Imperial City of Nuremberg
Encyclopedia
The Imperial City of Nuremberg was a free imperial city
— independent city-state
— within the Holy Roman Empire
. After Nuremberg
gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Middle Ages
and gaining considerable territory from Bavaria
in the Landshut War of Succession
, it grew to become one of the largest and most important Imperial cities, becoming the 'unofficial capital
' of the Empire, particularly because Reichstage
(Imperial Diets) and courts met at Nuremberg Castle
. The Diets of Nuremberg
were an important part of the administrative structure of the Empire. The Golden Bull of 1356
, issued by Emperor Charles IV
(reigned 1346–78), named Nuremberg as the city where newly-elected kings of Germany must hold their first Reichstag, making Nuremberg one of the three highest cities of the Empire.
The cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the center of the German Renaissance
. Increased trade routes elsewhere and the ravages of the major European Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries caused the city to decline and incur sizeable debts, resulting in the city's absorption into the new Kingdom of Bavaria
on the signing of the Confederation of the Rhine
in 1806, becoming one of the many territorial casualties of Napoleon's Great French War in a period known as the German Mediatisation
.
First evidence of a settlement in the Nuremberg area can be detected as early as the year 1050 BC. Later the Celts settled in the Nuremberg area, ca 400 BC. The area of the city of Nuremberg itself — and especially today's old town — has no detectable traces of a settlement before the 11th century. At that time, present-day Nuremberg was on the border between the Bavarian Nordgau and the stem duchy
of Franconia
. Nuremberg was probably founded around the turn of the 11th century, according to the first documentary mention of the city in 1050, as the location of an Imperial castle between the East Franks and the Bavarian March of the Nordgau
. From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes.
King Conrad III
established a burgraviate and the first administration and courts over the surrounding Imperial territories. The first burgraves were from the Austrian House of Raab
but, with the extinction of their male line around 1190, the burgraviate was inherited by the last count's son-in-law, of the House of Hohenzollern
. From the late 12th century to the Interregnum (1254–73), however, the power of the burgraves diminished as the Staufen emperors transferred most non-military powers to a castellan, with the city administration and the municipal courts handed over to an Imperial mayor from 1173/74. This castellan not only administered the imperial lands surrounding Nuremberg, but levied taxes and constituted the highest judicial court in matters relating to poaching and forestry; he also was the appointed protector of the various ecclesiastical establishments, churches and monasteries, even of the Bishopric of Bamberg. The privileges of this castellanship were transferred to the city during the late-14th and early-15th centuries. The strained relations between the burgraves and the castellan finally broke out into open enmity, which greatly influenced the history of the city.
Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the 'unofficial capital
' of the Holy Roman Empire
, particularly because Reichstage
(Imperial Diets) and courts met at Nuremberg Castle
. The Diets of Nuremberg
were an important part of the administrative structure of the empire. The increasing demand of the royal court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade and commerce to Nuremberg, supported by the Hohenstaufen emperors. Frederick II
(reigned 1212–50) granted the (Great Letter of Freedom) in 1219, including town rights
, Reichsfreiheit (or Imperial immediacy), the privilege to mint coins and an independent customs
policy, almost wholly removing the city from the purview of the burgraves. Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg
, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy
to Northern Europe.
In 1298, the Jews
of the town were accused of having desecrated
the host
and 698 were slain in one of the many Rintfleisch Massacres
. Behind the massacre in 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz river. Jews had been settled in that flood-prone area, but as the city leaders realised, this center of town was crucial to its future development. Hence, the Jewish population had to be removed. This area is now the place of the city market, the Frauenkirche and the Rathaus
.
The largest gains for Nuremberg were in the 14th century, with Louis the Bavarian
(reigned 1314–47) and Charles IV
(reigned 1346–78) expanding the city's powers and granting improved customs privileges. Charles's Golden Bull of 1356
named Nuremberg as the city where newly-elected kings of Germany must hold their first Reichstag, making Nuremberg one of the three highest cities of the Empire, along with Frankfurt
, where kings were elected, and Aachen
, where Emperors were crowned, and the capital of the old Frankish Empire
. The royal and Imperial connection was strengthened when Sigismund of Luxembourg
(reigned 1411–37) granted the Imperial regalia to be kept permanently in Nuremberg in 1423. These remained in Nuremberg until 1796, when the advancing French troops required their removal to Regensburg
and thence to Vienna
, where they found a new home.
Charles IV had strong ties to Nuremberg, staying within its city walls 52 times and thereby strengthening its reputation amongst German cities. Charles was the patron of the Nuremberg Frauenkirche
, built between 1352 and 1362 (the architect was likely Peter Parler
), where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg.
