Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Hesse

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Constitution of the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1820 was a formally by Grand Duke I. Ludewig enacted, but in fact with the Estates negotiated Constitution for the Grand Duchy of Hesse , which took effect in December 1820 into force. It replaced the constitution imposed by the Grand Duke in March 1820 and was itself replaced by the Hessian constitution of the People's State of Hesse from 1919.

Grand Duke Ludewig I in bronze on the Ludwigsmonument: In his right hand he holds the constitutional document rolled up Memorial plaque for the constitution of the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1820 on the Darmstadt market square
Grand Duke Ludewig I in bronze on the Ludwigsmonument : In his right hand he holds the constitutional document rolled up
Memorial plaque for the constitution of the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1820 on the Darmstadt market square

prehistory

Federal Act of 1815

In the Old Reich there was no codified constitution in the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt . However, the traditional constitution of the Hessian ancestral lands knew land estates. However, their opportunities to participate in the state were increasingly restricted during the period of absolutism , which had already led to conflicts at the end of the 17th century. For old-class, conservative circles, land estates were a goal worth striving for. In 1806 the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Hessen. The new Grand Duke, Ludewig I, abolished the old estates in an edict of October 1, 1806 and has ruled absolutistically ever since .

In some of the Napoleonic model states, codified constitutions were created for the first time in Germany - based on the French model. Another model was the Charte constitutionnelle of 1814, the constitution of France after the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy.

A uniform constitution for the entire Grand Duchy could, however, be seen as a suitable instrument for integrating the diverging old parts of the country and those newly acquired during the Napoleonic era. The numerous territorial territories in particular were a major problem here, as their hitherto quasi-sovereign owners opposed the Grand Duchy's claims to sovereignty.

Article 13 of the German Federal Act , which the Congress of Vienna had passed, contained the not very specific requirement: a state constitution will be implemented in all federal states . In terms of content, this could be interpreted both in the direction of the old estates and in the direction of more modern parliamentarianism. Formally, however, the minimum requirement was: a constitution - and at the beginning of the 19th century it was only conceivable as a codified law.

Grand Duke Ludewig I refused to regulate his power through a constitution. He relied on the monarchical principle and enlightened absolutism . The Grand Duke was of the opinion that a country-class constitution would lead to "the dissolution and destruction of regent rights and general revolutionary anarchy". He also said that estates (i.e. a parliament) "in a sovereign state [...] are unnecessary, useless and dangerous in some respects". However, the - now famous - statement does not seem to come from Ludewig I himself, but can be found in a report drawn up for him by the Giessen government director Ludwig Adolf von Grolmann.

Constitutional movement

In contrast to the other south-west German central states, in which the constitutions were primarily seen as instruments to create a new overall state out of the diverging parts of the country, the constitution in the Grand Duchy of Hesse was driven by a - in itself very inconsistent, but broad - constitutional movement against the persistent resistance from the Grand Duke and government enforced. Because of this hesitant resistance, several groups emerged in the Grand Duchy who - albeit due to very different motives - were interested in introducing a "land-based constitution":

Noblemen

The majority of the mediatized noblemen formed a first group . The "introduction" of the 13 noblemen on February 15, 1816 was a request to the Grand Duke to reconvene the (old) estates. The claim was justified with the miserable economic situation in the country, which is caused by excessive tax burdens. The paper was also called a pamphletpublished, but found little response because of the very special interests represented by the class gentlemen. In addition, the relationship between the “New Hesse” noblemen and the nobles and towns that had previously been eligible for a state was completely unclear and open, so that there was widespread distrust of the noblemen's initiative. The main objection raised against the initiative of the class lords was that it was too backward-looking. In the later, sometimes violent clashes between the rural population and the central government in Darmstadt, they remained remarkably cautious, especially in the counties of Erbach.

Young academics

Another group interested in a modern constitution consisted mainly of young academics, including many lawyers who had fought against Napoleon and for a German nation-state in the wars of liberation . Many of them already knew each other from the Darmstadt pedagogical course and had studied in Giessen and Heidelberg . They were referred to as "Darmstadt Blacks". They were inspired by the fraternities of the University of Giessen , who are the Giessen blacksformed. The initial aim was to unify Germany under a representative constitution. They also sought a constitution in the Grand Duchy. They found inspiration and allies at the Wartburg Festival in October 1817. Under the leadership of the Justice Council Ferdinand Karl Heinrich Beck , they started a signature campaign with which they collected over 1000 signatures for contractually agreed constitutions in the German states. The attempt to hand over the signatures to the Bundestag failed because it was rejected.

