Free imperial city of Mühlhausen
.svg){kind=small} Territory in the Holy Roman Empire |
|
|---|---|
| Mulhouse | |
| coat of arms | |
|
|
| map | |
| Location in the Reichskreis | |
Imperial circles at the beginning of the 16th century. In red the Lower Saxony Reichskreis .
|
|
| Form of rule | Imperial city |
| Ruler / government | magistrate |
| Today's region / s | DE-TH |
| Parliament | Rheinische Städtebank |
| Reichskreis | Lower Saxony Imperial Circle |
| Capitals / residences | Mulhouse |
| Denomination / Religions | Roman Catholic , from 1542: Evangelical Lutheran |
| Language / n | German |
| surface | 220 km² |
| Residents | 9,000 (around 1802/03) |
| Incorporated into | 1802/03 Kingdom of Prussia
|
The free and imperial city of Mühlhausen was a territory ( free and imperial city ) of the Holy Roman Empire with the city of Mühlhausen as its center, whose independence had taken place during the 13th century (achievement of imperial freedom in 1251) and which existed until 1802/03.
Geographical location
The area of the free and imperial city of Mühlhausen was in the upper valley of the Unstrut on the western edge of the Thuringian basin . In the west of the area was the Eichsfeld , in the southwest of the Hainich .
The area of the former Free and Imperial City of Mühlhausen is today in the northwest of the Free State of Thuringia and belongs to the Unstrut-Hainich district .
Adjacent administrative units
- North: Exclave Kleinkeula (to the office of Volkenroda, Duchy of Saxony-Gotha) and Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen ( subordinate rule )
- East: Amt Volkenroda (exclave of the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha )
- Southeast: Amt Langensalza ( Electorate of Saxony , from 1815 to the Prussian district of Langensalza )
- Southwest: Vogtei Dorla (for the Treffurt estate , condominium of the Electorate of Saxony, the Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel and the Archdiocese of Mainz, 1802/03 to Prussia, 1807–1813 to the Kingdom of Westphalia, from 1815 to the Prussian district of Mühlhausen )
- West and northwest: Eichsfeld ( Archdiocese of Mainz , from 1802/03 to Prussia, 1807–1813 to the Kingdom of Westphalia, 1813 to Prussia)
history
The beginnings of the city's history
Mühlhausen was first mentioned in a document in 967. It was the center of an important imperial estate district with a fortified royal court, whose origins go back to the Frankish empire of Charlemagne . The town of Mühlhausen was granted city rights in 1135 . It was the first place in Thuringia to receive these rights. After Henry the Lion conquered the city in 1180, the city wall around the city center (49 hectares) was built around 1200 with seven double gates, 38 defensive and pulpit towers and a length of 2.7 kilometers. Around 1225 the town charter was recorded in the " Mühlhausen Reichsrechtsbuch " according to the realm law. It is therefore the oldest city law book in German. At the beginning of the 13th century, Mühlhausen was granted the right to mint and customs. At the same time, the city was closed off by walls from the castle, which was ruled by a royal burgrave.
The emergence of the imperial city
In 1251 the city of Mühlhausen became a " Free Imperial City " through the right to appoint a mayor , even though that office was pledged to the Count of Henneberg for a while in the 14th century . In 1256 the citizens of the city destroyed the imperial palace palace in Mühlhausen . In 1337 the city acquired the jurisdiction of the imperial castle count. The city received the Reichsschultheissenamt a year earlier. Emperor Charles IV confirmed the imperial freedom of the city in 1348 . From 1350 onwards, this enclosed its entire territory with a second fortification with numerous waiting areas, which was called " Mühlhäuser Landgraben ". The free imperial city ("des riches city") Mühlhausen joined the Rhenish League of Cities in 1256 and was a member of the Hanseatic League since the 15th century . Between 1304/06 and 1481 Mühlhausen belonged with Erfurt and Nordhausen to the Thuringian Tri-City League . In 1430 the three cities joined the strong Goslarer Bund within the Hanseatic League, whereby Mühlhausen continued to flourish economically.