Until the mid-13th century, the Lesser, reigning, Council consisted of 13 magistrates and 13 councillors; towards the end of the century 8 members of the practically unimportant Great Council were added, and, from 1370, 8 representatives of the artisans' associations. The members of the council were chosen by the wealthier class; this custom led to the establishment of a circle of "eligibles", to which the artisan class was strongly opposed as being politically illegitimate. With the increasing importance of handicraft, a spirit of independence developed among the artisans, and they determined to have a voice in the city government. In 1349 the members of the guild
s unsuccessfully rebelled against the patricians in the Handwerkeraufstand (Craftsmen's Uprising), supported by merchants and some councillors. This uprising was mainly political, with the agitators siding with the Wittelsbach
s in the dispute between Louis's Bavarian heirs over the German kingship and the patricians siding with Emperor Charles. The result of this uprising was a ban on any self-organisation of the artisans in the city, abolishing the guilds that were customary elsewhere in Europe; the unions were then dissolved, and the oligarchs remained in power while Nuremberg was a free city.
Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, thereby placing it upon a politically equal footing with the princes of the empire. The city protected itself from hostile attacks by a wall and successfully defended its extensive trade against the burgraves. Frequent fights took place with the burgraves without, however, inflicting lasting damage upon the city. After the castle had been destroyed by fire in 1420 during a feud between Frederick IV
(since 1417 margrave of Brandenburg) and the duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt
, the ruins and the forest belonging to the castle were purchased by the city (1427), resulting in the city's total sovereignty within its borders; The castle had been ceded to the city by Emperor Sigismund in 1422, on the sole condition that the Imperial suite of rooms be reserved for the Emperor's use. Through these and other acquisitions the city accumulated considerable territory.
In 1431, the population was about 22,800 including 7146 persons qualified to bear arms, 381 secular and regular priests, 744 Jews and non-citizens. As an emerging regional power, however Nuremberg soon came into conflict with their old dynasty, the former burgraves, who had brought large areas of the region around the city under their control as the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Elector of Brandenburg. This conflict came to a head in the First Margrave War
in 1449–50, when Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg, tried in vain to restore his former rights over the city. The Hussite Wars
, recurrence of the Black Death in 1437 and the First Margrave War had reduced the city's population to 20,800 by 1450.
. The years between 1470–1530 are generally regarded as the city's heyday. Nuremberg traded in virtually all of the then-known world: (Nuremberg trinkets go all through the land) and Nuremberg's wealth was known as "the Imperial Treasure Chest". The city's revenues of the city should have been greater than that of the whole kingdom of Bohemia
. Nuremberg cities maintained trade offices in many cities, such as the Nürnberger Hof in Frankfurt. At that time, many notable artists lived and worked in Nuremberg, such as Albrecht Dürer
(1471–1528), Martin Behaim
(1459–1507) built the first globe
and Peter Henlein
(ca 1485–1542) produced the first pocket watch
. Also notable from this period are woodcarver
Veit Stoss
(1447–1533), sculptor Adam Kraft
(ca 1460–1508/09) and the master founder
and sculptor Peter Vischer the Elder
(ca 1460–1529). Only literature was not as the other arts, but meistersinger
(lyric poet), playwright and shoemaker Hans Sachs
(1494–1576) provides at least one major literary figure who lived at this time in Nuremberg.
Nuremberg was one of the founding 27 territories of the Franconian Circle
at the Diet of Augsburg on 2 July 1500. At the beginning of the 16th century, siding with Albert IV
, Duke of Bavaria-Munich
, in the Landshut War of Succession
led the city to gain substantial territory, resulting in lands of 25 sq mi (64.7 km²), becoming the largest Imperial city in the Empire, acquisitions confirmed by Maximilian I
in 1505. In 1525, Nuremberg accepted the Protestant Reformation
, and in 1532, the religious Peace of Nuremberg, by which the Lutheran
s gained important concessions, was signed there. During the 1552 revolution against Charles V
in the Second Margrave War
, Nuremberg endeavoured to purchase its neutrality by the payment of 100,000 guilder
; but Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
, one of the leaders of the revolt, attacked the city without declaring war and forced the conclusion of a disadvantageous peace. At the Peace of Augsburg
, the possessions of the Protestants were confirmed by the Emperor, their religious privileges extended and their independence from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Bamberg affirmed, while the 1520s' secularisation of the monasteries was also approved.