On November 10, 1817, the government announced that a constitution was being worked on. Motivated by this commitment and the impending introduction of constitutions in Bavaria and Baden , the group around the Darmstadt blacks stepped up their signature campaign and started a leaflet campaign to keep the government under pressure.

On February 14, 1819, the “blacks” held a meeting of deputies in Zwingenberg . A standing committee was set up there. The minutes of the meeting were given to the Grand Duke in a personal audience on February 20, 1819. In the days that followed, the Grand Duke announced that he would introduce a constitution in May 1820. However, this was received negatively in public because the Grand Duke wanted to impose the constitution.

Officer

The other group was formed by liberal -minded civil servants in the administration and government of the Grand Duchy, who - as in neighboring states in southwest Germany - saw a constitution as a way of modernizing the state. The Hessian ambassador at the Congress of Vienna, Johann von Türckheim , had already signed the federal act, although he had not received any instructions from the Grand Duke, who had great reservations about the provision regarding the “land-class constitution”. Johann von Türckheim received a violent reprimand for this, but the Grand Duke ratified the federal act after all.

Communal elites

In addition to these elites, a broad constitutional movement began. The reason was that on June 25, 1818, the state set up a debt repayment institution that was supposed to manage the increased debts of the communities in Upper Hesse . This was connected with the state's access to the municipal assets and meant a considerable restriction of the municipal leeway. The outrage this triggered in the urban bourgeoisie, as well as in the rural communities, led to protest meetings on July 17, 1818 in Giessen and on August 23, 1818 and December 20, 1818 in Grünbergwhich were referred to as "wild state parliaments". This is where the pent-up anger was formed about incomprehensible or misunderstood measures of the reform bureaucracy, which had ruled over the heads of the residents for many years. The government felt compelled to withdraw the “Debt Amortization Institution” project on November 26, 1818. After that, the focus of activities for a constitution shifted from Upper Hesse to the Starkenburg Province : On January 28, 1819, a meeting took place in Heppenheim at the age of 30 and on February 14, 1819 with 160 deputies in Zwingenberg . The congregation elected an eight-member committee to continue the work. The minutes of the meeting and the speeches made were published in print.

... but not Rheinhessen

Rheinhessen , which with its French past and equipped with French achievements, which could most likely have been a driving force in the constitutional question, failed completely. When the Grand Duke took possession of it, he guaranteed all institutions and, with the “Departmental Council” renamed “Provincial Council”, even representation of the people. That made the Rheinhessen completely satisfied, what ran to the right of the Rhine left them cold. They were a total failure for the constitutional movement in the Grand Duchy.

1819 crisis

Announcement of a constitution

Under the leadership of Heinrich Karl Hofmann (1795–1845) a memorandum was created, which was written by four members of the committee elected in Zwingenberg under the leadership of the Michelstädter mayor, Georg Heinrich Bogen, could be presented to the Grand Duke. The Grand Duke promised to remedy the situation, because with the meeting in Zwingenberg, the government threatened to slip away the events. A constitutional promise already formulated on February 18 was published on March 25, 1819. An imposed constitution was envisaged, which would be enacted before May 1820 and on the basis of which a first Landtag was to meet. An imposed constitution was out of the question for the constitutional movement. She called for a second meeting in Zwingenberg on March 7, 1819, in which Upper Hesse was now also represented. The result was a second memorandum, formulated in a tightened tone. This memorandum could also be presented to the Grand Duke, but he was less gracious than when the first was handed over and asked that meetings

Trying to relax, Minister Heinrich Karl Jaup drew up a proposal for provincial councils in all three provinces of the Grand Duchy. The initiative was highly controversial among the ministers, the opposing faction in the ministry relied on repression and the Grand Duke was initially undecided and ultimately refused. The murder of the playwright and Russian consul general August von Kotzebue on March 23, 1819 in Mannheim finally allowed the forces of reaction to triumph, which culminated in the Karlovy Vary resolutions on September 20, 1819 . On April 8, 1819, the government banned all further meetings.

Tax refusal

Those involved in the constitutional movement tried to ignore the ban on assembly. However, the committee continued to meet. The first voices for a violent overthrow were loud. Petitions and complaints were systematically drawn up throughout the country. The most active were Heinrich Karl Hofmann, Georg Rühl , Wilhelm Christian Tillmann Stahl (1793–1841) and the Michelstädter mayor Georg Heinrich Bogen. The latter organized 4,000 signatures from 100 villages in the Odenwald region within a few days .

