State Parliament (Waldeck-Pyrmont)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Landtag of Waldeck-Pyrmont was the legislature of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont and the later Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont .

precursor

From 1625 the Principality of Waldeck and the County of Pyrmont were linked in personal union. In terms of constitutional law, however, both principalities were separate in the old empire . In Waldeck there had been estates since the formation of the principality , in Pyrmont it was unknown whether the estates were involved.

After the wars of liberation

Prince Georg II of Waldeck-Pyrmont

On January 28, 1814, Prince Georg Heinrich issued a constitution , the Organizational Edict . In this imposed, d. H. Without the participation of the estates or the people, Georg Heinrich carried out the constitutional unification of the Principality of Waldeck with the Pyrmont, which has been known as the Principality since 1807. He confirmed the rights of the Waldeck estates and instructed that four members from Pyrmont should now also be assigned to them.

This regulation provoked a storm of protest among the Waldeck estates. The president of the estates, Carl Friedrich von Dalwigk, was the spokesman for the opposition, which ultimately enforced that Georg Heinrich had to confirm the constitutional separation of Waldeck and Pyrmont in the convention of July 3, 1814.

In 1814 and 1815 there were state estates (deputation days) under the old law. The result of the negotiations between the prince and the estates was the constitutional charter for the principality of Waldeck from April 19, 1816, the so-called state treaty . In relation to the state parliament, it largely referred to the existing law. A representation of Pyrmont was no longer planned.

In the German Confederation

The German Federal Act , the founding document of the German Confederation , called for in Article 13 the formation country permanent constitutions. The state treaty was generally seen as an implementation of this obligation.

According to the national treaty, the estates were the “representatives of our subjects”. They consisted (as before) of the manorial landowners and representatives of the cities. The membership of a representative of the city of Arolsen and 10 representatives of the peasant class was new compared to the previous estates . These representatives were to be elected for life. All male citizens of the country who belonged to one of the three recognized Christian denominations, were at least 25 years old, had an innocent reputation and were able to read and write were eligible. In addition, the citizens had to have a fortune of at least 500 thalers , the farmers had a debt-free farm of at least 30 acres .

The election of the representatives of the peasant class took place indirectly through electors . For this purpose, each parish elected an elector under the chairmanship of its clergyman. He must be a “man who loves order and who generally deserves trust through moral conduct”. In addition, the state treaty required that he must be of legal age, innocent, landowner and known as a good landlord. The electors then elected two deputies per senior office, chaired by the state counsel and the head of the respective higher judicial office.

The estates met only three times from 1816 to 1848. In between, they made the decisions by circular resolution under the direction of the Land Syndic, the President of the Chamber.

The revolution of 1848

State Parliament President Hermann Backhaus

The March Revolution also hit Waldeck-Pyrmont. On April 3, 1848, the state estates were convened to pass an election law for the newly elected Waldeck-Pyrmonter Landtag. Two representatives of Pyrmont were invited to this. The result of the deliberations was the state constitution for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont of May 23, 1849. This constitution (designed by Wolrad Schumacher ) provided for a largely unified state of Waldeck-Pyrmont, whose legislature was to be a state parliament made up of 15 democratically elected members. However, separate national budgets should continue to exist for both principalities. The deputies were elected by secret ballot in one-person constituencies .

At the same time, a special state parliament for the Principality of Pyrmont was elected in Pyrmont in 1848. This state parliament, which consists of five members, also approved the constitution. It existed until the state budgets were unified in 1863/65.

reaction time

In 1852, Prince Georg Victor passed the constitutional charter for the principalities of Waldeck and Pyrmont . Even under this far less liberal constitution, the state parliament retained the right to approve laws, budget law and budget control. The state parliament was also still elected in secret.

After the German war

With the accession agreement of 1867, Waldeck-Pyrmont ceded essential rights to Prussia after the German War . For the state parliament, the right to vote was changed to the effect that the right to secret elections and direct elections no longer existed.

Weimar Republic

In the aftermath of the November Revolution of 1918, Prince Friedrich was deposed and Waldeck-Pyrmont was declared a Free State . The state parliament was dissolved on April 2, 1919 and replaced by the Waldeck-Pyrmont state representative body. However, no constitution was passed. Instead, a connection to Prussia was discussed. On November 30, 1921, after a referendum , Pyrmont was ceded to Prussia and became part of the Hameln-Pyrmont district .

