Seven free villages
Seven free villages is a settlement history and traditional name for the seven villages Ahornberg , Almbranz , Jehsen , Laubersreuth , Meierhof , Oelschnitz and Querenbach in the Upper Franconian district of Hof .
The term "seven old free villages" is related to the settlement of the area around Münchberg . Richard Querfeld refers to research that the construction of the villages in the time of Emperor Heinrich III. date. They served to secure a Königstrasse between Hof and Nuremberg . The whale pots played a key role in the cultivation of the region, and the von Schlegel family appeared as servants in five of the seven villages . The seven villages were endowed with privileges that were usually more appropriate to markets and cities . For example, beer brewing and artisans were allowed to practice urban trades. A special feature was the annual gathering of four mayors and eight councilors on December 28, the day of the innocent children , in Ahornberg. The city judge of Münchberg chaired the meeting. In the years 1369-1374 the villages reached by selling the by Schlegel, who related to them Menger Reuth and of Sparneck to Weißdorf gradually under the jurisdiction of the burgrave Nuremberg at Friedrich V. Among the sealers of sales was always the family from Wolfstriegel . The designation “Seven Villages” was first documented in 1485, before the villages were only mentioned together. The Münchberg bailiff Georg von Wallenrode , who was appointed in 1493, was referred to as the bailiff von Münchberg and “the Siebendorffern”. There is a land book of the seven villages from the beginning of the 16th century, similar land books were created for the neighboring Stammbach (see Landbuch von Stammbach ) and for Münchberg. Individual special rights remained in place until the municipalities were reorganized by the Bavarian government at the beginning of the 19th century.
literature
- J. Erh. Ernst: History and description of the district and the city of Münchberg (...) . Bayreuth 1868, pp. 153-157.
- Annett Haberlah-Pohl: Historical Atlas of Bavaria , Franconia, Münchberg - The Altlandkreis (series I, volume 39). Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-7696-6556-7
- Hans Leupold: From the Seven Villages . In: Frankenwald - magazine of the Frankenwaldverein eV , issue 2/1970. Pp. 27-29.
- Richard Querfeld: From the history of Biengarten, Querenbach and Oelschnitz . In: Voluntary fire brigades Biengarten, Querenbach, Oelschnitz: Festschrift - 100th anniversary . 1974. pp. 25-27.