The state of affairs in the early 16th century, Columbus's
discovery of the New World and Dias's
circumnavigation
of Africa and the territorial fragmentation in the Empire led to a decline in trade and, thus, the city's affluence. The ossification of the social hierarchy and legal structures contributed to the decline in trade; under Leopold I
(reigned 1658–1705) the patriciate was converted to a hereditary corporation, leading the merchant class to appeal to the Imperial counsellor, albeit unsuccessfully. During the Thirty Years' War
it did not always succeed in preserving its policy of neutrality. Frequent quartering of Imperial, Swedish and League
soldiers, war-contributions, demands for arms, semi-compulsory presents to commanders of the warring armies and the cessation of trade, caused irreparable damage to the city. The population, which in 1620 had been over 45,000, sank to 25,000. In 1632 during the Thirty Years' War, the city, occupied by the forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
, was besieged
by the army of Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein
. The city declined after the war and recovered its importance only in the 19th century, when it grew as an industrial center. Even after the Thirty Years' War, however, there was a late flowering of architecture and culture — secular Baroque architecture
is exemplified in the layout of the civic gardens built outside the city walls, and in the Protestant city's rebuilding of the Egidienkirche, destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 18th century, considered a significant contribution to the baroque church architecture of Middle Franconia.
After the Thirty Years' War, Nuremberg attempted to remain detached from external affairs, but contributions were demanded for the War of the Austrian Succession
and the Seven Years' War
, the former amounting to 6.5 million guilder
. Restrictions of imports and exports deprived the city of many markets for its manufactures, especially in Austria
, Prussia
and Bavaria
, eastern and northern Europe. In 1790/91, the Bavarian elector, Charles Theodore
, appropriated part of the land obtained by the city during the Landshut War of succession, to which Bavaria had maintained its claim; Prussia claimed and occupied part of the territory in 1796. Realising its weakness, the city asked to be incorporated into Prussia but Frederick William II
refused, fearing to offend Austria, Russia
and France. At the Imperial diet in 1803, the independence of Nuremberg was affirmed, but on the signing of the Confederation of the Rhine
on 12 July 1806, the city was agreed to be handed over to Bavaria from 8 September; its population was then 25,200 and its public debt totalled 12.5 million guilder, with Bavaria guaranteeing their amortisation.
in 1353, only the Imperial Cities of Ulm
and Strasbourg
had anything like the same amount of land. The area was divided into the Old and New Districts ( and ). The Old District, which also included Imperial forests , was a conglomeration of lordships and possessions of Nuremberg burghers, monasteries and social facilities. That high justice
( and ) was administered by the burgraviate — and subsequently the margraviates of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth — was a source of constant conflict. The New District is made up of the territory gained by Nuremberg in the Landshut War of Succession
; in this territory, the city had full sovereignty. In 1790, around 25,000 lived with city walls and a further 35,000 in the extramural territories of the city.
The territorial expansion of imperial cities since the mid-14th century had several general causes, all found in the case of Nuremberg — the weakness of Imperial power, unable to maintain law and order; the debt crisis of neighbouring landed and knightly nobles, compares with the capital income of the burgeoning urban middle classes; and the growing need for cities to secure the supply of food for its inhabitants, to secure raw materials for its craftsmen and for military self-protection. Before the end of the 18th century, with Bavarian and Prussian annexation of Nuremberger territory, the city territory was as described below:
/ Rednitz
and Schwarzach. It included the suburbs of Gostenhof (since 1342 a burgravial fief of the Waldstromer family of Nuremberg, since 1477 a Nuremberg protectorate) and Wöhrd (part of the burgravial Amt of Veste, over which Nuremberg gained jurisdiction in 1427) as well as the Sebald and St Lorenz Imperial forests and the Knoblauchsland; the forests were territory directly belonging to the Empire . The fiefdom in the southern (St Lorenz) Imperial forest was jointly held by the Nuremberg families of Waldstromer (acquired by Nuremberg in 1396) and Koler (acquired in 1372); the northern (Sebald) forest, including the Knoblauchsland, was held by the burgraves and, thus, was acquired by Nuremberg in 1427 when it purchased the burgravial holdings, including the castle and, importantly, the right of high justice. Whilst this was later disputed by the Hohenzollern margraves, the Imperial Chamber Court confirmed these rights to Nuremberg in the in 1583, though it remained a constant source of friction.
Before 1790, Nuremberg held the Vogt
and seigneurial rights for both woodland Ämter of Sebaldi and Laurenzi in the Old District, the Pflegamt of Gostenhof and the Amt of the fortress with the judicial office of Wöhrd. At the time, the high courts held jurisdiction over the Nuremberg farmers' courts, the forest courts of the two Imperial forests and the beekeeper
s' courts in Feucht
. Within but especially outside of the Old District, there were also exclaves that were indirect estates and possessions of Nuremberg citizens and of former religious institutions (such as the monasteries secularised by the city in the 16th century) and charitable institutions (in particular the Heilig-Geist-Spital). These territories extended geographically from the Steigerwald and Little Switzerland in the north to the region of Gunzenhausen
and Greding
in the south, from Ansbach
in the west to the arc of the Franconian Jura
in the east. The Nürnberger Landalmosenamt (Nuremberg rural alms Amt) alone — responsible, amongst other things, for the land of the former Nuremberger monasteries — managed around 1790 properties in over 500 locations. In 1497, excluding the exclaves, the Old District available to Nuremberg, there were over 28,000 people, living in 5780 households in 780 towns. These tenants owed to the Imperial city allegiance, obedience, military service and tax obligations.
