Geography

The term Gografschaft denoted from the 12./13. Century an administrative district in the former Duchy of Saxony and Thuringia. The associated gograf was also the lowest court instance. The gograf was often referred to as a peasant judge and the gogericht as a peasant court. Later the term was pushed back by the influence of the Franks in favor of the magistrate . In eastern Lower Saxony, the Gografschaft was a subdivision of an office that lasted until the district reform by Prussia in 1885.

The tasks of a geography were:

• Exercise of lower jurisdiction
• Trade inspection
• Surveillance of fire pits and fire fighting
• Supervision of military duty
• Maintenance of public facilities
• Promulgation of laws and edicts.
• Police work

literature

Albert Hömberg: County, Free County, Gografschaft, Münster, 1949