissued and printed Müller, Giessen ²1729.
  48. ↑ Arthur Benno Schmidt, p. 107.
  49. ^ Johann Jacob Moser : New German constitutional law. Part 4. Of the Teutsche Reichs-estates, the imperial knighthood, also the other immediate imperial members. Frankfurt 1767, p. 1312 and 1499.
  50. ↑ Klaus-Dieter Rack: The Friedberg Castle in the Old Kingdom: Studies on their constitutional and social history between the 15th and 19th centuries. Darmstadt 1988, pp. 252-263.
  51. ^ Karl Ernst Demandt: History of the State of Hesse. Kassel and Basel, 1972, p. 471.
  52. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 174-180.
  53. ↑ Goswin von der Ropp (ed.), M. Foltz (arrangement): Document book of the city of Friedberg. First volume 1216-1410. Elwert, Marburg 1904 (publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse and Waldeck) , p. 72, no. 162 ( online ).
  54. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 188f.
  55. ↑ a b Reimer Stobbe: The history of Friedberg: From the foundation to the Reformation. In: Michael Keller (Ed.): Friedberg in Hessen. The history of the city. Volume I. From the beginnings to the Reformation. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1997, p. 195.
  56. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1982, pp. 165-167.
  57. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Friedberg 1982, pp. 140-149 and 171.
  58. ↑ Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1982, p. 170.
  59. ^ Reimer Stobbe: The history of Friedberg: From the foundation to the Reformation time. In: Michael Keller (Ed.): Friedberg in Hessen. The history of the city. Volume I. From the beginnings to the Reformation. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1997, pp. 195f.
  60. ^ Gerhard Köbler: Historical Lexicon of the German Lands. 7th edition. Munich 2007, p. 324 also mentions the castles Assenheim , Höchst and Dorfelden as well as the Naumburg monastery . Your affiliation to the free court is unclear: Thomas Schilp: The Reichsburg Friedberg in the Middle Ages. Studies of their constitution, administration and politics. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1982, p. 156f.
  61. ^ Reimer Stobbe: The history of Friedberg: From the foundation to the Reformation time. In: Michael Keller (Ed.): Friedberg in Hessen. The history of the city. Volume I. From the beginnings to the Reformation. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1997, p. 196.
  62. ^ Reimer Stobbe: The history of Friedberg: From the foundation to the Reformation time. In: Michael Keller (Ed.): Friedberg in Hessen. The history of the city. Volume I. From the beginnings to the Reformation. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1997, p. 196. For the history of the free court and its case to Friedberg Castle, see Friederun Hardt-Friederichs: The royal free court Kaichen in the Wetterau in its regional and legal historical significance. Bindernagel, Friedberg 1976, ISBN 3-87076-013-3 (Wetterauer Geschichtsblätter 25) , especially pp. 25-29 and pp. 39-41.
  63. ↑ Holger Kruse in: H. Kruse, Werner Paravicini , Andreas Ranft (ed.): Knight orders and noble societies in late medieval Germany. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-631-43635-1 , pp. 65-67; 79f. (Kieler Werkstücke, Series D: Contributions to the European history of the late Middle Ages 1) .
  64. ↑ Valentin Ferdinand Gudenus : Codex diplomaticus sive anecdotorum res Moguntinas, Francias, Treverensis, Coloniensis finitimarumque regionum nec non ius Germanicarum SRI historiam vel maxime illustrantium… in lucem protaxit, digessit notisque et ssidibus observation interspersis adiectis, Band etiam exidis typulis elegant 4 , 1758, pp. 494-496, No. CCXXXIV.
  65. ↑ Holger Kruse in: H. Kruse, Werner Paravicini, Andreas Ranft (ed.): Knight orders and noble societies in late medieval Germany. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1991, ISBN 3-631-43635-1 , pp. 458f. (Kieler Werkstücke, Series D: Contributions to the European history of the late Middle Ages 1) .
  66. ↑ Heinz Wionski: cultural monuments in Hesse. Wetteraukreis II, Part 2, Friedberg to Wöllstadt. Published by the State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen, Vieweg, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-528-06227-4 ( Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany ) , p. 620; State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse (Ed.): Evangelical Castle Church In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hesse
  67. ↑ Heinz Wionski: cultural monuments in Hesse. Wetteraukreis II, Part 2, Friedberg to Wöllstadt. State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen, Vieweg, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1999, p. 626; State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen (Ed.): St. Georgsbrunnen In: DenkXweb, online edition of cultural monuments in Hessen
  68. ↑ Johann Georg Krünitz : Economic Encyclopedia , 1795 ( online edition ).
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