Baltic Governments
The Ostseegouvernements ( Russian губернии Остзейские , Ostsejskije gubernii ) were called in the Russian Empire , the deutschbaltisch embossed and on the Baltic Sea nearby provinces Estonia , Livonia and Courland .
designation
The official name in German was Baltic Sea Provinces of Russia . The terms Baltic Sea Provinces (including St. Petersburg), Baltic Governments or Baltic Provinces can still be found in lexicons from the German Empire .
list
| Flag | Russian | Transliteration | German (historical) | German (Modern) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Эстляндская губерния | Estlyandskaya gubernija | Est (h) country governorate | Estonia Governorate |
|
Лифляндская губерния | Liflyandskaya gubernija | Livonian Governorate | Livonia Governorate |
|
Курля́ндская губерния | Kurljandskaya gubernija | Courland Governorate | Courland Governorate |
Special position in the tsarist empire
The three governorates had a special position in the Russian Empire, as they were influenced by Protestants and German as a result of the centuries-long rule of the German-Baltic nobility. Urban self-government was more developed than in the rest of the Tsarist empire and serfdom was abolished at the beginning of the 19th century.
In addition to their strategic and economic importance, the governorates also had a certain model character for Russia. The term “window to the west” applies just as well to it as it does to Saint Petersburg . Large estates and the urban bourgeoisie were all German-speaking, but Estonians and Latvians were also influenced by Lutheran Protestantism .
history
Historically, these governorates corresponded to the area of the Order of the Brothers of the Sword , which was incorporated into the Teutonic Order in 1237 . In the late Middle Ages, the term Livonia was often used for Livonia, Courland and Estonia together. In 1561 the Order of Livonia was converted into a secular duchy. Later North Estonia became Swedish , and the rest of Livonia, including Courland, submitted to the sovereignty of Poland-Lithuania , although most of Livonia also became Swedish in 1620.
After the Peace of Nystad in 1721 , these two northern regions became part of Russia, Courland remained an autonomous duchy under Polish sovereignty ( fiefdom ) until the dissolution of the Polish-Lithuanian aristocratic republic in 1795 .
In 1919, the independent states of Estonia were formed from the Estonia Governorate and the northern part of Livonia and Latvia from the southern part of Livonia and Courland.
administration
Together with the Gouvernement Pleskau, you were temporarily under the civil administration of the War Governor of Riga as Governor General.
education
They belonged to the Riga teaching district .
Organizations
The Baltic Germans founded various scientifically, historically or literarily oriented societies, e.g. B .:
- 1802 Literary-practical citizen connection (Riga)
- 1817 Courland Society for Literature and Art (Mitau)
- 1817 Arensburg Estonian Society
- 1824 Latvian Literary Society (Riga and Mitau)
- 1834 Society for the History and Archeology of the Baltic Provinces of Russia (Riga)
- 1838 Estonian learned society , Dorpat
- 1842 Estonian Literary Society , Reval
- 1853 Dorpater Naturforscher-Gesellschaft / Naturforscher-Gesellschaft at the University of Dorpat
- 1864 Narvasche Ancient Society
- 1865 Association for Customer Ösels (Arensburg)
- 1881 Fellin Literary Society ( Fellin )
- 1896 Antiquities Research Society in Pernau
- 1904 Society for the Preservation of Jerwsch Antiquities (Weissenstein)
- 1907 Genealogical Society of the Baltic Sea Provinces (Mitau)
- 1910 Society for local history (Wenden)
- 1911 Libau Society for Classical Studies
Publications
- Revalsche Post-Zeitung , 1689–1710, Reval
- Baltic weekly for agriculture, industry and trade , 1863–1915, Dorpat
- Düna newspaper , 1887–1909, Riga
- The Inland , 1836–1863, Riga
- Libausche Zeitung , 1824–1939, Libau
- Revalsche Zeitung , 1860–1940, Reval
- Rigasche Rundschau , 1894–1939, Riga
- Riga City Gazette , 1810–1907, Riga
- Volksblatt für Stadt und Land of the Baltic provinces , 1864–1865, Mitau
- Rigaer Tagblatt
see also: German Baltic Newspapers in Estonia
literature
- Karsten Brüggemann : Light and air of the empire. Legitimation and representation strategies of Russian rule in the Baltic provinces in the 19th and early 20th centuries Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-447-10820-1 .
-
Provincial law of the Baltic Governments. Compiled on the orders of the Lord and Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich.
- Volume 1: Authorities Constitution . Saint Petersburg 1845.
- Volume 2: Estates Law of the Baltic Sea Governments . Saint Petersburg 1845.
- Volume 3: Liv, Est and Curland private law . Book printing of the Second Division of His Imperial Majesty's own chancellery, Saint Petersburg 1864.
Individual evidence
- ^ Pierer's Universal Lexicon . Volume 12, Altenburg 1861, p. 505.
- ^ Meyer's Large Conversational Lexicon . 6th edition. Volume 15, 1906, p. 241.
- ^ Brockhaus' Kleines Konversations-Lexikon . fifth edition. Volume 1, Leipzig 1911, p. 145.
- ↑ http://www.digitale-bibliothek-mv.de/viewer/image/PPN730902986/33/
- ^ Hellmuth Weiss : The historical societies. In: Georg von Rauch (Hrsg.): History of Baltic German historiography . Böhlau, Cologne / Vienna 1986, pp. 121-139.