Oberrat (Duchy of Prussia)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of arms of the Duchy of Prussia

The Upper Council in the Duchy of Prussia , which was a ducal state that existed from 1525 to 1701 , was the cabinet in the figurative sense . As we understand it, he was the "whole government". The Oberrat was composed of the Oberburggrave, the Obermarschall, the Landhofmeister and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Prussia . The incumbents were nevertheless dubbed "Oberrat".

history

Starting from the Order Council, which worked for the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and was composed of the five highest order rulers , namely the Grand Commander , the Order Marshal , the Oberstspittler (hospital master ), the Obersttrappier (quartermaster and supply master) and the Tressler (treasurer) Duchy of Prussia created the so-called Oberratsstube. The senior councilors appointed by the ruling duke, who were also honored with the title of "senior councilor", were usually officials from the nobility of Prussia and formed the ducal-Prussian "entire government". The committee consisted of the upper burggrave, the upper marshal, the court master and the chancellor.

Rank and tasks of the four councilors

According to the constitution of the ducal state, the four councilors formed the upper council chamber, which existed as the budget ministry until 1804. The Oberburggraf had his official residence and residence in Königsberg Castle . The Landhofmeister was with the Landhofmeisterei in the Landhofmeisterstraße in Königsberg . According to their rank, they were classified as follows: 1. Landhofmeister, 2. Oberburggraf, 3. Obermarschall and 4. Chancellor. According to the ordinance of 1556 (small grace privilege) and the will of Duke Albrechts (1490–1568) it was stipulated that the eight highest-ranking positions must be wealthy nobles from Prussia and "German birth". The chancellery could be filled with a civil lawyer . According to the constitution, the Landhofmeister was responsible for the supervision of the chamber offices, the Oberburggraf mainly had to supervise the "internal security" as well as the commercial and financial affairs, the Obermarschall was in charge of the army and the court economy and the Chancellor was in charge of the official correspondence in matters of the judiciary and the law firm.

Regency Council

During the absence of the sovereign, the four councilors represented the duke as a kind of cabinet, together with the four highest captains, the court and judicial councilors and the representatives of the "three cities of Königsberg" ( Altstadt , Kneiphof and Löbenicht ). They also acted as its deputy and were called regents during this period . In times of an interregnum , they held the power of government and were subordinate to the Polish overlords . The “Regency Council” was only permanently established under Elector Joachim Friedrich (1546–1608).

Absolute violence

There was a separation of powers according to today's model in Prussia, i. H. in the duchy, not; In addition to matters relating to the executive , the four senior councilors also had tasks in the judiciary and, moreover, in the legislature . For example, they formed the court court with six to eight other representatives . At the same time, they were represented in the state parliament and participated in legislation . Since they made their decisions in the name of the duke, they could intervene in church matters on his behalf and they were authorized to give instructions to the subordinate administrative officials. Another privilege included the acceptance of the annual hereditary homage , the appointment or dismissal of leading office holders and, ultimately, the issuing of oaths . From 1616 they acquired the right to make proposals for appointments to offices and they were given a say in foreign policy . The Oberratskollegium had to decide unanimously, this contributed to the outward appearance of the Oberratsstube, but led internally to some power struggles and political intrigues.

Captains

The next lower authority to the upper councilors were the fifty or so offices of captains. Captain or captains did not refer to the military degree of captain , it was understood to mean the direction or leadership of a captaincy . Applied to the captains, this would mean that they were “above” the captains. The senior councilors usually came from the four so-called highest main offices, which included Tapiau , Schaaken , Fischhausen and, as the highest-ranking, Brandenburg . Their area of ​​responsibility included the management of the administration in their main teams, they made executive decisions, supervised the churches, presided over the regional court and were able to participate in the legislative process in the regional parliaments. By virtue of their office, the captains belonged to the state of the district administrators, which was the "most distinguished" in the state parliament. Its highest representative was the captain in Brandenburg.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Neugebauer (ed.), Frank Kleinhagenbrock: The 17th and 18th centuries and great topics in the history of Prussia (= Handbook of Prussian History , Volume 1). Verlag Walter de Gruyter, 2009, ISBN 3-11-021662-0 . Also footnote 11: Felix Arndt: The Upper Councilors in Prussia 1525–1640 . phil. Diss. Königsberg, Elbing 1911, p. 2 f. (Organizational order, origin until 1542: pp. 7–11, 1542: pp. 13 ff. Useful: Kurtz-gefaßte Historie der Prussischen Government . In: Erleutertes Preußen or Auserlesene Notes about various things belonging to the Prussian… history… , 1. Königsberg 1724, pp. 81–113, esp. P. 81 ff. Privilegia of the estates of the Duchy of Prussia, on which the Landt is founded and based on it . Braunsberg 1616, p. 53 v. (1542, “whole government”). W. Hubatsch , Albrecht --- (see note 5), p. 192 .: also Heinrich Otto Meisner : State and government forms and Germany since the 16th century (= Libelli, 199). Darmstadt 1958, p. 229, Google books
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Neugebauer (ed.), Frank Kleinhagenbrock: The 17th and 18th centuries and great topics in the history of Prussia (= Handbook of Prussian History , Volume 1). Verlag Walter de Gruyter, 2009, ISBN 3-11-021662-0
  3. ^ Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt : Königsberg from A to Z - a city dictionary . Leer 1972
  4. ↑ The eight highest positions were the Landhofmeister, the Oberburggraf, the Obermarschall, the Chancellor and the four highest-ranking main offices: Tapiau, Schaaken, Fischhausen and as the highest-ranking Brandenburg.
  5. ↑ In Brandenburg-Prussia to the Oberamt or Chamber of Departments (belonging). Chamber Office . In: Former Academy of Sciences of the GDR, Heidelberg Academy of Sciences (Hrsg.): German legal dictionary . tape 6 , issue 5 (edited by Hans Blesken, Siegfried Reicke ). Hermann Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1965, OCLC 832566941 ( adw.uni-heidelberg.de - continued in the following issue).
  6. ↑ Note: Hubatsch, Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach, 193 f. “After him, the Obermarschall was responsible for the court servants, the ducal table and heating, the Oberburggraf for mills, construction and the 'moral police' (...). The Landhofmeister acted as master of ceremonies and 'a kind of wing adjutant' and supervised the Frauenzimmer, the Chancellor conducted the official correspondence. ”See: Wolfgang Neugebauer (Ed.), Frank Kleinhagenbrock: The 17th and 18th Century and Great Themes of the History of Prussia (= Handbook of Prussian History , Volume 1). Verlag Walter de Gruyter, 2009, ISBN 3-11-021662-0