First Rostock inheritance contract

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The first Rostock inheritance contract was signed on September 21, 1573 between the Hanseatic city of Rostock and the Mecklenburg Princely House. The princes were granted inheritance and high jurisdiction over the city, which at the same time lost important privileges, but laid down others. The goal of achieving the status of a Free Imperial City like other Hanseatic cities had thus become impossible.

history

Hist Rostock Karte1.svg

See: History of Rostock

The city and its rulers had long struggled for power over the city. Since the 15th century in particular there have been several uprisings, such as the “ Rostock Cathedral Feud ” from 1487–1491 . After a cathedral monastery was to be set up at the Jakobikirche, with which Duke Magnus II wanted to secure his position of power within the city, on the day of the consecration, January 12, 1487, the newly appointed provost Thomas Rode was brutally murdered in the open street Princes had to flee the city. It was not until 1491 that the uprising, supported by craftsmen, ended with the execution of the leader Hans Runge and three other rebels.

The conflicts continued. Again and again the body of the sixties was set up to represent the citizens , who argued with the council. For example, the feud of counts over Denmark in 1534, which also led to renewed unrest in Rostock. Albrecht VII's ambitions for the Danish crown ended catastrophically with the defeat and the country was deeply in debt. The relationship between Rostock and the dukes of Mecklenburg was increasingly disrupted as a result. The estates had already formed the Union of Estates in 1523 and thus confronted the sovereigns with self-confidence. Rostock, with its huge estates and as the financially strongest city in the country, played a leading role here.

On October 28, 1565, Johann Albrecht I, allied with the council, entered Rostock with 500 armed riders, after the city had refused to take the formal oath of homage. He dissolved the sixties and destroyed the citizens' letter. At the beginning of 1566 his brother Ulrich , who had previously been allied with the Sixties Council, also marched in . The two sovereigns agreed, leaving parts of the Rostock city fortifications : the stone gate, its front gate, the Zwingerhof with its gate, the part of the city wall from the Wiekhaus at the Dominican monastery to the Kuhtor and the "tower on the Rammelsberg" with ramparts, ditches and bridges as well Grind parts of the east and south sides of the monastery. The city was thus open at an important point and thus severely weakened. The city secured itself with guards, barriers against attacks. The cow gate, which was already closed at that time, was reopened as a city gate during the time of the conflict.

With the help of 500 farmers from the region, Johann Albrecht had his own sovereign fortress built in today's Rosengarten from the stones of the demolished buildings, which protruded into the city. The city guns were placed in the fortress and aimed at Rostock. The sovereign had free access to the Hanseatic city at any time and was able to control it better. This conflict could only be ended with the first Rostock inheritance contract. Rostock recognized the sovereign sovereignty of the duke, especially in the areas of jurisdiction and tax payment.

After the citizens had to buy the right to do so from the duke, in the following spring they razed his fortress without leaving a trace and proceeded from 1574 to 1577 to rebuild the wall at great cost. Instead of the tower on the Rammelsberg, the Lagebuschturm was built, and the stone gate was rebuilt in the style of the Dutch Renaissance .

literature