Upper Lusatian Association of Six Cities
| Coat of arms of the six cities | ||
|---|---|---|
 Bautzen |
 Goerlitz |
 Zittau |
 Lauban |
 Kamenz |
 Löbau |
Upper Lusatian Association of Six Cities |
The Upper Lusatian Six- Cities Association comprised the cities of Bautzen , Görlitz , Kamenz , Lauban , Löbau and Zittau . It existed from 1346 to 1815.
development
To protect the peace in the area later called Upper Lusatia , the cities of Bautzen , Görlitz , Kamenz , Lauban , Löbau and Zittau formed an eight alliance on August 21, 1346 . Probably was the foundation of Charles IV. From whose bailiff is known as an impulse transmitter in the document. In 1350 the alliance was renewed. A similar alliance was founded in 1339 by King John of Bohemia between the Upper Lusatian (excluding Zittau) and Silesian cities. Thirty years later, his son Charles IV did the same. Duke Johann von Görlitz also tried to establish an Upper Lusatia-Silesian peace alliance and one existed at the beginning of the 15th century. Under King Wenceslas IV , in 1398 and 1399, the six towns first joined a few Upper Lusatian lords, then the entire nobility for the purpose of maintaining the peace. However, only the connection between the six cities remained permanent. It developed into an institution that had a strong influence on the history of the region over the centuries.
The heyday of the city union fell in the first 200 years of its existence. During this time came Goerlitz and Zittau in the possession of the sovereign jurisdiction in their administrative territories . Löbau succeeded in enforcing his soft picture jurisdiction on the goods of the crumbling rule of Kittlitz . Furthermore, the Upper Lusatian Fehmgericht (a regional peace court, not to be confused with the Westphalian free courts), which was created by Charles IV, is interpreted as a court of the six-city federation in its early days. In parallel to the consolidation of corporate state structures, communication among the royal cities of Upper Lusatia, which were united in the six-city league, intensified in the late 14th century. In 1523 and 1524, the Reformation was adopted in Görlitz and Bautzen, respectively, due to popular pressure. Other cities followed, the last was Lauban in 1540. In 1547 the sovereign Ferdinand I restricted the power of the cities in the so-called Oberlausitzer Pönfall . Although the cities were able to consolidate their position again in the following decade, their predominance in state politics could not be restored. As a result of the Peace of Prague in 1635, the whole of Upper Lusatia came under the rule of the Electorate of Saxony .
When Lusatia was divided in 1815 as a result of the regulations of the Congress of Vienna and Görlitz and Lauban fell to Prussia , the existence of the six-city federation ended after almost 500 years. The Six City Alliance was the longest existing German city alliance . The cities that remained with the Kingdom of Saxony became the "Vierstädtebund", which, however, had less importance and ended in 1868.
On June 21, 1991, the federal government was revitalized for the 770th anniversary of the city of Löbau. The first city union meeting took place in the convent room of the Löbauer town hall . Strictly speaking, seven cities now belong to it, as the former Görlitz district east of the Neisse is now the independent Polish city of Zgorzelec . Politically insignificant, this union has a symbolic character. Today, the Six Cities Association stands for joint initiatives for an attractive region, also across national borders, especially in the areas of art, culture, sport and tourism.
Inner structure of the six cities
No distinct hierarchy developed within the alliance, even if the federal cities differed greatly, especially economically. Bautzen held a prominent position as the seal leader of the federal government and Löbau as by far the most frequent meeting place. Also Görlitz, because of its economic and political importance, which was shown, among other things, in the fact that in the 15th century the city alone raised a third of the federal treasury, while Zittau and Bautzen shared their third with Lauban and Kamenz, respectively. Löbau paid for the meeting's expenses. At these regular, often weekly meetings, the more remote towns of Kamenz and Lauban were occasionally represented by Bautzen and Görlitz. As a manifestation of building upon and influence ranking of the six cities of manufactured in 1680 can Six Towns League Cup be considered. On it the coats of arms of all six cities are arranged in two superimposed rows as follows:
- 1. Bautzen - 2. Görlitz - 3. Zittau
- 4. Lauban - 5. Kamenz - 6. Löbau
In addition to the city days, at which matters relating to the preservation of the peace, corporate politics and disputes between the cities and among themselves and with third parties were negotiated, there were lively embassy and messenger relations among the six cities. Correspondence was exchanged via messenger relay. Due to its efficiency, this system acquired great importance for the exercise of state rule in Upper Lusatia, especially in times of pronounced remote control.
literature
- Joachim Bahlcke (ed.): History of the Upper Lusatia. Rule, society and culture from the Middle Ages to the end of the 20th century , Leipziger Universitäts-Verlag, Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-935693-46-X
- Manfred Durand: Upper Lusatia and the Six Cities League. Oberlausitzer Verlag, Waltersdorf 1991, ISBN 3-928492-13-6 .
- Tino Fröde : privileges and statutes of the Upper Lusatian six cities. A journey through the organization of urban life in Zittau, Bautzen, Görlitz, Löbau, Kamenz and Lauban in the early modern period. Oberlausitzer Verlag, Spitzkunnersdorf 2008, ISBN 978-3-933827-88-3 .
- Matthias Herrmann (Red.): 650 years of the Upper Lusatia Six Cities Association. 1346-1996. Contributions from the joint symposium of the Association for Sächsische Landesgeschichte eV Dresden and the Kamenzer Geschichtsverein eV on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the six-city federation of Upper Lusatia. Kamenz History Association, Kamenz 1997, ISBN 3-932890-02-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ However, in 1390 the first Fehmrichter known by name is a nobleman and the first known college of aldermen is equally occupied by nobility and cities.
- ↑ While the number of city days at the end of the 1370s was less than 10 per year, by the end of the century weekly meetings were held in Löbau almost regularly.
- ↑ The Six Cities League Cup resembles a Pilstulpe in its shape . It is about 40 to 50 cm high; the base is made of metal, the actual glass is made of glass. It is / was to be seen at the 3rd Saxon State Exhibition in Görlitz and is the property of the "Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund- und Handwerksmuseum", "Stadtmuseum Löbau". Figure ( Memento from February 6, 2013 in the archive.today web archive ).
- ↑ cf. Ivan Hlaváček, King Wenceslaus IV and Görlitz. Relationships between central and local authority as reflected in the administrative history of the late 14th century , in: Rainer Gross, Manfred Kobuch (ed.), Contributions to archival science and historical research , Weimar 1977, pp. 379–396. Alexandra Kaar, Sigismund von Luxemburg and the six cities of Upper Lusatia with special consideration of the city of Bautzen , in: Neues Lausitzisches Magazin NF 14 (2011), pp. 21–40.