Free imperial city

"Imperial city" and "Reichsstadt" redirect here. For other uses and similar terms, seeImperial City (disambiguation)andReichstadt (disambiguation).

The free imperial cities in the 18th century

In theHoly Roman Empire,the collective termfree and imperial cities(German:Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly wordedfree imperial city(Freie Reichsstadt,Latin:urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that had a certain amount of autonomy and was represented in theImperial Diet.

An imperial city held the status ofimperial immediacy,and was subordinate only to theHoly Roman Emperor,as opposed to a territorial city or town (Landstadt) which was subordinate to a territorialprince– be it an ecclesiastical lord (prince-bishop,prince-abbot) or a secular prince (duke(Herzog),margrave,count(Graf), etc.).

Origin

Swabian Rottweil maintained its independence up to themediatizationof 1802–03. Rottweil,c. 1435.

The evolution of some German cities into self-ruling constitutional entities of the Empire was slower than that of the secular and ecclesiastical princes. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities were promoted by the emperor to the status of Imperial Cities (Reichsstädte;Urbes imperiales), essentially for fiscal reasons. Those cities, which had been founded by the German kings and emperors in the 10th through 13th centuries and had initially been administered by royal/imperial stewards (Vögte), gradually gained independence as their city magistrates assumed the duties of administration and justice; some prominent examples areColmar,HaguenauandMulhousein Alsace orMemmingenandRavensburgin upperSwabia.

The Free Cities (Freie Städte;Urbes liberae) were those, such asBasel,Augsburg,CologneorStrasbourg,that were initially subjected to a prince-bishop and, likewise, progressively gained independence from that lord. In a few cases, such as in Cologne, the former ecclesiastical lord continued to claim the right to exercise some residual feudal privileges over the Free City, a claim that gave rise to constant litigation almost until the end of the Empire.

Over time, the difference between Imperial Cities and Free Cities became increasingly blurred, so that they became collectively known as "Free Imperial Cities", or "Free and Imperial Cities", and by the late 15th century, many cities included both "Free" and "Imperial" in their name.Like the other Imperial Estates, they could wage war, make peace, and control their own trade, and they permitted little interference from outside. In the later Middle Ages, a number of Free Cities formed City Leagues (Städtebünde), such as theHanseatic Leagueor the AlsatianDécapole,to promote and defend their interests.

In the course of the Middle Ages, cities gained, and sometimes – if rarely – lost, their freedom through the vicissitudes of power politics. Some favored cities gained charters by gift. Others purchased one from a prince in need of funds. Some won it by force of armsduring the troubled 13th and 14th centuries and others lost their privileges during the same period by the same way. Some cities became free through the void created by the extinction of dominant families,like the SwabianHohenstaufen.Some voluntarily placed themselves under the protection of a territorial ruler and therefore lost their independence.

A few, like ProtestantDonauwörth,which in 1607 was annexed to the CatholicDuchy of Bavaria,were stripped by the Emperor of their status as a Free City – for genuine or trumped-up reasons. This rarely happened after the Reformation, and of the sixty Free Imperial Cities that remained at thePeace of Westphalia,all but the ten Alsatian cities which were annexed by France during the late 17th century continued to exist until themediatizationof 1803.

Distinction between free imperial cities and other cities

There were approximately four thousand towns and cities in the Empire, although around the year 1600 over nine-tenths of them had fewer than one thousand inhabitants.During the Late Middle Ages, fewer than two hundred of these places ever enjoyed the status of Free Imperial Cities, and some of those did so only for a few decades. TheImperial military tax register(Reichsmatrikel) of 1521 listed eighty-five such cities, and this figure had fallen to sixty-five by the time of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. From thePeace of Westphaliaof 1648 to 1803, their number oscillated at around fifty.

A partial list of the Free Imperial Cities of Swabia based on theReichsmatrikelof 1521. It indicates the number of horsemen (left hand column) and infantry (right hand column) which each Imperial Estate had to contribute to the defence of the Empire.

