Generalgouvernement Berg

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The Generalgouvernement Berg was a provisional administrative unit and part of the Central Administrative Department , which existed from November 25, 1813 to June 15, 1815 and was set up by the "High Allied Powers" after the dissolution of the Grand Duchy of Berg . The administrative area extended to the area of ​​the (old) Duchy of Berg , which existed until 1806, as well as the dominions of Gimborn , Homburg and Wildenburg .

history

After Napoleon's defeat in the Battle of Leipzig on October 16-19, 1813, the Allies reorganized the administration of the territories conquered by Napoleon. As early as October 23, 1813, a central administration department was set up and governors general were appointed for the individual countries. Areas that belonged to the allies before 1805 immediately reverted to them. On November 10, 1813, Russian troops reached the Rhine near Düsseldorf . The French civil servants had crossed the Rhine the day before. On November 25, 1813, by decree of Freiherr vom Stein , the Berg Generalgouvernement was formed with its administrative seat in Düsseldorf.

The General Government

Born in Osnabrück, Karl Justus Gruner , at the time the real Imperial Russian Budget Council, took over on November 13, 1813 in the name of the "High Allied Powers" as the provisional governor-general of the occupied territory, which is 71 square miles over the former Duchy of Berg , which extended the dominions of Gimborn , Homburg and Wildenburg and comprised around 350,000 inhabitants. The Berg Generalgouvernement was one of the most densely populated regions in Germany at the time and had a commercial landscape with steel and iron industries, wool, linen and silk manufacturers.

On January 27, 1814, the Generalgouvernement was divided into four districts with the main locations Düsseldorf , Elberfeld , Mülheim a. Rhine and Wipperfürth divided, each headed by a district director, whereby the French municipal constitution was retained unchanged. As early as December 3, 1813, Governor General Gruner had introduced German official titles such as mayor, city councilor, aldermen, etc. Further reforms such as B. those of the financial management and the medical sector followed. Gruner paid particular attention to the police administration. Each canton received a police bailiff. The official announcements were published in the "Bergisches Gouvernementsblatt".

In February 1814 Gruner, who had been transferred to Trier, was replaced as Governor General by Prince Alexander von Solms-Lich , who held the office until the Peace of Paris in May 1814. It became clear that if Europe were to be reorganized, the Rhineland would fall to Prussia . On June 15, 1814, the administration of the Berg General Government passed to Prussia, and Gruner returned to Düsseldorf as Governor General.

Transition to the Rhine Province

After the land finally fell to Prussia and the homage on May 15, 1815, Gruner left his place of work and the Governor General of the Middle and Lower Rhine , August Sack , also took over the administration of the Berg General Government on June 15, 1815 until the Prussian government was finally established Administrative authorities in April 1816.

Administrative districts

After the administration was reorganized on January 27, 1814, the Berg Generalgouvernement comprised the following parts of the previous Grand Duchy:

circle area
Dusseldorf the entire previous arrondissement of Düsseldorf with the cantons of Düsseldorf , Mettmann , Opladen , Ratingen , Richrath and Velbert , as well as Mairie Mülheim an der Ruhr
Elberfeld from the previous arrondissement of Elberfeld the cantons of Barmen , Elberfeld , Lennep , Ronsdorf and Wermelskirchen
Mülheim am Rhein from the previous arrondissement of Mülheim the cantons of Bensberg , Hennef , Königswinter , Mülheim , and Siegburg
Wipperfürth from the previous arrondissement Mülheim the canton Lindlar and from the previous arrondissement Elberfeld the canton Wipperfürth and from the previous arrondissement Siegen the cantons Eitorf , Gummersbach , Homburg and Waldbröl ; also Mairie Friesenhagen from the canton of Wildenburg , which was assigned to the canton of Waldbröl

literature

  • Max Bär : The administrative constitution of the Rhine Province since 1815. Bonn 1919, pp. 70–72.
  • Herman Lohausen: The highest civil courts in the Grand Duchy and the Generalgouvernement Berg from 1812 to 1819 (= Rechtsgeschichtliche Schriften, Vol. 8), Cologne 1995.
  • Irmgard Hantsche: Atlas for the history of the Lower Rhine . Essen 1999, pp. 126–127.
  • New Bergische stamp regulation . Dänzer, Düsseldorf 1813 ( digitized edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf )

Web links

  • Bergisches Gouvernements-Blatt . Düsseldorf, 1.1814 / 16 ( digitized version )

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Johann Josef Scotti: Collection of laws and ordinances ... , Volume 3 (Grand Duchy of Berg), Düsseldorf: Wolf, 1822, p. 1515 ( Bonn State Library )
  2. ↑ FWA Schlickeysen: Repertory of laws and ordinances for the royal. Prussian Rhine provinces , Trier: Leistenschneider, 1830, p. 14 ff ( dilibri.de )
  3. ↑ a b Landesarchiv NRW: Generalgouvernement Berg
  4. ↑ a b JF Wilhelmi: Panorama of Düsseldorf and its surroundings. JHC Schreiner'sche Buchhandlung, Düsseldorf 1828, p. 60 ( Düsseldorf State Library )
  5. ↑ a b Johann Josef Scotti: Collection of laws and ordinances ... , Volume 3 (Grand Duchy of Berg), Düsseldorf: Wolf, 1822, p. 1544 ( Bonn State Library )
  6. ↑ Max Bär: The administrative constitution of the Rhine Province since 1815 . Bonn 1919, pp. 70-72
  7. ↑ Constantin Schulteis: Explanations of the historical atlas of the Rhine province , first volume: "The maps of 1813 and 1818", Bonn: Behrendt, 1895, p. 145 ( Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf )