Karl Heinz Burmeister

Karl Heinz Burmeister as Vorarlberger Landesarchivar in 1974

Karl Heinz Burmeister (born November 21, 1936 in Krefeld ; † December 12, 2014 in Bodolz ) was a German lawyer , historian and heraldist .

Life

Between 1971 and 2001 he was director of the Vorarlberg State Archives in Bregenz and thus also editor of the quarterly journal for Vorarlberg's past and present “Montfort” . Between 1995 and 2002 Burmeister was also Associate Professor for General European and Swiss Legal History at the University of St. Gallen . He also worked as a university lecturer in the history of law and science in Zurich .

“Right” and “wrong” coats of arms

The Vorarlberger Landesarchiv maintains the municipal coat of arms and acts as a kind of "herald's office". In 1975 the state archivist Karl Heinz Burmeister published a book of coats of arms. For this purpose, the municipal coats of arms were standardized and simplified according to heraldic aspects. Since then there has been frequent inquiries as to which coat of arms is the "right" one - the representation in the coat of arms certificate or that of Burmeister.
According to the legal view of the State Archives, only the heraldic description of the coat of arms in the document is decisive. Any representation that matches this description is "correct". One problem, however, is that some of the descriptions do not quite conform to the rules of heraldry.

Vorarlberg historians' dispute

After Burmeister, as director of the Vorarlberg State Archives, critically viewed Benedikt Bilgeri's controversial Vorarlberg state history in a radio interview in the late autumn of 1986 , Franz Ortner , the editor-in-chief of the influential Vorarlberger Nachrichten , demanded Burmeister's expulsion from Vorarlberg in a gloss .

When an action committee Heimat Vorarlberg (anti-Burmeister initiative) was formed, professors, assistants and students from the Institute for History of the University of Innsbruck showed solidarity with Burmeister. A paid newspaper advertisement appeared, with 182 public figures calling on the politically responsible in the state of Vorarlberg to counter the threats against the state archivist.

Awards

• 1993 Honorary Prize from the Vorarlberg book trade
• 1996 Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, 1st class

Publications (selection)

• Sebastian Munster . Bibliography . 1964 and 1969
• Georg Joachim Rhetikus (1514–1574) . Vol. I-III. Guido Pressler Verlag, Wiesbaden 1967
• with Elmar Vonbank : Catalog of the history writing exhibition in Vorarlberg . 1973
• Vorarlberg wisdom . 1973
• The humanist and botanist Gabriel Hummelberg. In: Festschrift for Claus Nissen. Wiesbaden 1973, pp. 43-71.
• The study of rights in the age of humanism in the German legal field . 1974
• The Feldkirch freedom letter of 1376 . 1996
• The Counts of Montfort . 1996
• The municipal coats of arms of Vorarlberg . 1997, ISBN 978-3-7995-4009-4
• History of the city of Tettnang . UVK, Konstanz 1997, ISBN 3-87940-595-6
• History of Vorarlberg . 1998
• Olympe de Gouges . The Rights of Women 1791 . Published by Karl Heinz Burmeister, Wallstein, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-89244-736-5 .
• Lindau students from town and country . Lindau Museum Association, 2004
• Maria Josepha Rosalia Ernestina Countess of Montfort (1753–1773) - Lady of Thorn . City Archives, Tettnang 2008

Articles available online in the writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings :

• Georg Joachim Rhetikus and Achilles Pirmin Gasser. A contribution to the history of the natural sciences at Lake Constance , 86th year 1968, pp. 217–226 ( digitized version )
• Jakob Jonas. Humanist and statesman , 89th year 1971, pp. 83–94 ( digitized version )
• The Jews in Vorarlberg in the Middle Ages , 94th year 1976, pp. 1–18 ( digitized version )
• History of Lake Constance shipping up to the beginning of the 19th century , 99/100. Jg. 1981/82, pp 165-188 ( Digitalisat ( Memento of 10 March 2014 Web archive archive.today ))
• Hohenems Purim, a Jewish carnival in 1811 , 105th year 1987, pp. 131-138 ( digitized version )
• “Without Bregenz there would be no St. Gallen”. The path of St. Gallus from Bregenz to St. Gallen , 114th year 1996, pp. 5–16 ( digitized version )
• Count Hugo VII of Montfort-Feldkirch-Tosters (1300–1359). Robber baron and patriarchal landlord , 116th year 1998, pp. 23–34 ( digitized version )
• Wasserburg as a cultural center at the end of the 13th century , 118th year 2000, pp. 17–27 ( digitized version )
• Count Johann II. Von Montfort-Rothenfels (approx. 1490–1547) , 123rd year 2005, pp. 33–57 ( digitized version )
• The "second deluge". The Rhine and Lake Constance floods of 1566 , 124th year 2006, pp. 111–137 ( digitized version )
• "The Hot Summer" 1540 in the Lake Constance region , year 126, 2008, pp. 59–87 ( digitized version )

literature

• Alois Niederstätter : Karl Heinz Burmeister (1936–2014) . In: Writings of the Association for the History of Lake Constance and its Surroundings . 133th issue. Thorbecke, Osterfildern 2015, ISBN 978-3-7995-1721-8 , pp. XIX f .
• Philipp Schöbi: Karl Heinz Burmeister † (1936–2014) . In: Johannes Spies (Ed.): Series of publications of the Rheticus Society . No. 67 . Feldkirch 2016, ISBN 978-3-902601-43-8 , p. 5-14 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Karl Heinz Burmeister in the catalog of the German National Library
• Entry on Karl Heinz Burmeister in the Austria Forum  (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
• Publications by Karl Heinz Burmeister in the Opac of the Regesta Imperii

Individual evidence

1. ^ Former state archivist Karl Heinz Burmeister is dead. In: Vorarlberger Nachrichten of December 18, 2014 (accessed on December 18, 2014).
2. ↑ Austria Lexicon aeiou
3. ↑ 96 municipal coat of arms ; 200 years of community organization in Vorarlberg (exhibition Bregenz, 2008)
4. ↑ Alois Niederstätter : Comments on Vorarlberg regional historiography after 1945 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 195 kB)