The situation came to a head in the autumn of 1819 after the constitutional campaign was combined with a partial tax refusal. The tax arrears from the affected provinces of Upper Hesse and Starkenburg amounted to 2 million guilders at the end of October 1819 .

Government response

The Hessian government sent soldiers into the unrest areas and tried to arrest the leaders of the tax refusal movement. The local vigilante initially prevented them from doing so and the situation threatened to escalate. Ultimately, the tax evaders gave up their resistance and were arrested. As punishment for the open opposition to the government, the military units remained until November in Michelstadt quartered. With the start of the military operation, however, the government reaffirmed its intention to introduce a constitution. At the end of 1819 and in the spring of 1820 those arrested were released. Due to the opposition of the judiciary, there was ultimately no criminal prosecution. The matter was overtaken by the constitution that was finally enacted a year later.

The government now seriously pushed the constitutional project forward, not least in order to be able to largely determine its content itself. As early as 1816, a three-person legislative commission was charged with drafting a constitution and other laws. This included Peter Joseph Floret and the law professor at the University of Giessen, Karl Ludwig Wilhelm von Grolman . Grolmann had already been asked on March 4, 1819 to draft the constitution. However, he initially refused because he was not a member of the ministry and therefore saw no chance of enforcing his ideas. On the initiative of Prince Emil and the Prussian ambassador, Joachim Friedrich von Otterstedt, he was appointed to the “Real Secret Council” on July 31, 1819 and was entrusted with the representation of the sick Minister Friedrich August von Lichtenberg . He was in fact head of government. In addition to working on the constitution, he arranged for some particularly hated ordinances to be withdrawn, abolished the unpopular Landwehr , set up an office visit commission and began to consolidate state finances. However, he was also responsible for the military operation against the tax refusers in the Odenwald.

March Constitution

Place of opening of the state parliament: Darmstadt Palace

About two months before the announced date of introduction, on March 18, 1820, the Grand Duke signed the Edict on the country-class constitution of the Grand Duchy with which he - as it turned out towards the end of the year: provisional - decreed. The unilateral action of the Grand Duke was immediately rejected as inadequate by the protagonists of the constitutional movement. The content of this March constitution was poor: although a state parliament was created, it was hardly given any powers to “[not] paralyze the strength and decisive course of the government”.

Despite the public criticism of the constitutional edict, elections were held for the first state parliament. Although the activists of the Darmstadt “blacks” were not allowed to be elected because they had not yet reached the voting age of 36 or their financial status was insufficient, numerous critics of the March edict were elected. 32 of the newly elected MPs joined a protest address from Higher Appeal Court Judge Ernst Philipp Georg Höpfner (October 8, 1780 - June 22, 1845) and refused to take the "constitutional oath". Through the mediating efforts of Minister Hans Christoph von Gagern with the support of Karl Christian Eigenbrodta compromise was reached. In the end, 23 of those who refused to oath declared themselves ready to take the oath after all, if the government agreed to allow the state parliament to improve the constitution. The first state parliament was opened on June 27, 1820 in the throne room of Darmstadt Castle and work on the constitution began.

December Constitution 1820

Ludwigsmonument in Darmstadt - posthumous honor of Ludewig I as constitutional giver

The state parliament met in the Marktpalais in Darmstadt . The negotiations did not advance at the beginning. Minister Grolman wanted to deviate as little as possible from “his” constitution. However, the Grand Duke could not hold out this poker in the long run and denied Grolman backing for the tough course. So read the Secret State Council in the Department of Finance , August Konrad Hofmann, on October 14, 1820 a government declaration in the state parliament, in which he promised a new version of the constitution before the end of the first state parliament. The state parliament began to draw up a new constitutional document. Each chamber had its own committee, which initially met separately and then met together, the committee of the Second Chamber under the leadership of its President Karl Christian Eigenbrodt and that of the First Chamber under Minister Karl du Thil . The minister Heinrich Karl Jaup now determined the content on the government side.

Grand Duke Ludewig I. received the final version of the drafted constitutional charter from Minister Grolman and signed it on December 17, 1820. The signed charter was presented to the state parliament in a ceremony on December 21, 1820 and announced on December 22, 1820. The constitution was formally imposed, but its content was negotiated - so both sides saved face. The two German great powers reacted in a disgruntled mood: they had not been informed in advance by the grand ducal government that it was giving way to the content, nor did they agree to the progress in parliamentarism brought about by the constitution.

