Gotha State Parliament

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Landscape house in Gotha

The parliament of the people of the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha , part of the dual duchy of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha , between 1848 and 1918 is called the Gotha Landtag .

Prehistory: The estates in the Holy Roman Empire

In the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg there were estates from the beginning . These consisted of the three curiae of the counts, the knighthood and the cities. In 1715 the Curia of the Counts consisted of the von Hohenlohe, Schwarzburg-Arnstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. 54 manor owners formed the curia of the knighthood. Gotha and Walthershausen formed the curia of the cities. The state parliament first met in the town hall in Gotha. According to the resolutions of the state parliament of 1732/33, the “Western Hagensche Palais”, which was used as a landscape house, was acquired. In 1750 the ducal government rented this house, in 1764 the state parliament was able to enforce its return. Since then it has been used as a government and state parliament building. The state parliament typically met every four years at the invitation of the duke. In between, a standing committee performs the tasks of the state parliament.

In the German Confederation

Federal Act of 1815

After the Wars of Liberation , Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg joined the German Confederation . Section 13 of the German Federal Act obliged the federal states to set up a land-based constitution, which provided for the state estates to represent the population. But no such constitution was enacted. The conservative duke saw neither a need for this nor did the conservative classes exert pressure.

After the division in 1826

In 1825 the male line of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg died out and Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg was split up. The Duchy of Gotha became part of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . Saxe-Coburg and Gotha continued to consist of the duchies of Gotha and Coburg and were only held together by the person of the duke. There was no common constitution and the state parliaments remained separate. In the Coburg part of the state, the first Coburg state parliament was elected in 1821 .

In the Gotha part of the state, the state parliament was formed from the three curiae of counts, knights and cities in the traditional way. Furthermore, it met every four years, in between the standing committee, called the Landständische Deputation, took on its duties.

After the July Revolution of 1830 , a constitutional discussion took place in the Duchy of Gotha. In 1831 the Duke presented the estates with a draft based on the Coburg constitution. The state parliament would have consisted of a representative of the princes of Hohenlohe (because of the Grafschaft Gleichen ), eight representatives of the knighthood, five deputies from the cities and seven representatives of the peasant class. However, no agreement was reached. The main point of conflict was the demand of the estates to be responsible for the control of the ducal domains , which the duke refused.

The revolution of 1848

The March Revolution also led to a new Landtag in Gotha. The Landstands Deputation adjourned on March 15, 1848, without taking any decisions regarding the right to vote. Herzig Ernst II. (Without the involvement of the old estates) issued the election regulations for the constituent state parliament on March 19, 1848. The composition of the new state parliament followed the example of the Coburg state parliament : The proxy of the Prince of Hohenlohe received one vote, the knight's curia received five Seat, one of Gotha's city council. The other members were elected indirectly by the population. A minimum age of 25 years did not apply here, however, no census. The cities of Gotha, Ohrdruf and Waltershausen elected five, the other localities twelve.

This right to vote would have been perceived as modern and liberal in the previous year. In the context of the March Revolution, however, the seats of the knighthood were clearly criticized. The majority of MPs elected in May and June under the suffrage also shared this criticism. The constituent state parliament, which met for the first time on June 18, therefore decided not to see itself as a constituent assembly, but merely to adopt a democratic right to vote. The debate in the state parliament essentially revolved around the question of direct or indirect elections, with the majority in favor of indirect elections. The Landtag dissolved after 10 days.

The new election regulations of June 28, 1848 provided for the election of an assembly of members of the Duchy of Gotha. This consisted of 20 MPs who were elected indirectly in one-person constituencies. There was no census and no class differences. In August and September the new state parliament was elected according to this right to vote and met for the first time in the state house on October 2, 1848. For the elected MPs see the list of members of the Assembly of Representatives of the Duchy of Gotha (1848–1849) . The central task was to draw up a constitution and, in this context, a right to vote for future elections. Here the proponents of a direct election prevailed. However, there was a majority of one vote in favor of introducing the census suffrage : only citizens subject to income or wealth tax should have the right to vote. On March 19, 1849, the state parliament approved the new constitution. This also included declaring the domains as state property.

In December 1849 the state parliament was dissolved. In 1850 the new state parliament was elected based on the new electoral law.

From 1852

With the state constitution for the duchies of Coburg and Gotha of March 3, 1852, the legal basis of the state parliament was changed again. According to § 69 ff. There was still a special parliament for the Duchy of Coburg and one for the Duchy of Gotha. The Gotha state parliament now had 19 members. In addition, there was a joint state parliament of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha in which the Gotha state parliament elected 14 and the Coburg state parliament seven members. The MPs were elected indirectly in 19 one-person constituencies for four years.

The end of the state parliament

Following the resignation of Duke Carl Eduard on November 14, 1918, the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha became extinct. This resulted in the Free States of Gotha and Coburg . On February 9, 1919, the 19 members of the Gotha State Assembly were elected .

literature

  • Dieter Stievermann: Estates and landscape in the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha; in: Land estates in Thuringia. Pre-parliamentary structures and political culture in the Old Kingdom. Edited by the Thuringian Parliament, Weimar 2008, pp. 194–224.
  • Friedrich Weidner: Gotha in the Movement of 1848, 1908
  • State constitution for the duchies of Coburg and Gotha of March 3, 1852 Gotha

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Friedrich Weidner: Gotha in the movement from 1848, pp. 93-96.
  2. ↑ Friedrich Weidner: Gotha in the movement from 1848, pp. 126–127.
  3. ↑ Friedrich Weidner: Gotha in the movement from 1848, pp. 187-190.
  4. ^ Election regulations for the Assembly of Representatives of the Duchy of Gotha, from June 28, 1848, digitized
  5. ↑ Negotiations of the Assembly of Representatives of the Duchy of Gotha elected on the basis of the election regulations of June 28, 1848, digitized version
  6. ↑ Friedrich Weidner: Gotha in the movement from 1848, pp. 216-218.