except where indicated:
The structure of the Nuremberg Pflegämter resembles the administrative structure of the Electoral Palatinate and the duchies of Bavaria office structure prior to 1504. In 1513, the Nuremberg Pflegämter were placed under the newly-created Landpflegamt as an intermediate authority. In contrast to the Old District, the Pflegämter of the New District were demarcated with stones showing the limits of the city's judicial, financial and administrative powers exercised by the district. Only in the Pflegämter of Altdorf and Lauf and extending into parts of the Imperial forests, did the margraviate deny high justice to the city authorities; the self-government of cities Altdorf (from 1575 including the University of Altdorf
), Lauf, Hersbruck, Velden, Betzenstein and Gräfenberg remained under Nuremberger administration.
and 1552–54
) and in the Thirty Years' War
, the city's territory and its population were violently affected by quartering of troops, looting, troop movements and disease.
After the ducal line of Bavaria fell extinct and the Electorate of Bavaria
was inherited by Charles Theodore
, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
in 1777, the Electorate began to claim Nuremberg's exclaves in the Upper Palatinate
as well as counting the Ämter of Heideck
and Hilpoltstein
into the County Palatine of Neuburg
for judicial and tax purposes. In 1790/91, the Electorate used its historic claim from before the Landshut War of Succession
to occupy Nuremberger territories in what became known as the Bavarian Sequestrations .
Large parts of the Pflegämter Hiltpoltstein, Gräfenberg and Velden and were now occupied, which led to corresponding tax losses for Nuremberg; protests to the Emperor and the Empire were in vain, due to the military-political situation at the time. The powerplay over the Nuremberger legacy saw the Electorate providing goodwill and support to Revolutionary France in competition with Prussia
, to whom the two Franconian margraviates had fallen in 1791. Since then, the Minister President of Prussia, Karl August von Hardenberg
(1750–1822), had been trying to create an integral Prussian Province of Franconia. When Prussia, in the course of her Revindikationspolitik, had already claimed the margravial rights of high justice
over the Old District in 1796, Nuremberg was all but restricted to the territory circumscribed by town walls; Nuremberg retained the right of high justice only over the reduced Pflegamt Lichtenau
and the exclaves within the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
, also diminished by annexation by the Electorate.
In 1972, most of the former territories of Nuremberg — particularly those in the New District — were reunited into the Bavarian Landkreis of Nürnberger Land
.
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
— independent city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
— within the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. After Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
and gaining considerable territory from Bavaria
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria was the only one of the stem duchies from the earliest days of East Francia and the Kingdom of Germany to preserve both its name and most of its territorial extent....
in the Landshut War of Succession
Landshut War of Succession
The Landshut War of Succession resulted from an agreement between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich and Bavaria-Landshut . The agreement concerned the law of succession when one of the two Dukes should die without a male heir...
, it grew to become one of the largest and most important Imperial cities, becoming the 'unofficial capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
' of the Empire, particularly because Reichstage
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
(Imperial Diets) and courts met at Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle is a historical building on a sandstone rock in the north of the historical city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. It comprises three sections: the imperial castle , some buildings of the Burgraves of Nuremberg , and the municipal buildings of the Imperial City at the eastern site...
. The Diets of Nuremberg
Diet of Nuremberg
The Diet of Nuremberg is often called the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg.There were several of them because, according to the Golden Bull of 1356, each Holy Roman Emperor had to hold his first diet in Nuremberg after his election...
were an important part of the administrative structure of the Empire. The Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...
, issued by Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
(reigned 1346–78), named Nuremberg as the city where newly-elected kings of Germany must hold their first Reichstag, making Nuremberg one of the three highest cities of the Empire.
The cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the center of the German Renaissance
German Renaissance
The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which originated from the Italian Renaissance in Italy...
. Increased trade routes elsewhere and the ravages of the major European Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries caused the city to decline and incur sizeable debts, resulting in the city's absorption into the new Kingdom of Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
on the signing of the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
in 1806, becoming one of the many territorial casualties of Napoleon's Great French War in a period known as the German Mediatisation
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
.
Middle Ages
Stem duchy
Stem duchies were essentially the domains of the old German tribes of the area, associated with the Frankish Kingdom, especially the East, in the Early Middle Ages. These tribes were originally the Franks, the Saxons, the Alamanni, the Burgundians, the Thuringii, and the Rugii...
of Franconia
Duchy of Franconia
The Duchy of Franconia was one of the stem duchies of Germany during the formative period of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century, part of former Frankish Austrasia.But unlike the others Franconia did not evolve into a stable political entity...