In recognition of the fact that the Grand Duke made the constitution possible, a monument was posthumously donated to him in Darmstadt shortly before the 25th anniversary of the constitution in 1844, the Ludwig Monument . There he stands in bronze and holds the constitutional document rolled up in his right hand.

content

The state house in Darmstadt (1888), seat of the state parliament

The first title of the Grand Duchy and its government in general governed the role of Hesse in the German Confederation and that of the Grand Duke in the state. The second title was About the Domains . According to this, 1/3 of the income of the domains should go to the state and 2/3 to the grand ducal family. The third title, Of the general rights and duties of the Hessians, comprised a number of new civil rights . In the formerly spiritual areas that had come to the Grand Duchy in previous years, there were, unlike in the old Hessen, formerly Palatinate and WetterauischenAreas that the Grand Duchy had gained a significant proportion of Roman Catholic believers. The constitution guaranteed adherents of all Christian denominations equal rights. Non-Christians, especially Jews , were not yet on an equal footing. The constitution abolished serfdom and introduced conscription . The announcement to create a uniform legal system for the country was not fully implemented as a result.

The (male) citizens were basically given the same rights, but the privileges of the nobility continued to exist. Title eight, Von den Landstands , governed the composition, election and competencies of the Landstands of the Grand Duchy of Hesse .

literature

Primary literature

  • Georg Rühl: Why do we have to have estates and what use are they? How must a country-class constitution be constituted if the well-being and happiness of the people is to truly flourish through it? To every German friend of the fatherland for understanding and to heart . [Frankfurt a. M.], 1819.
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Schulz : Question and answer booklet about all sorts of things that are particularly needy in the German fatherland . [Bayrhofer], Frankfurt 1819.

Secondary literature

  • Siegfried Büttner: The beginnings of parliamentarism in Hessen-Darmstadt and the Du Thil system . Historical Association for Hesse, Darmstadt 1969.
  • Peter Joseph Floret : Discussions about the state constitution in Germany, especially in relation to the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Heidelberg, 1820 digitized
  • Eckhart G. Franz , Peter Fleck, Fritz Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse (1800) 1806–1918 . In: Walter Heinemeyer , Helmut Berding , Peter Moraw , Hans Philippi (eds.): Handbuch der Hessischen Geschichte . Volume 4.2: Hesse in the German Confederation and in the New German Empire (1806) 1815–1945. The Hessian states until 1945 = publications of the historical commission for Hesse 63. Elwert. Marburg 2003. ISBN 3-7708-1238-7
  • Adolf Müller: The emergence of the Hessian constitution from 1820 = sources and research on Hessian history 13th Hessischer Staatsverlag, Darmstadt 1931.
  • Gerhard Welkoborsky: The Hessian constitution of 1820 . In: Historischer Verein für Hessen : Archive for Hessian history and antiquity 26 (1961), pp. 139–150.
  • Uta Ziegler: Government files of the Grand Duchy of Hesse 1802-1820. Volume 6 of the sources on the reforms in the Rhine Confederation states, 2002, ISBN 3-486-56643-1