Waldeck remained independent as a Free State until April 1, 1929 . Elections to the state parliament took place in 1922 and 1925. In 1929, Waldeck was also incorporated into Prussia as part of the Hesse-Nassau province . The Landtag was succeeded by the Kurhessische Kommunallandtag or the Provincial Parliament of Hessen-Nassau .

Seat

The state parliament had its seat in today's house of the Domanialverwaltung (Schloßstraße 28) opposite the Residenzschloss in Arolsen . After 1919 the state representative used the current town hall of Bad Arolsen.

Presidents of Parliament

In the principality of Waldeck or Waldeck and Pyrmont

Title and parliament Term of office person
Chairman of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck 1814 State Syndic Johann Jakob Leonhardi
(in fact: Theodor Neumann , adjunct of the State Syndic)
Chairman of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck 1816 State Syndic Johann Jakob Leonhardi
(in fact: Theodor Neumann, adjunct of the State Syndic)
Director of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck 1828 Wilhelm von Hanxleden
Director of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck 1830 Wilhelm von Hanxleden
Director of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck 1848 Wilhelm von Hanxleden
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck (until June 26, 1848) 1848 Wilhelm Großkurth
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont (from June 26, 1848) 1848-1849 Wilhelm Großkurth
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1849-1851 Hermann Backhaus (en) ( WH )
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1851-1856 Carl Steineck
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1856 Wilhelm Gleisner
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1856-1862 Wolrad Schumacher
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1862-1863 Wilhelm Schumann
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1863-1867 Ludwig Severin ( NL )
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1867 Wilhelm Schumann
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1868-1871 Wilhelm Gleisner
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1871-1876 Adolf Rhode (NL)
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1876-1878 Carl Hagemann
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1878-1890 Adolf Rhode (NL)
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1891 Wilhelm Mogk
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1892-1894 Robert Varnhagen (NL)
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1894-1909 Robert Waldeck (NL)
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1909-1914 Gustav Baumbach (NL)
President of the Landtag of the Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1914-1919 August best
President of the State Representation of the Free State of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1919-1921 Paul Winkhaus ( DDP )
President of the State Representation of the Free State of Waldeck and Pyrmont 1921-1922 Heinrich Kramer (also: Harry) ( SPD )
President of the State Representation of the Free State of Waldeck 1922-1929 Oswald Waldschmidt ( DNVP )

In the Principality of Pyrmont

Title and parliament Term of office person
President of the Special Parliament of the Principality of Pyrmont 1848-1853 Carl Rudolph Waldeck
President of the Special Parliament of the Principality of Pyrmont 1853 Georg Rhine
President of the Special Parliament of the Principality of Pyrmont 1854-1861 Carl Rudolph Waldeck
President of the Special Parliament of the Principality of Pyrmont 1862-1863 Adolph Diaper
President of the Special Parliament of the Principality of Pyrmont 1864 Hermann Neumann

swell

  • Reinhard König: The members of the Waldeck Landtag from 1848 to 1929. Hessisches Staatsarchiv, 1985, ISBN 978-3-88964-122-9
  • Jochen Lengemann : MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , pp. 15-17.
  • State treaty of April 19, 1816. In: Karl Heinrich Ludwig Pölitz: The Constitutions of the European States for the last 25 years. Verlag FA Brockhaus, 1820, p. 369 ff. ( Online ).

literature

  • Wolfgang Haselhof: The political parties and the elections in Waldeck 1867-1953 , dissertation, University of Giessen 1986

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ § 11 and 12 of the Land Treaty
  2. ↑ § 13 of the Land Treaty
  3. ↑ § 15 of the Land Treaty
  4. ↑ § 16-18 of the state treaty
  5. ↑ The principality remained nominally independent, but from January 1, 1868, Prussia took over the state deficits and internal administration with the justice and school systems of the principality, albeit in accordance with Waldeck's laws.
  6. ^ Ludwig Luckemeyer: Liberales Waldeck and Pyrmont and Waldeck-Frankenberg 1821-1981 , 1984, p. 238.