Unlike the Free Imperial Cities, the second category of towns and cities, now called "territorial cities"were subject to an ecclesiastical or lay lord, and while many of them enjoyed self-government to varying degrees, this was a precarious privilege which might be curtailed or abolished according to the will of the lord.

Reflecting the complex constitutional set-up of the Holy Roman Empire, a third category, composed of semi-autonomous cities that belonged to neither of those two types, is distinguished by some historians. These were cities whose size and economic strength was sufficient to sustain a substantial independence from surrounding territorial lords for a considerable time, even though no formal right to independence existed. These cities were typically located in small territories where the ruler was weak.They were the exception among the multitude of territorial towns and cities. Cities of both latter categories normally had representation in territorialdiets,but not in the Imperial Diet.

Organization

Free imperial cities were not officially admitted as individualImperial Estatesto theImperial Dietuntil 1489, and even then their votes were usually considered only advisory (votum consultativum) compared to the benches of theelectorsand princes. The cities divided themselves into two groups, or benches, in the Imperial Diet, theRhenishand theSwabianbenches.

These same cities were among the 85 free imperial cities listed on theReichsmatrikelof 1521,the imperial civil and military tax-schedule used for more than a century to assess the contributions of all the Imperial Estates in case of a war formally declared by the Imperial Diet. The military and monetary contribution of each city is indicated in parentheses. For instance Cologne (30-322-600) means that Cologne had to provide 30 horsemen, 322 footsoldiers and 600 gulden.

These numbers are equivalent to onesimplum.If need be, the Diet could vote a second and a thirdsimplum,in which case each member's contribution was doubled or tripled. At the time, the free imperial cities were considered wealthy and the monetary contribution of Nuremberg, Ulm and Cologne for instance were as high as that of the Electors (Mainz,Trier,Cologne,Palatinate,Saxony,Brandenburg) and the Dukes ofWürttembergand ofLorraine.

The following list contains the 50 free imperial cities that took part in the Imperial Diet of 1792. They are listed according to their voting order on the Rhenish and Swabian benches.

Rhenish bench

1. Cologne(30-322-600)
2. Aachen(20-90-260)
3. Lübeck(21-177-550)
4. Worms(10-78-325)
5. Speyer(3-99-325)
6. Frankfurt(20-140-500)
7. Goslar(0-130-205)
8. Bremen(unlisted)
9. Hamburg(20-120-325)
10. Mühlhausen(0-78-180)
11. Nordhausen(0-78-180)
12. Dortmund(20-100-180)
13. Friedberg(0-22-90)
14. Wetzlar(0-31-40)

Swabian bench

1. Regensburg(20-112-120)
2. Augsburg(25-150-500)
3. Nuremberg(40-250-600)
4. Ulm(29-150-600)
5. Esslingen am Neckar(10-67-235)
6. Reutlingen(6-55-180)
7. Nördlingen(10-80-325)
8. Rothenburg ob der Tauber(10-90-180)
9. Hall (todaySchwäbisch Hall) (10-80-325)
10. Rottweil(3-122-180)
11. Überlingen(10-78-325)
12. Heilbronn(6-60-240)
13. Gmünd (todaySchwäbisch Gmünd) (5-45-150)
14. Memmingen(10-67-325)
15. Lindau(6-72-200)
16. Dinkelsbühl(5-58-240)
17. Biberach an der Riß(6-55-180)
18. Ravensburg(4-67-180)
19. Schweinfurt(5-36-120)
20. Kempten im Allgäu(3-36-120)
21. Windsheim(4-36-180)
22. Kaufbeuren(4-68-90)
23. Weil(2-18-120)
24. Wangen im Allgäu(3-18-110)
25. Isny im Allgäu(4-22-100)
26. Pfullendorf(3-40-75)
27. Offenburg(0-45-150)
28. Leutkirch im Allgäu(2-18-90)
29. Wimpfen(3-13-130)
30. Weißenburg im Nordgau(4-18-50)
31. Giengen(2-13-60)
32. Gengenbach(0-36-0)
33. Zell am Harmersbach(0-22-0)
34. Buchhorn(todayFriedrichshafen) (0-10-60)
35. Aalen(2-18-70)
36. Bopfingen(1-9-50)

By the time of the Peace of Westphalia, the cities constituted a formal third "college" and their full vote (votum decisivum) was confirmed, although they failed to secure parity of representation with the two other colleges. To avoid the possibility that they would have the casting vote in case of a tie between the Electors and the Princes, it was decided that these should decide first and consult the cities afterward.