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ See for example the corresponding initiative by Johann Henrich Benjamin Minnigerode 1789.
  2. ^ * Grand Duchy of Frankfurt : Highest organizational patent for the constitution of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt and
    * Kingdom of Westphalia : Constitution of the Kingdom of Westphalia .
  3. ↑ Upper Hesse , Starkenburg and Rheinhessen (where it already existed).
  4. ↑ The President of the Darmstadt Court , Ludwig Minnigerode , insisted on his judicial independence and declared the police reports submitted by the government to be insufficient evidence to prosecute the arrested. Ludwig Minnigerode was the son of Johann Henrich Benjamin Minnigerode been arrested, who had campaigned in 1789 for strengthening the old Hessian estates, and then was suicide committed.
  5. ↑ These were mainly areas of the former Electorate of Mainz .
  6. ↑ With regard to procedural law, this was not achieved until the Reich Justice Act of 1877 and for civil law only with the BGB on January 1, 1900.
  7. ↑ These were anchored in law with the “ Edict, the legal relationships in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, ” which was part of the constitution. It was only in the aftermath of the revolution of 1848 that these privileges largely fell.
  8. ↑ Reflection essay free of footnotes with factual errors.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edict on the state constitution of the Grand Duchy of March 18, 1820. In: Großherzoglich Hessisches Regierungsblatt No. 13 of March 24, 1820, p. 101.
  2. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 744.
  3. ^ Ewald Grothe : Constitutionalism in Hessen before 1848. Three ways to the constitutional state in the Vormärz. A comparative consideration . online (PDF); accessed on May 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 701.
  5. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 742.
  6. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 742.
  7. ↑ NN: Letter and request from the landlords in the Grand Duchy of Hesse to ... the Grand Duke to convene a meeting of the estates . 1816.
  8. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 743.
  9. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 744.
  10. ↑ See: Ludwig Ferdinand von Meseritz: Impartheiische Licht der Sr. Königl. The Highness of the Grand Duke of the registry lords in the Grand Duchy of Hesse in March 1816 asked for a meeting of the estates to be convened and its structure, containing the description of the state of the country . 1816.
  11. ^ Büttner: The beginnings , p. 7.
  12. ↑ A pamphlet by one of the leading figures in the “Darmstadt Blacks”, Heinrich Karl Hofmann, dates from this time : Any empire, if it becomes at odds with itself, will become desolate .
  13. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 747.
  14. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 747.
  15. ^ In: Großherzoglich Hessische Zeitung of February 25, 1819, p. 229.
  16. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 750.
  17. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , pp. 744f.
  18. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 738.
  19. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 744.
  20. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 738.
  21. ^ Büttner: The beginnings , p. 7f; Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 748.
  22. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 748.
  23. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 742.
  24. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 748.
  25. ^ Minutes of the people's assembly held in Zwingenberg on February 14, 1819, along with enclosures . OO 1819.
  26. ↑ Hessen-Darmstädtische Actenteile, the introduction of a true Landstädischen constitution , issue 1. Darmstadt 1819.
  27. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 749.
  28. ^ The establishment of a provincial council for the province of Rheinhessen on August 7, 1818. In: Archive of the Grand Ducal Hessian Laws and Ordinances , Vol. 2: From January 1814 to the end of 1819 . Verlag der Großherzoglichen Invalidenanstalt, Darmstadt 1834, pp. 632–634.
  29. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 745f.
  30. ^ In: Großherzoglich Hessische Zeitung of February 25, 1819, p. 229.
  31. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 749.
  32. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 750.
  33. ↑ For the details of the dispute, see: Büttner: The Beginnings , p. 9f.
  34. ^ Büttner: The beginnings , p. 10.
  35. ^ Ordinance of April 1, 1819. In: Großherzoglich Hessische Zeitung No. 42 of April 8, 1819, pp. 433f.
  36. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 751.
  37. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 751.
  38. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 753.
  39. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 755.
  40. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 754f.
  41. ↑ Edict, the abolition of the Landwehr institute in the Grand Duchy of Hesse on November 20, 1819. In: Großherzoglich Hessisches Regierungsblatt No. 25 of December 6, 1819, pp. 119–121.
  42. ↑ Order of a permanent commission to visit all judicial and government offices in the provinces of Starkenburg and Upper Hesse from December 6, 1819. In: Großherzoglich Hessisches Regierungsblatt No. 27 of December 10, 1819, pp. 139f.
  43. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 755.
  44. ^ Edict on the state constitution of the Grand Duchy of March 18, 1820. In: Großherzoglich Hessisches Regierungsblatt No. 13 of March 24, 1820, pp. 101ff.
  45. ↑ Cf. for example Ernst Theodor Schulz: About land-class representation in the Grand Duchy of Hesse . Metzler, Stuttgart 1820.
  46. ↑ So Grolmann in his explanation, see: Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Großherzogtum Hessen , p. 756.
  47. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 756f.
  48. ↑ On his person see: Evidence in the Hessen Archive Information System ; Höpfner, Ernst Georg Philipp . In: LAGIS : Hessische Biographie , as of June 22, 2020.
  49. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 757f.
  50. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 758.
  51. ^ So: Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Großherzogtum Hessen , p. 759; Büttner: The Beginnings , p. 80, on the other hand, assumes that the initiative came from Grolman himself.
  52. ^ Büttner: The beginnings , p. 81.
  53. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 759.
  54. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hessen , p. 760.
  55. ^ Constitutional document of the Grand Duchy of Hesse dated December 17, 1820. In: Großherzoglich Hessisches Regierungsblatt No. 60 of December 22, 1820, pp. 535–554.
  56. ^ Büttner: The beginnings , p. 81.
  57. ^ Büttner: The beginnings , p. 80.
  58. ^ Franz / Fleck / Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse , p. 759.
  59. ↑ Art. 103 Constitution.