. Nuremberg was probably founded around the turn of the 11th century, according to the first documentary mention of the city in 1050, as the location of an Imperial castle between the East Franks and the Bavarian March of the Nordgau
March of the Nordgau
The March of the Nordgau or the Bavarian Nordgau was a margraviate in the north of the duchy of Bavaria in the High Middle Ages. It covered the region roughly covered by the modern Upper Palatinate along the river Main. The chief cities of the Nordgau were the Frankish cities Nuremberg and...
. From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes.
King Conrad III
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...
established a burgraviate and the first administration and courts over the surrounding Imperial territories. The first burgraves were from the Austrian House of Raab
Raabs an der Thaya
Raabs an der Thaya is a municipality with 3,114 inhabitants in Waidhofen an der Thaya in the Waldviertel of Lower Austria, near the Austrian border with the Czech Republic. The area of the municipality is 134.65 square kilometers, 27.6% of which is forested.The German Thaya and the Moravian Thaya...
but, with the extinction of their male line around 1190, the burgraviate was inherited by the last count's son-in-law, of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
. From the late 12th century to the Interregnum (1254–73), however, the power of the burgraves diminished as the Staufen emperors transferred most non-military powers to a castellan, with the city administration and the municipal courts handed over to an Imperial mayor from 1173/74. This castellan not only administered the imperial lands surrounding Nuremberg, but levied taxes and constituted the highest judicial court in matters relating to poaching and forestry; he also was the appointed protector of the various ecclesiastical establishments, churches and monasteries, even of the Bishopric of Bamberg. The privileges of this castellanship were transferred to the city during the late-14th and early-15th centuries. The strained relations between the burgraves and the castellan finally broke out into open enmity, which greatly influenced the history of the city.
Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the 'unofficial capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
' of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, particularly because Reichstage
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
(Imperial Diets) and courts met at Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg Castle is a historical building on a sandstone rock in the north of the historical city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. It comprises three sections: the imperial castle , some buildings of the Burgraves of Nuremberg , and the municipal buildings of the Imperial City at the eastern site...
. The Diets of Nuremberg
Diet of Nuremberg
The Diet of Nuremberg is often called the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg.There were several of them because, according to the Golden Bull of 1356, each Holy Roman Emperor had to hold his first diet in Nuremberg after his election...
were an important part of the administrative structure of the empire. The increasing demand of the royal court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade and commerce to Nuremberg, supported by the Hohenstaufen emperors. Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
(reigned 1212–50) granted the (Great Letter of Freedom) in 1219, including town rights
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
, Reichsfreiheit (or Imperial immediacy), the privilege to mint coins and an independent customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
policy, almost wholly removing the city from the purview of the burgraves. Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to Northern Europe.
In 1298, the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
of the town were accused of having desecrated
Host desecration
Host desecration is a form of sacrilege in Christianity involving the mistreatment or malicious use of a consecrated host— the sacred bread used in the Eucharistic service or Mass...
the host
Sacramental bread
Sacramental bread, sometimes called the lamb, altar bread, host or simply Communion bread, is the bread which is used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist.-Eastern Catholic and Orthodox:...
and 698 were slain in one of the many Rintfleisch Massacres
Rintfleisch-Pogrom
The Rintfleisch-Pogrom was a pogrom against Jews in the year 1298.It was set during the civil strife between King Adolf of Nassau and his rival Albert of Austria, when imperial authority, traditionally concerned with the protection of the Jews, had temporarily collapsed.The Jews of the Franconian...
. Behind the massacre in 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz river. Jews had been settled in that flood-prone area, but as the city leaders realised, this center of town was crucial to its future development. Hence, the Jewish population had to be removed. This area is now the place of the city market, the Frauenkirche and the Rathaus
Seat of local government
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
.
The largest gains for Nuremberg were in the 14th century, with Louis the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
(reigned 1314–47) and Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
(reigned 1346–78) expanding the city's powers and granting improved customs privileges. Charles's Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...
named Nuremberg as the city where newly-elected kings of Germany must hold their first Reichstag, making Nuremberg one of the three highest cities of the Empire, along with Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, where kings were elected, and Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, where Emperors were crowned, and the capital of the old Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
. The royal and Imperial connection was strengthened when Sigismund of Luxembourg
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
(reigned 1411–37) granted the Imperial regalia to be kept permanently in Nuremberg in 1423. These remained in Nuremberg until 1796, when the advancing French troops required their removal to Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
and thence to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where they found a new home.