Despite this somewhat unequal status of the cities in the functioning of the Imperial Diet, their full admittance to that federal institution was crucial in clarifying their hitherto uncertain status and in legitimizing their permanent existence as full-fledged Imperial Estates. Constitutionally, if in no other way, the diminutive Free Imperial City ofIsnywas the equal of theMargraviate of Brandenburg.

Development

Having probably learned from experience that there was not much to gain from active, and costly, participation in the Imperial Diet's proceedings due to the lack of empathy of the princes, the cities made little use of their representation in that body. By about 1700, almost all the cities with the exception of Nuremberg, Ulm and Regensburg, where by then thePerpetual Imperial Dietwas located, were represented by various Regensburg lawyers and officials who often represented several cities simultaneously.Instead, many cities found it more profitable to maintain agents at theAulic Councilin Vienna, where the risk of an adverse judgment posed a greater risk to city treasuries and independence.

Territorial growth of Bern, the largest free imperial city

Weissenburg-im-Nordgau in 1725

Württemberg more than doubled its size when it absorbed some 15 Free Cities (in orange) and other territories during themediatisationsof 1803 and 1806.

The territory of most Free Imperial Cities was generally quite small but there were exceptions. The largest territories formed in what is now Switzerland with cities like Bern, Zürich and Luzern, but also cities like Ulm, Nuremberg and Hamburg in what is now Germany possessed substantial hinterlands or fiefs that comprised dozens of villages and thousands of subject peasants who did not enjoy the same rights as the urban population. At the opposite end, the authority of Cologne, Aachen, Worms, Goslar, Wetzlar, Augsburg and Regensburg barely extended beyond the city walls.

The constitution of Free and Imperial Cities was republican in form, but in all but the smallest cities, the city government wasoligarchicin naturewith a governing town council composed of an elite, hereditary patrician class,the so-called town council families (Ratsverwandte). They were the most economically significant burgher families who had asserted themselves politically over time.

Below them, with a say in the government of the city, were the citizens or burghers, the smaller, privileged section of the city's permanent population whose number varied according to the rule of citizenship of each city. There were exceptions, such asNuremberg,where the patriciate ruled alone. To the common town dweller – whether he lived in a prestigious Free Imperial City like Frankfurt, Augsburg or Nuremberg, or in a small market town such as there were hundreds throughout Germany – attaining burgher status (Bürgerrecht) could be his greatest aim in life.

The burgher status was usually an inherited privilege renewed pro-forma in each generation of the family concerned but it could also be purchased. At times, the sale of burgher status could be a significant item of town income as fiscal records show. TheBürgerrechtwas local and not transferable to another city.

The burghers were usually the lowest social group to have political power and privilege within the Holy Roman Empire. Below them was the disenfranchised urban population, maybe half of the total in many cities, the so-called "residents" (Beisassen) or "guests": smaller artisans, craftsmen, street venders, day laborers, servants and the poor, and those whose residence in the city was temporary, such as wintering noblemen, foreign merchants, princely officials, and so on.

Urban conflicts in Free Imperial Cities, which sometimes amounted to class warfare, were not uncommon in the Early Modern Age, particularly in the 17th century (Lübeck, 1598–1669; Schwäbisch Hall, 1601–1604; Frankfurt, 1612–1614; Wezlar, 1612–1615; Erfurt, 1648–1664; Cologne, 1680–1685; Hamburg 1678–1693, 1702–1708).Sometimes, as in the case of Hamburg in 1708, the situation was considered sufficiently serious to warrant the dispatch of an Imperial commissioner with troops to restore order and negotiate a compromise and a new city constitution between the warring parties.

The number of Imperial Cities shrank over time until the Peace of Westphalia. There were more in areas that were very fragmented politically, such as Swabia and Franconia in the southwest, than in the North and the East where the larger and more powerful territories, such as Brandenburg and Saxony, were located, which were more prone to absorb smaller, weaker states.

