Upper Saxon Imperial Circle

A map of the imperial circles at the end of the 16th century. The Upper Saxon Reichskreis is shown in red.

The Upper Saxon Empire comprised territories in central and northeastern Germany. It existed from the beginning of the 16th century until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It served to coordinate common affairs of the participating imperial estates and, for example, had competencies in coinage. He had to take care of the removal of the imperial aid and to organize the provision of troops for the emperor in accordance with the resolutions of the Reichstag .

history

The Upper Saxon Imperial Circle was established in 1512 as one of ten Imperial Circles of the Holy Roman Empire as part of the reforms of Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519). The main tasks of the district in its area were the maintenance of the peace , the collection of imperial taxes and the establishment of the imperial army .

The prince of the Upper Saxon imperial circle was the elector of Saxony . That is, he had to organize the meetings of the members or their envoys who discussed the settlement of matters of common interest. The location of the district assembly was usually Leipzig , but also Frankfurt (Oder) and Jüterbog . After the Peace of Westphalia, the balance shifted more and more in favor of the large Upper Saxon estates, Kursachsen and Kurbrandenburg . Due to a pronounced rivalry between Saxony and Brandenburg , the inner structure of the district was permanently disrupted, so that - 120 years before the official end of the Holy Roman Empire and the imperial districts - the last Upper Saxon district assembly took place in 1683.

Territories of the Reichskreis

In addition to most of the Wettin territories, the Upper Saxon Imperial Circle also included the Anhalt principalities, the Electorate of Brandenburg , the Pomeranian duchies and the territories of the Counts of Reuss , Schönburg and Schwarzburg, and thus circumscribed an area that is now largely in the East German federal states and in the Polish voivodeships of West Pomerania and Lebus lies.

In the area of today's federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia , however, the archdiocese of Magdeburg (with Halle / Saale), the bishopric (later principality) Halberstadt and the imperial cities of Nordhausen and Mühlhausen belonged to the Lower Saxony imperial circle and the territories of the last two lines of the Counts of Henneberg , so large parts of today's southern Thuringia to the Frankish imperial circle . In addition, the city of Erfurt and its area and the Eichsfeld belonged to the Archdiocese of Mainz - and thus to the Kurheinische Kreis . The Saxon margraviates low- and Oberlausitz belonging to any Circle.

In detail, the following territories belonged to the Upper Saxon Imperial Circle, some of which only existed temporarily.

Electorates

Imperial counties and imperial lords

County Barby - 1659 on Electoral Saxony
County of Hohnstein
Principality of Hatzfeld
County of Lohra
County of Klettenberg
Mansfeld County - on Brandenburg and Saxony
Dominions of the Counts of Schönburg ( Schönburgische Rezessherrschaft ): the formerly supposedly imperial-free (imperial direct) dominions and later - but before 1543 - Bohemian Reichsafterlehen Waldenburg / Saxony, Glauchau and Lichtenstein / Saxony, whereby Hartenstein and Stein after statements of the Counts Schönburg to the Reich Chancellery of 1724 and 1734 drew attention to the fact that Hartenstein was a margravial Saxon fiefdom and that this was erroneously listed in the count's diploma from 1700. As members of the Upper Saxon Imperial Circle and the Wetterau Count Association in 1656, the first three lords mentioned should have been almost sovereign imperial estates. In the 17th century, however, they recognized Saxon territorial sovereignty on various occasions, and this is why this sovereignty has always been questioned; with the "Rezess" (comparison) with the Saxon Elector of 1740, however, they recognized his sovereignty and thus formally forfeited their partial sovereignty. Therefore, the prince of Schönburg-Waldenburg and Schönburg-Hartenstein, which took place in Frankfurt in 1790, can only mean a titular principality without an imperial estate. They cannot be counted among the high nobility and their recognition as noblemen in the 19th century is basically untenable.
Grafschaft Stolberg - 1738 to the Electorate of Saxony
County of Wernigerode - 1714 to Brandenburg
Ruppin rule was one of the Reichsmatrikel of 1521 also for Upper Saxon Circle, was at this time but probably already under the suzerainty of the Margrave of Brandenburg for 1524 finally moved in the rule.

literature

Karlheinz Blaschke : The Upper Saxon Imperial Circle . In: Peter Claus Hartmann (Hrsg.): Regions in the early modern times. Imperial circles in Germany, provinces in France, regions under Polish sovereignty. A comparison of their structures, functions and their importance . Berlin 1994 (= journal for historical research; supplement 17).
Winfried Dotzauer: The German imperial circles in the constitution of the old empire and their own life. 1500-1806 . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1989, ISBN 3-534-04139-9 .
Winfried Dotzauer: The German Imperial Circles (1383-1806). History and file edition . Steiner, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-515-07146-6 online version (excerpts) .
Thomas Nicklas: Power or Law. Early modern politics in the Upper Saxon Empire . Stuttgart, 2002 (Zugl. Erlangen-Nürnberg, Univ., Habil.-Schrift, 2001)

Web links

Wikisource: Topographia Superioris Saxoniae - Sources and full texts

Wikisource: Print from 1532 and digitization of a directory of the imperial districts and the associated territories with details of the troops to be deployed for Turkish aid - sources and full texts

Upper Saxon Imperial Circle

contents

history

Territories of the Reichskreis

Electorates

Spiritual principalities

Imperial prelatures

Secular principalities

Imperial counties and imperial lords

See also

literature

Web links