Charles IV had strong ties to Nuremberg, staying within its city walls 52 times and thereby strengthening its reputation amongst German cities. Charles was the patron of the Nuremberg Frauenkirche
Nuremberg Frauenkirche
The Frauenkirche is a church in Nuremberg, Germany. It stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of brick Gothic architecture, it was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362. The church contains many sculptures, some of them heavily restored...
, built between 1352 and 1362 (the architect was likely Peter Parler
Peter Parler
Peter Parler, , Schwäbisch Gmünd – July 13, 1399, Prague) was a German architect, best known for building Saint Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge in Prague, where he lived from about 1356....
), where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg.
Until the mid-13th century, the Lesser, reigning, Council consisted of 13 magistrates and 13 councillors; towards the end of the century 8 members of the practically unimportant Great Council were added, and, from 1370, 8 representatives of the artisans' associations. The members of the council were chosen by the wealthier class; this custom led to the establishment of a circle of "eligibles", to which the artisan class was strongly opposed as being politically illegitimate. With the increasing importance of handicraft, a spirit of independence developed among the artisans, and they determined to have a voice in the city government. In 1349 the members of the guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s unsuccessfully rebelled against the patricians in the Handwerkeraufstand (Craftsmen's Uprising), supported by merchants and some councillors. This uprising was mainly political, with the agitators siding with the Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
s in the dispute between Louis's Bavarian heirs over the German kingship and the patricians siding with Emperor Charles. The result of this uprising was a ban on any self-organisation of the artisans in the city, abolishing the guilds that were customary elsewhere in Europe; the unions were then dissolved, and the oligarchs remained in power while Nuremberg was a free city.
Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, thereby placing it upon a politically equal footing with the princes of the empire. The city protected itself from hostile attacks by a wall and successfully defended its extensive trade against the burgraves. Frequent fights took place with the burgraves without, however, inflicting lasting damage upon the city. After the castle had been destroyed by fire in 1420 during a feud between Frederick IV
Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick was Burgrave of Nuremberg as Frederick VI and Elector of Brandenburg as Frederick I. He was a son of Burgrave Frederick V of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Meissen, and was the first member of the House of Hohenzollern to rule the Margraviate of Brandenburg.- Biography :Frederick entered...
(since 1417 margrave of Brandenburg) and the duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt
Bavaria-Ingolstadt
Bavaria-Ingolstadt was a duchy which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1447.-History:After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen years, the brothers decided to formally divide their inheritance...
, the ruins and the forest belonging to the castle were purchased by the city (1427), resulting in the city's total sovereignty within its borders; The castle had been ceded to the city by Emperor Sigismund in 1422, on the sole condition that the Imperial suite of rooms be reserved for the Emperor's use. Through these and other acquisitions the city accumulated considerable territory.
In 1431, the population was about 22,800 including 7146 persons qualified to bear arms, 381 secular and regular priests, 744 Jews and non-citizens. As an emerging regional power, however Nuremberg soon came into conflict with their old dynasty, the former burgraves, who had brought large areas of the region around the city under their control as the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Elector of Brandenburg. This conflict came to a head in the First Margrave War
First Margrave War
The First Margrave War from 1449–50 was the result of disputes between the Imperial City of Nuremberg and Albert III Achilles, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Numerous towns in Franconia in modern Germany were badly affected by the war....
in 1449–50, when Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg, tried in vain to restore his former rights over the city. The Hussite Wars
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars involved the military actions against and amongst the followers of Jan Hus in Bohemia in the period 1419 to circa 1434. The Hussite Wars were notable for the extensive use of early hand-held gunpowder weapons such as hand cannons...
, recurrence of the Black Death in 1437 and the First Margrave War had reduced the city's population to 20,800 by 1450.
Early modern age
The cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the center of the German RenaissanceGerman Renaissance
The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which originated from the Italian Renaissance in Italy...
. The years between 1470–1530 are generally regarded as the city's heyday. Nuremberg traded in virtually all of the then-known world: (Nuremberg trinkets go all through the land) and Nuremberg's wealth was known as "the Imperial Treasure Chest". The city's revenues of the city should have been greater than that of the whole kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
. Nuremberg cities maintained trade offices in many cities, such as the Nürnberger Hof in Frankfurt. At that time, many notable artists lived and worked in Nuremberg, such as Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
(1471–1528), Martin Behaim
Martin Behaim
Martin Behaim , was a German mariner, artist, cosmographer, astronomer, philosopher, geographer and explorer in service to the King of Portugal.-Biography:The Behaim family had immigrated to Nuremberg because of religious persecution around...
(1459–1507) built the first globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
and Peter Henlein
Peter Henlein
Peter Henlein , a locksmith and watchmaker from Nuremberg, is often considered the inventor of the portable timekeeper, making him the inventor of the watch, but this claim is disputed...
