Landscape (Duchy of Schleswig)
A landscape in the Duchy of Schleswig was an administrative unit on a regional level in the legal form of a corporation under public law , which was formed exclusively by the respective landowners of a region.
task
The landscapes were created by the landowners in the Duchy of Schleswig, especially in those areas that were in flood-prone areas of the North Sea coast and made coastal protection necessary. The purpose was the self-administration of the area in the following areas:
- Finance and Taxation
- Appointment and election of officials for the administration
- Judicial, dike and school systems
- Church affairs.
Legal Status
While the ordinary lower administrative districts were called fiefdoms under the rule of the country or as offices from the end of the 15th century at the latest, the landscapes enjoyed special rights in a certain way. The larger regions of Eiderstedt, Nordstrand (with Pellworm) and Fehmarn even had their own legal systems in addition to Jutian law . With the exception of Glambeck on Fehmarn, there were no sovereign castles or official houses in the landscapes. But from the 16th century at the latest, the senior official of the neighboring rulers' office was in charge of supervision. The smaller landscapes were an integral part of an office anyway, even if they enjoyed special rights in some functions.
The landscapes coexisted alongside the Harden and the Sysseln . The landscapes in the Duchy of Schleswig differed from the historical landscapes formed by the estates in terms of their specific tasks. In the other regions of the Danish monarchy, the organization of a landscape was unknown, apart from the landscapes Norder- and Süder- Dithmarschen , which were established after 1559/81 , but which differed significantly from their Schleswig counterparts. After the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein was founded in 1866, the landscapes - apart from a few more local representative functions - lost their importance as administrative units. The functions were taken over by the newly formed districts .
Individual landscapes
Eiderstedt
The Eiderstedt landscape consisted of eighteen parishes and the two towns of Tönning and Garding . Participants in the landscape assembly were the feudal people from the individual parishes, the mayors of the two cities, the two pfennig masters and the state secretary who took the minutes.
The legal basis of the landscape was the land law of 1591, which also included older Eiderstedter legal sources such as the Crown of Right Truth from 1426. At the head of administration and justice was a Staller , which, however, at least since the 16th century as Oberstaller the bailiff of Gottorf and since 1736 the bailiff of Husum was superior. Important administrative matters were settled in the landscape assembly. One court each acted as sub-courts for the western parts of the country with the centers Tating and Garding and for the eastern Harde with the center Tönning. They acted mutually as a court of appeal before the Gottorf court or, from 1713, the Schleswig Higher Court could be appealed to., Judges at the lower courts were the councilors also elected in the parishes, with both offices often overlapping each other. The landscape was converted into a Prussian district after 1867, although it was actually too small for an independent unit of this type.
Nordstrand and Pellworm
The north beach landscape , which originally consisted of five Harden , was structured in a similar way . Föhr and the north-eastern Marschharden of the mainland, the Wiedingharde and the Bökingharde, the latter with the center Niebüll, also participated in the Nordstrander legal system . In 1362 two of the five Nordstrander Harden, the Wiedrichsharde in the north and the Lundenbergharde in the southeast, were largely destroyed and later incorporated into their neighboring Harden. In 1634 the island of Nordstrand broke up, and the Beltringharde was largely destroyed. However, the Nordstrander land right remained in the northern Marschharden and on the remaining islands. It was not until 1853 that Rest-Nordstrand (the rest of the old Edomsharde) was converted into a harde, which was under the supervision of the Husum bailiff.
Pellworm was a Nordstrander Harde until 1634, but since then has led its existence as an independent island and independent landscape, whereby the Halligen were included as the remains of the Wiedrichs- and Beltringharde. Although further away from Husum than the rest of the north beach, this landscape was henceforth tied more closely to the office. This status remained until 1864.
Heligoland
Heligoland was the most remote part of the Duchy of Schleswig. The bailiff from Husum was in charge of supervision, and a governor was on site. The council ran the court, a meeting with the governor arranged the daily administration. The elders had to be called in on important matters. In 1807 a British governor took over the role of governor when Heligoland became a crown colony.
Stacking bar
The Stapelholm landscape was originally reacted to from Tielen Castle . After it was destroyed in the war against Dithmarschen , it was moved to Süderstapel in 1500 . Until 1711, the Stapelholm area belonged to the Gottorf district . The land clerk as his own head of administration was also committed to the parish representatives.
Fehmarn
For a long time Fehmarn was an area that was not assigned to the Kingdom of Denmark, Schleswig or Holstein. When it finally became an integral part of the Duchy of Schleswig, it retained its independent administration. Until 1864 the island was characterized by a particularly independent legal and administrative system. It is true that there was also a landscape assembly here and a sovereign bailiff at the head, who was even treated as equal to the bailiffs. But the decisive factor was the parishes. The judges of the three other parishes acted as appeal bodies.
Official landscapes
Osterland-Föhr and Sylt (without cunning ) were subordinate to the Tondern office as landscapes . As in the great landscapes, a council functioned as the court and a landscape assembly as the administrative body. At the head of the two was a sovereign bailiff. This was subordinate to the bailiff of Tondern, but also took care of many of his business because he could not come to the islands so often. The Wieding- and Bökingharde had a similar status with their feudal bailiffs as legal districts. However, these were never referred to as landscapes. Until 1864, these four units had a common appeal body similar to that in Fehmarn. This court of appeal was held at the Amtshaus in Tondern .
Ærø was not created as a landscape until 1773, when all the lower courts of the Baltic Sea island were combined. The island had a bailiff as the judge and his own clerk who handled all financial transactions. However, the landscape belonged to the small office of Norburg until 1864 .
See also
literature
- Niels Nikolaus Falck : Handbook of Schleswig-Holstein private law . Hammerich, Altona 1825-1848
- Gerret Liebing Schlaber: Hertugdømmet Slesvigs forvaltning. Administrative structures and retspleje mellem Ejderen and Kongeåen around 1460-1864 . Flensburg 2007
- Anton Tödt: From the "Eiderstedt Landscape" to the Eiderstedt district . In: Eiderstedter Heimatbund (Ed.): View over Eiderstedt . Boyens, Heide 1965