Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti

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The privilege Sigismundi Augusti was on 28 November 1561 of the Treaty of Vilnius between the Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II August. And the last Landmeister of Meistertums Livonia , Gotthard Kettler , contractually negotiated and granted privilege , which is the ratio of the Livonian Established positions for the Polish crown and sealed the end of the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Confederation . For the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia addition was Pacta subiectionis signed, in addition to the privileges of the ratio of the nobility to the Duke, regulated King of Poland and the Reichstag.

The privileges

Gotthard Kettler was the last national champion of the Livonian Order . He submitted to the remains of the order and its vassals Poland-Lithuania. After negotiations with King Sigismund August, the latter guaranteed the Livonian nobility and the Kurlanders special rights:

  1. Guarantee of the Evangelical Lutheran Faith
  2. Guarantee of the German official language
  3. Guarantee of self-administration ("German authorities", "German law")
  4. Codification of the (Livonian) land law
  5. Guarantee of the indigenous population (offices in Livonia and Courland only to locals).

The autonomy rights established in this form also served the German upper class as a basis for negotiation in the event of later changes in rule and essentially remained in effect until 1919 (Imperial Russian Baltic Governorate Livonia).

literature

  • Burchard von Klot: Jost Clodt and the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti. Harro Hirschheydt, Hannover 1977, ISBN 3-7777-0826-7 ( Contributions to Baltic History , Vol. 6).

Web links

Commons : Teutonic Order  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. Reinhard Wittram : Baltic history. The Baltic countries of Livonia, Estonia, Courland 1180–1918 . Oldenbourg, Munich 1954, p. 81.