(ca 1485–1542) produced the first pocket watch
Pocket watch
A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design,...
. Also notable from this period are woodcarver
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
Veit Stoss
Veit Stoss
Veit Stoss was a leading Bavarian sculptor, mostly in wood, whose career covered the transition between the late Gothic and the Northern Renaissance. His style emphasized pathos and emotion, helped by his virtuoso carving of billowing drapery; it has been called "late Gothic Baroque"...
(1447–1533), sculptor Adam Kraft
Adam Kraft
Adam Kraft was a German stone sculptor and master builder of the late Gothic period, based in Nuremberg and with a documented career there from 1490...
(ca 1460–1508/09) and the master founder
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
and sculptor Peter Vischer the Elder
Peter Vischer the Elder
Peter Vischer the Elder was a German sculptor, the son of Hermann Vischer, and the most famous member of the noted Vischer Family of Nuremberg....
(ca 1460–1529). Only literature was not as the other arts, but meistersinger
Meistersinger
A Meistersinger was a member of a German guild for lyric poetry, composition and unaccompanied art song of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The Meistersingers were drawn from middle class males for the most part.-Guilds:...
(lyric poet), playwright and shoemaker Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs was a German meistersinger , poet, playwright and shoemaker.-Biography:Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg . His father was a tailor. He attended Latin school in Nuremberg...
(1494–1576) provides at least one major literary figure who lived at this time in Nuremberg.
Nuremberg was one of the founding 27 territories of the Franconian Circle
Franconian Circle
The Franconian Circle was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy — roughly corresponding with the present-day Bavarian Regierungsbezirke of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia — while western...
at the Diet of Augsburg on 2 July 1500. At the beginning of the 16th century, siding with Albert IV
Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich , , from 1467 Duke of Bavaria-Munich, from 1503 Duke of the reunited Bavaria.-Biography:...
, Duke of Bavaria-Munich
Bavaria-Munich
-History:After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen years, the brothers decided to formally divide their inheritance. John received Bavaria-Munich, Stephen received Bavaria-Ingolstadt, while Frederick kept...
, in the Landshut War of Succession
Landshut War of Succession
The Landshut War of Succession resulted from an agreement between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich and Bavaria-Landshut . The agreement concerned the law of succession when one of the two Dukes should die without a male heir...
led the city to gain substantial territory, resulting in lands of 25 sq mi (64.7 km²), becoming the largest Imperial city in the Empire, acquisitions confirmed by Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
in 1505. In 1525, Nuremberg accepted the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, and in 1532, the religious Peace of Nuremberg, by which the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
s gained important concessions, was signed there. During the 1552 revolution against Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
in the Second Margrave War
Second Margrave War
The Second Margrave War was a conflict in the Holy Roman Empire between 1552 and 1555. Instigated by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, it involved numerous raids, plunderings and the destruction of many towns and castles in the empire, especially in...
, Nuremberg endeavoured to purchase its neutrality by the payment of 100,000 guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
; but Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
Albert Alcibiades was a Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, also known as Brandenburg-Bayreuth.Because of his bellicose nature Albert received the cognomen Alcibiades after his death; during his lifetime Albert was known as Bellator .He was a member of the Franconian branch of the House of...
, one of the leaders of the revolt, attacked the city without declaring war and forced the conclusion of a disadvantageous peace. At the Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
, the possessions of the Protestants were confirmed by the Emperor, their religious privileges extended and their independence from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Bamberg affirmed, while the 1520s' secularisation of the monasteries was also approved.
The state of affairs in the early 16th century, Columbus's
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
discovery of the New World and Dias's
Bartolomeu Dias
Bartolomeu Dias , a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer who sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.-Purposes of the Dias expedition:...
circumnavigation
Circumnavigation
Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...
of Africa and the territorial fragmentation in the Empire led to a decline in trade and, thus, the city's affluence. The ossification of the social hierarchy and legal structures contributed to the decline in trade; under Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
(reigned 1658–1705) the patriciate was converted to a hereditary corporation, leading the merchant class to appeal to the Imperial counsellor, albeit unsuccessfully. During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
it did not always succeed in preserving its policy of neutrality. Frequent quartering of Imperial, Swedish and League
Catholic League (German)
The German Catholic League was initially a loose confederation of Roman Catholic German states formed on July 10, 1609 to counteract the Protestant Union , whereby the participating states concluded an alliance "for the defence of the Catholic religion and peace within the Empire." Modeled...
soldiers, war-contributions, demands for arms, semi-compulsory presents to commanders of the warring armies and the cessation of trade, caused irreparable damage to the city. The population, which in 1620 had been over 45,000, sank to 25,000. In 1632 during the Thirty Years' War, the city, occupied by the forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
, was besieged
Siege of Nuremberg
The Siege of Nuremberg or Siege of Nürnberg was a battle campaign that took place in 1632 about the Imperial City of Nuremberg during the Thirty Years' War....
by the army of Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein , actually von Waldstein, was a Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the Danish period of the Thirty Years' War , to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II...
