Media principality
Media principality is the name given to the ruling district of a prince who does not have full sovereignty or sovereignty, but has been granted his right to rule by another state or prince - or, as a formerly sovereign prince, has become dependent on submission or a contract. For example, anyone who, according to the provisions of the Peace of Westphalia, had all the essential rights of state sovereignty and was then reduced to a subject of another imperial estate through mediatization . The extent of government power and special rights that remained to a media prince depended on his overlord.
Formation of media principalities at the beginning of the 19th century
The most extensive mediatization took place after the secularization of the (mostly Catholic) imperial monasteries in 1803: 77 spiritual areas were secularized, 41 imperial cities , six imperial villages and 90 smaller imperial territories were dissolved. After further mediation in 1806 and 1815 , 38 independent states remained in the German Confederation .
The mediated genders retained their equality with the ruling houses, their members were exempt from military service and taxes, and sovereign rights in church and school affairs were reserved for them.
Some better-known media princely families are z. B. Hohenlohe , Solms , Thurn and Taxis , Castell , Erbach , Leiningen , Ratibor , Schwarzenberg and Wied .
See also
literature
- Almanach de Gotha , Gotha 1930