The city acquired a dominion with 220 square kilometers and 8000 inhabitants (around 1450) by 1370. The area included 21 surrounding villages, two of which later became desolate . As early as the 13th century, the imperial city of Mühlhausen was able to expand its economic and political importance in the Hessian-Thuringian border region on the Werra. As a result, she increasingly came into conflict with the territorial powers - the Thuringian landgraves and later also the Hessian landgraves and the Archdiocese of Mainz. In 1483 Mühlhausen became the protective town of the House of Wettin . The Bishop of Mainz pledged in 1360, its share of the ganerblichen income and rights in the neighboring bailiwick Dorla at the Mühlhäuser advice. According to the pledge, the imperial city took over the Dorla mayor's office, the bailiwick and the lower courts of Oberdorla , Niederdorla and Langula . For more than 200 years the city of Mühlhausen remained lien holder of the Bailiwick. The imperial city secured the territory of the Vogtei with the "Vogteier Landwehr ", which is connected to the Mühlhausen Landgraben and is also recorded as "Chursächsische Landwehr" in old maps. It was not until 1573 that Kurmainz redeemed the bailiwick again.
Age of Reformation and Decline
In 1525 Mühlhausen became the center of the radical reformation movement and the Thuringian uprising in the German Peasants' War through the preacher Thomas Müntzer, who had been working in the city since 1524, and his colleague Heinrich Pfeiffer . Mühlhausen citizens also took part in the Battle of Frankenhausen in 1525. After the defeat of the farmers, Thomas Müntzer was executed at the gates of the city. The city had to pay heavy fines and compensation payments and lost its villages and temporarily also its imperial freedom. The princes of Saxony and Hesse took turns as patrons of the city every year. Since they had become Protestant, Mühlhausen accepted the Reformation in 1542 .
In 1548, a new imperial freedom was negotiated under Emperor Charles V. In 1565 the imperial city owned 21 villages with a total of 949 people. The council of Mühlhausen signed the Lutheran concord formula of 1577. By purchasing the properties of the Teutonic Knight Order (1599), the city acquired a large property (a total of 220 km²). As early as 1540, the imperial city received large land holdings through the dissolution of the Volkenroda monastery . During the Thirty Years' War the city of Mühlhausen had to pay 1.75 million guilders for being spared the destruction. The population of Mühlhausen fell by half. However, the surrounding villages were looted and burned down, and their citizens fled to the protection of the city walls. Major fires in 1649 and 1689 as well as the Seven Years' War also reduced the city's productivity. In 1710, the Free Imperial City of Mühlhausen, which belonged to the Lower Saxon Empire , became the protective city of the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover).
The end of the imperial city
With the beginning of the French Revolution and the associated political upheavals, as well as the resulting military conflicts , the general political climate changed fundamentally to the disadvantage of all imperial cities. In 1802/03, the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss came to an end , and Mühlhausen and its surrounding area became part of the Kingdom of Prussia .
In 1807 the area of the former imperial city was incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia, created by Napoleon , and assigned to the Heiligenstadt district in the Harz department. While the city of Mühlhausen formed the canton of Mühlhausen , the majority of the Mühlhausen places came to the canton of Dachrieden ; some places belonged to the cantons of Dorla and Dörna .
With the dissolution of the Kingdom of Westphalia in 1813 and the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Mühlhausen and the surrounding area came back to Prussia. The area was given to the district of Mühlhausen i. Th. Affiliated to the province of Saxony .
Inner development
economy
The location on the Unstrut and several year-round flowing streams, u. a. the Breitsülze and the Mühlgraben , allowed intensive mill management. The name of the city and the mill iron in the coat of arms refer to it. Around 1800 there are 19 watermills in the urban area. The fresh water was also a prerequisite for wool, cloth and leather processing (tanner and white tanners).
Mühlhausen was known for its cloth making since the 13th century . Mühlhausen cloths had already passed through Hamburg customs in 1247. Flemish and Walloon immigrants brought with them new knowledge and skills in wool weaving, cloth making and linen weaving. “Mühlhäuser Laken” became a household name. The cultivation , processing and trade of woad and the trade in cloth up to distant countries played a major role. With Wanfried , Mühlhausen even had a port on the Werra , from which the goods were transported downriver by ship. As a result of membership in the Hanseatic League, the city flourished economically. Its economic importance only began to decline with the decline in the importance of the dye plant woad and with the emergence of Leipzig as a trading city, which led to new trade routes leading widely around Mühlhausen.
