Freedoms (Königsberg i. Pr.)

Wall fortifications and cities of Königsberg (1626)

Freedoms were settlements in the old Prussian Königsberg , which for administration, administration of justice, church and school affairs were dependent on the castles or towns on whose territory they were located.

In Königsberg, the Oberburggraf was the highest jurisdiction and the highest authority for civil jurisdiction. His representative was the Chancellor. The executive organs were the castle riflemen. The court neck court was responsible for criminal matters.

The castle freedom north of the castle began in Junkergasse. Here lived the noble officials and junkers and the citizens and craftsmen who worked for the castle. The castle freedom never received its own court seal and coat of arms, as it belonged to the seat of rule, the castle. Here, especially in Burggasse, the French Réfugiés were settled at the time of the Great Elector . This increased their importance, so that after the coronation of the king (1701) the increase of the castle freedom to a fourth city of Königsberg, Friedrichstadt, was considered. It failed because of the envy of the three other cities ( Altstadt , Löbenicht and Kneiphof ) and a bribe of 200 ducats from the almighty minister, Count Wartenberg .

In 1809 Friedrich Wilhelm III resigned. on his dominant ownership of the castle freedom in favor of the city.

Individual evidence

^ Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon . Würzburg 2002, pp. 87, 90
↑ Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt : Konigsberg from A to Z . Leer, 1972, ISBN 3-7612-0092-7 .

literature

Hanns Gehrmann: The cities and freedoms of Königsberg in 1806 . Munich 1916

[1] Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon . Würzburg 2002, pp. 87, 90

[2] Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt : Konigsberg from A to Z . Leer, 1972, ISBN 3-7612-0092-7 .