Riechenberger contract

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The Riechenberg Treaty is a 1552 between Duke Heinrich d. J. von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and the Free Imperial City of Goslar concluded a contract in the Riechenberg monastery on the renunciation of the city's mining tithe and court , the right of first refusal of the Rammelsberg mining and large parts of the forests.

prehistory

Goslar's wealth came from the income from the mines on the Rammelsberg. Even if the ores on the mining shelves belonged to the respective sovereign, the ruler usually did not operate the mining himself, but rather awarded pit fields against payment of taxes to individuals or associations ( unions ). Mining was very costly, which in the Rammelsberg meant that the formerly independent mines gradually belonged to the town in the late Middle Ages. Ultimately, the decisive factor was that the Goslar Council succeeded in enforcing the right of first refusal for the Rammelsberg ores.

The Brunswick dukes had pledged the Rammelsberg to the city of Goslar since the 14th century. In 1527 Heinrich d. J. returned the deposit and took possession of the Rammelsberg again. The Duke's actions aroused resistance within the Goslar citizenship, which resulted in a guerrilla war between Goslar and the Guelphs that lasted until 1552. The city also sued the Duke at the Imperial Court of Justice.

Heinrich d. J. besieged the city in 1527, which led to the Goslar riots in 1527 , in which citizens took action against ducal servants and destroyed the monasteries of St. George , St. Peter and the Holy Grave, as well as the church of St. John , located outside the walls . Heinrich d. J. brought against Goslar on proceedings for breach of the peace, which eventually 1540/1541 to impose the imperial ban led to Goslar. At the Augsburg Reichstag in 1530, the sale of lead, copper and silver from the Rammelsberg was placed under compulsory administration, which was to continue until the legal questions could be resolved. As a result, the operation of the pits, which were closed after 1527, was resumed and initially continued until 1542.

There was a strong Reformation movement in Goslar, which led to Goslar joining the Schmalkaldic League in 1531 . Duke Heinrich d. J. on the other hand stood on the side of the Catholic Emperor. The religious disputes overlaid and intensified the economic-legal conflict between the two parties. In 1542 the Schmalkaldic League occupied the Duchy of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and Heinrich had to flee. After the defeat of the Confederation in the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547, Heinrich d. J. repressed the reprisals against Goslar and besieged the city in 1552 with 17,000 men. The ducal military camp was located in or around the Riechenberg monastery. After the first bombardment of the city, negotiations began, which resulted in the Riechenberg Treaty.

The Riechenberg Treaty

Riechenberg Monastery

As a result of the contract signed on June 13, 1552, mining on the Rammelsberg came completely under the control of Duke Heinrich the Elder. J., especially the all-important right of first refusal to the molten metals.

consequences

Due to the right of first refusal to the hut products, the 11 Goslar huts finally came into ducal possession by 1575.

The often alleged decline of Goslar as a result of the Riechenberg Treaty is assessed differently in recent research. On the contrary, the contract contributed to the improvement of economic and social conditions, since it resulted in secure jobs for the miners and smelters and the ducal control increased the security of trade routes, which offered Goslar merchants and shopkeepers better opportunities to earn a living. There was an upswing in Goslar, as evidenced by the corresponding building activity in the second half of the 16th century.

In 1555, Duke Heinrich issued a joint mountain ordinance for Goslar and the Upper Harz, which was to last for the next 300 years.

literature

  • Karl Heinrich Kaufhold, Ernst Schubert, Christoph Bartels, Heiner Lück, Carl-Hans Hauptmeyer and Martin Stöber, Hans-Joachim Kraschewski, Michael Fessner, Angelika Kroker: The Riechenberger contract . Ed .: Weltkulturerbe Rammelsberg / Rammelsberg Mining Museum Goslar (=  Rammelsberger Forum . Volume 3 ). Goslarsche Zeitung, 2004, ISBN 3-9804749-8-4 , ISSN  1619-6503 (217 pages).
  • Christoph Bartels: The Rammelsberg ore mine . Ed .: Preussag AG Metall. Preussag-AG Metall, Goslar 1988, p. 16 ff .
  • Heiner Lück: Goslar . In: Concise dictionary of German legal history (HRG) . tape II , Sp. 466–469 ( hrgdigital.de [PDF; accessed on September 6, 2018]).
  • Friends of the Rammelsberg Mining Museum Goslar / Harz e. V. (Ed.): Goslars Schicksalsberg - Interactions between Rammelsberg and Goslar . Goslar 2016, p. 32–35 ( foerderverein-rammelsberg.de [PDF; accessed on September 6, 2018]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilfried Ließmann : Historical mining in the Harz . 2nd Edition. Springer, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-540-62930-0 , pp. 29 .
  2. ^ A b Christoph Bartels: The ore mine Rammelsberg . Ed .: Preussag AG Metall. Preussag-AG Metall, Goslar 1988, An overview of the older mining history, p. 17 .
  3. ↑ a b The history of the Riechenberger contract. In: goslarer-geschichten.de. Retrieved September 6, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b Bernd Sternal: The time of the Thirty Years War . In: The Harz - History . tape 5 . BoD - Books on Demand, 2015, ISBN 978-3-7392-6127-0 , pp. 164 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  5. ^ A b Otmar Hesse : According to the Riechenberg Treaty: Fabian Luther in Goslar . In: Jörg Brückner / Harzverein für Geschichte und Altertumskunde e. V. (Hrsg.): Harz magazine . 69th year. Lukas, Wernigerode 2017, ISBN 978-3-86732-277-5 , p. 82 ff .