Administrative units in the Duchy of Westphalia

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The list of administrative units in the Duchy of Westphalia includes the offices , courts and manors , the cities and freedoms in this territory, as they existed from about the 14th century until the transition to Prussia in 1816.

General

The first possessions of the Archbishops of Cologne were territorially incoherent and were based on very different legal titles. After the ducal dignity was transferred in 1180, the archbishops first tried to stabilize and expand their power in Westphalia by founding and acquiring towns and castles. The formation of offices can be observed around 1300 .

There was a Drost at the head of the offices . In addition, there was usually an administrator . In addition to the military protection of their area, they had to perform administrative and legal tasks within their offices. While some offices spanned multiple judicial districts, some courts remained outside the offices. Here, the magistrates in their districts performed the same tasks as the Drosten.

Since 1662 the Drosten and the administrators were only allowed to come from the Duchy of Westphalia according to the indigenous privilege . They were sovereign officials who were appointed and paid by the sovereign.

The management of the cities and freedoms was usually in the hands of two mayors , who were mostly elected. The Drosten had the right to lead the election, which they almost never exercised. In addition, the cities were largely independent of instructions from the state government in their municipal administration and in the lower jurisdiction.

Although the manors were mostly within the official limits, they formed independent administrative and judicial districts.

Administrative units

1Westfalen1800.png

Since 1449, with the last territorial changes as a result of the Soest feud , the duchy was divided into four quarters or quarters with the "capitals" Brilon , Rüthen , Bilstein and Werl . However, these quarters were of no significance for the administration.

Quarter of Brilon

Offices

dishes

Manors

Quarter of Rüthen

Offices

Manors

Quarter of Bilstein

Offices

dishes

Manors

Special position

At the Valbert court there was a joint rule with the County of Mark .

Quarter Werl

Offices

Manors

Outside the official limits

Outside the official boundaries, the courts Allagen , Belecke and Körbecke were in the Rüthen quarter, and Arnsberg , Neheim and Stockum in the Werl quarter.

Cities

Cities at the end of the 18th century were:

Freedoms

Had the status of a freedom at this time:

Transition period

In 1802 the offices came to the Landgraves of Hessen-Darmstadt as part of the Duchy of Westphalia. On September 22nd, 1807, a law to redistribute the duchy into 18 offices came into force. There was one judicial officer per office, who had to reside at the place of office or at least in the district and was responsible to the government. The cities had been fully incorporated into the jurisdiction at the latest since 1809. They also had to submit their budget to the bailiff for approval. The noble court lords retained lower jurisdiction within their manors.

The offices in 1807 were:

The Volkmarsen , which was occupied with the other areas in 1802 , came to various masters one after the other in 1806. In 1816 Prussia acquired the Duchy of Westphalia. A year later, the city of Volkmarsen ceded it to Hessen-Kassel .

A few years later, the existing offices were transferred to the newly founded circles.

literature

  • Manfred Schöne: The Duchy of Westphalia under Hesse-Darmstadt rule 1802 - 1816, Olpe 1966.
  • Elisabeth Schumacher: Cologne's Westphalia in the Age of Enlightenment, Olpe 1967.

Remarks

  1. ↑ For the text of the law, see: Uta Ziegler, Government files of the Grand Duchy of Hessen-darmstadt, 1802-1820, 2002, ISBN 3486566431 , pages 123-124
  2. ↑ Nice page 26 Note 14