Culture and religion
Through the work of the preacher Thomas Müntzer and his comrade-in-arms Heinrich Pfeiffer, Mühlhausen became a center of the radical Reformation movement around 1525 . The "Mühlhausen eleven articles" and an " Eternal Council " were supposed to end the rule of patricians and nobility in the city forever. After the defeat of the farmers, Thomas Müntzer was executed at the gates of the city. After 1525, the city was one of the centers of the Central German Anabaptist movement , which was partly influenced by Thomas Müntzer.
The Reformation was introduced in the city in 1542 by the princes of Saxony and Hesse. With the regaining of imperial city privileges in 1547, the council reintroduced the Catholic denomination, but the Reformation finally prevailed until 1566.
From the 16th to the 18th century, Mühlhausen experienced a heyday of church music. 1707/1708 Johann Sebastian Bach was organist at the main church Divi Blasii (Sankt Blasius) . For the change of council on February 4, 1708, the cantata Gott ist mein König ( BWV 71) was created, the only one to have survived in print from this period.
Associated places
- city
- Villages
|
- Courtyards, estates and village offices
- Emilienhausen
- Pfafferode
- Sambach (at times desolate)
- Schroterode
- Willow lake
- Forester's House White House
- Popperode (near the city of Mühlhausen)
- Eichelroda and Ebelroda (for self-clearing)
- Oak (near Felchta)
- List of desolations in the Eichsfelder part of the Unstrut-Hainich district
literature
- Gerhard Köbler : Mühlhausen (imperial city). In: Gerhard Köbler: Historical Lexicon of the German Lands. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 7th, completely revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1 , p. 439.
Web links
- City history on the homepage of the city of Mühlhausen / Thuringia
- Publications on the city history of Mühlhausen in the Opac der Regesta Imperii
- Further publications on Mühlhausen in the Opac der Regest Imperii
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eigenrieden, Dörna, Hollenbach, Lengefeld, Horsmar, Dachrieden, Kaisershagen, Eigeroda, Windeberg, Saalfeld, Ammera, Reiser, Goermar, Bollstedt, Oster-Grabe, Wester-Grabe, Höngeda, Felchta, Eichen, Sambach, Sollstedt. E. E. Rath zu Mühlhausen has complete jurisdiction, authority and court over all these villages. Reinhard Jordan: Chronicle of the city of Mühlhausen until 1525. Rockstuhl Publishing House , Reprint 1900/2001, ISBN 978-3-934748-04-0 , p. 41f.
- ↑ See BSLK , p. 766; see. P. 17.
- ^ Paul Wappler: The Anabaptist Movement in Thuringia from 1526–1584 . Ed .: Association for Thuringian History and Archeology. Publishing house by Gustav Fischer, 1913.
- ^ Christian Hege and Christian Neff: Mennonite Lexicon . tape 4 . Self-published, 1959, p. 324-327 .
- ↑ See article "Johann Sebastian Bach ─ A Chronology" on the website of the Bach Archive ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ The fall of the village of Eichen near Mühlhausen i. Thür. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Spiritual principalities: Archbishopric Bremen | Halberstadt Monastery | Hildesheim Monastery | Lübeck Monastery | Archbishopric Magdeburg | Ratzeburg Monastery | Schwerin Monastery . Imperial prelatures: Riddagshausen Monastery | Gandersheim Monastery . Secular principalities: Duchy of Bremen | Principality of Blankenburg | Principality of Calenberg | Principality of Grubenhagen | Duchy of Holstein ( Gottorf shares and royal shares ) | Principality of Lüneburg | (Partial) Duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow | (Partial) Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | County of Rantzau | Duchy of Saxony-Lauenburg | Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel | Regenstein County . Imperial cities: Bremen | Goslar | Hamburg | Lübeck | Mulhouse | Nordhausen .