In the 16th and 17th century, a number of Imperial Cities were separated from the Empire due to external territorial change.Henry II of Franceseized the Imperial Cities connected to theThree BishopricsofMetz,VerdunandToul.Louis XIVseized many cities based on claims produced by hisChambers of Reunion.That way,Strasbourgand the ten cities of theDécapolewere annexed. When theOld Swiss Confederacygained its formal independence from the Empire in 1648, it had been de facto independent since 1499, the independence of the Imperial Cities ofBasel,Bern,Lucerne,St. Gallen,Schaffhausen,Solothurn,andZürichwas formally recognized.

Obernstraße,Free City of Bremen, 1843

Frankfurt,c. 1911.After more than 600 years as a Free City, Frankfurt am Main was annexed to Prussia in 1866

With the rise ofRevolutionary Francein Europe, this trend accelerated enormously. After 1795, the areas west of the Rhine were annexed to France by the revolutionary armies, suppressing the independence of Imperial Cities as diverse as Cologne, Aachen, Speyer and Worms. Then, theNapoleonic Warsled to the reorganization of the Empire in 1803 (seeGerman Mediatisation), where all of the free cities but six –Hamburg,Bremen,Lübeck,Frankfurt,Augsburg,andNuremberg– lost their independence and were absorbed into neighboring territories.

Under pressure from Napoleon, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806. By 1811, all of the Imperial Cities had lost their independence – Augsburg and Nuremberg had been annexed byBavaria,Frankfurt had become the center of theGrand Duchy of Frankfurt,a Napoleonicpuppet state,and the three Hanseatic cities had been directly annexed by France as part of its effort to enforce theContinental Blockadeagainst Britain. Hamburg and Lübeck with surrounding territories formed the département ofBouches-de-l'Elbe,and Bremen theBouches-du-Weser.

When theGerman Confederationwas established by theCongress of Viennain 1815, Hamburg, Lübeck, Bremen, and Frankfurt were once again made Free Cities,this time enjoying total sovereignty as all the members of the loose Confederation. Frankfurt was annexed byPrussiain consequence of the part it took in theAustro-Prussian Warof 1866.The three other Free Cities became constituent states of the newGerman Empirein 1871 and consequently were no longer fully sovereign as they lost control over defence, foreign affairs and a few other fields.

They retained that status in theWeimar Republicand intoNazi Germany,although underHitlerit became purely notional. Due to Hitler's distaste for Lübeckand its liberal tradition, the need was devised to compensatePrussiafor territorial losses under theGreater Hamburg Act,and Lübeck was annexed to Prussia in 1937. In theFederal Republic of Germanywhich was established after the war, Bremen and Hamburg, but not Lübeck, became constituentstates,a status which they retain to the present day.Berlin,which had never been a Free City in its history, received the status of a state after the war due to its special position in divided post-war Germany.

Regensburgwas, apart from hosting theImperial Diet,a most peculiar city: an officially Lutheran city that was the seat of the Catholic prince-bishopric of Regensburg, its prince-bishop and cathedral chapter. The Imperial City also housed three Imperial abbeys:St. Emmeram,NiedermünsterandObermünster.They were fiveimmediate entitiesfully independent of each other existing in the same small city.

Image gallery

• 
  Regensburg
• 
  Rothenburg in 1572
• 
  Lubeca urbs imperialis libera– Free Imperial City of Lübeck
• 
  An audience of theReichskammergerichtin Wetzlar, 1750. The Imperial city was saved from oblivion in 1689 when it was decided to move the Imperial Chamber Court to Wetzlar from Speyer, too exposed to French aggression.
• 
  The territory of the free imperial city ofMühlhausen
• 
  Hamburgwith its outlying exclaves

See also

• City-state
• Free city (antiquity)
• Imperial immediacy
• List of Free Imperial Cities
• Lübeck law
• Royal free city

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Wood, James,ed. (1907).The Nuttall Encyclopædia.London and New York: Frederick Warne.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)