Judges
The free judges of the Glatzer country, or since 1459 the county of Glatz, were a privileged class of landowners who belonged to the Glatzer Landtag as a third estate .
history
The history of the Freirichter is related to the settlement of the Glatzer Kessel, which belongs to Bohemia, with Germans. It began under King Wenceslaus I and was intensified by his son Ottokar II Přemysl . The allocation of land to the locators was made by the Glatzer burgrave in his capacity as royal governor .
The free judges mostly came from the German locators, who were granted special rights by the Bohemian king for use in the reclamation and settlement of assigned land. They received up to six hooves of land and other privileges and were obliged, among other things, to collect taxes for the landlord or sovereign. In contrast, the then already existing Czech villages in the Glatzer Land were only gradually implemented under German law. They were mainly located along the road connections to Prague and Brno and remained so-called chamber villages, headed by a Schulze appointed by the rulers . In the newly founded cities or those that were converted to German law, the Vogt held a position comparable to that of the judge. Since the first half of the 14th century the "Association of Bailiffs and Judges" existed, which ensured that privileges were observed and enforced.
The free judges were first mentioned in a document in 1337. The legal norms applicable to them were passed on orally until the 14th century. Their legal status was laid down in writing - with reference to earlier law - for the first time by the Bohemian King Charles IV on July 13, 1348. In addition to confirming the previous privileges, the king promised the bailiffs, judges and soldiers of the Glatzer country their land in this document never to part, sell or pledge from the crown of Bohemia . However, the king broke this promise two years later when his friend and Archbishop of Prague Ernst von Pardubitz gave the villages of Batzdorf and Niederschwedeldorf, which belonged to him and his two brothers, to the Augustinian canons of Glatzer . Since all subjects of these villages were to be subject to the jurisdiction of their new landlords in the future, the king gave the two free judges to the archbishop, who was to connect them to his foundation. Although both free judges opposed this plan, they finally had to submit to the order of the king of the Augustinian provost.
In contrast to the free judges, the nobility only owned their estates as royal fiefdom , which they could not freely dispose of, and the fiefdom could only be inherited in the male line. If there were no descendants, it reverted to the royal chamber when the owner died. Therefore aristocrats were often keen to acquire the privileged free judge goods. For this reason, the cities and the Jesuit order also appropriated liberal judgments. On the other hand, individual free judges rose because of their wealth and prestige in the lower nobility. The judges were subordinate to the court in Glatz. A special feature was that after the knights and the clergy they belonged to the Glatzer Landtag as the third estate.
In the Bohemian uprising , most of the judges were on the side of the rebels. They elected the Oberlangenau judge Hans Wolf to be their leader, who made a special contribution to the defense of Habelschwerdt . After the imperial family were able to conquer the County of Glatz in 1622, 49 judges were sentenced to the loss of up to two thirds of their property or to fines in 1625. Since almost all free judges professed their Protestant faith, they were given the alternative of becoming Catholic or emigrating. As a result of these measures and the looting and contributions caused by the war, the judge families became impoverished. In addition, the judges lost their status to the immediate cities.
The privileges, which were initially also lost, were given to Emperor Ferdinand III on May 7, 1652 after paying a large sum of money . in his capacity as King of Bohemia. The special rights included - depending on the documented right - the brewery bar, the bar, various handicrafts, hare and fox hunting, bird felling and fishing. In the following decades, numerous free judgeships, which had the character of independent estates, passed into aristocratic ownership. The judges' estates Friedersdorf and Schreckendorf were raised to knight estates. After serfdom was abolished , the remaining free judges lost their special rights. They were continued as independent manor districts.
The judges' property
The judges' property was legally autonomous and independent and endowed with domination rights . In addition to lands and forests, his property also included mills, craft workshops, and often a Kretscham , brewing rights and fishing rights . The subjects subordinate to the judiciary had to pay the judge interest and were also obliged to provide services. The judges' property and the associated privileges could be freely bequeathed to children of both sexes. In the event of a sale, the rights were also sold, i.e. that is, they stayed with the respective farm share. The goods were tax-free, only taxes had to be paid on the newly acquired properties. They were therefore as interest lifted referred.
Judicial office
The judges presided over the village court, which consisted of lay judges elected by the villagers. In addition to police power, the village court also had lower jurisdiction . In the administration of justice, the judges were completely independent of the landlord or the nobles who ruled the village. Of the fines imposed, the judge received a third, the other two thirds to the landlord. Only the free farmers of the village were subordinate to the free judges. After the nobility succeeded after the Hussite Wars to gradually usurp not only public authority but also legislation and administration on their estates, the judges' court perished in the 16th century.
literature
- Arno Herzig , Małgorzata Ruchniewicz : History of the Glatzer Land. DOBU-Verlag et al., Hamburg et al. 2006, ISBN 3-934632-12-2 , pp. 32-38.
- Hugo von Wiese: The judges of the county of Glatz. In: Communications of the Association for the History of Germans in Bohemia. 1878/79, ZDB -ID 516634-2 , pp. 259-284, pp. 321-353.
- Aloys Bernatzky : Regional studies of the county of Glatz , Glatzer Heimatbücher Vol. 9, Leimen / Heidelberg 1988, p. 116.