. The city declined after the war and recovered its importance only in the 19th century, when it grew as an industrial center. Even after the Thirty Years' War, however, there was a late flowering of architecture and culture — secular Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
is exemplified in the layout of the civic gardens built outside the city walls, and in the Protestant city's rebuilding of the Egidienkirche, destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 18th century, considered a significant contribution to the baroque church architecture of Middle Franconia.
After the Thirty Years' War, Nuremberg attempted to remain detached from external affairs, but contributions were demanded for the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
and the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
, the former amounting to 6.5 million guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
. Restrictions of imports and exports deprived the city of many markets for its manufactures, especially in Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
, Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and Bavaria
Electorate of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria....
, eastern and northern Europe. In 1790/91, the Bavarian elector, Charles Theodore
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria reigned as Prince-Elector and Count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death...
, appropriated part of the land obtained by the city during the Landshut War of succession, to which Bavaria had maintained its claim; Prussia claimed and occupied part of the territory in 1796. Realising its weakness, the city asked to be incorporated into Prussia but Frederick William II
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
refused, fearing to offend Austria, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and France. At the Imperial diet in 1803, the independence of Nuremberg was affirmed, but on the signing of the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
on 12 July 1806, the city was agreed to be handed over to Bavaria from 8 September; its population was then 25,200 and its public debt totalled 12.5 million guilder, with Bavaria guaranteeing their amortisation.
Territory
The Imperial City had some 1200 square kilometres (463.3 sq mi), making it one of the largest imperial territories; since the Imperial City of Bern left to join the Old Swiss ConfederacyOld Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland....
in 1353, only the Imperial Cities of Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
and Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
had anything like the same amount of land. The area was divided into the Old and New Districts ( and ). The Old District, which also included Imperial forests , was a conglomeration of lordships and possessions of Nuremberg burghers, monasteries and social facilities. That high justice
High Justice
High Justice is a 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by Jerry Pournelle. It was republished in a omnibus edition with Exiles to Glory in 2009 as Exile -- and Glory....
( and ) was administered by the burgraviate — and subsequently the margraviates of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth — was a source of constant conflict. The New District is made up of the territory gained by Nuremberg in the Landshut War of Succession
Landshut War of Succession
The Landshut War of Succession resulted from an agreement between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich and Bavaria-Landshut . The agreement concerned the law of succession when one of the two Dukes should die without a male heir...
; in this territory, the city had full sovereignty. In 1790, around 25,000 lived with city walls and a further 35,000 in the extramural territories of the city.
The territorial expansion of imperial cities since the mid-14th century had several general causes, all found in the case of Nuremberg — the weakness of Imperial power, unable to maintain law and order; the debt crisis of neighbouring landed and knightly nobles, compares with the capital income of the burgeoning urban middle classes; and the growing need for cities to secure the supply of food for its inhabitants, to secure raw materials for its craftsmen and for military self-protection. Before the end of the 18th century, with Bavarian and Prussian annexation of Nuremberger territory, the city territory was as described below:
Old District
The Old District was mostly between the (border waters) of Erlanger Schwabach, RegnitzRegnitz
The Regnitz is a river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length.The river is formed by the confluence of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which meet in the city of Fürth. From there the Regnitz runs northwards through the cities of Erlangen and Forchheim...
/ Rednitz
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz . The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Fränkische Rezat and Schwäbische Rezat, in Georgensgmünd . The Rednitz flows north through Roth bei Nürnberg, Schwabach and the southwestern quarters of Nuremberg...
and Schwarzach. It included the suburbs of Gostenhof (since 1342 a burgravial fief of the Waldstromer family of Nuremberg, since 1477 a Nuremberg protectorate) and Wöhrd (part of the burgravial Amt of Veste, over which Nuremberg gained jurisdiction in 1427) as well as the Sebald and St Lorenz Imperial forests and the Knoblauchsland; the forests were territory directly belonging to the Empire . The fiefdom in the southern (St Lorenz) Imperial forest was jointly held by the Nuremberg families of Waldstromer (acquired by Nuremberg in 1396) and Koler (acquired in 1372); the northern (Sebald) forest, including the Knoblauchsland, was held by the burgraves and, thus, was acquired by Nuremberg in 1427 when it purchased the burgravial holdings, including the castle and, importantly, the right of high justice. Whilst this was later disputed by the Hohenzollern margraves, the Imperial Chamber Court confirmed these rights to Nuremberg in the in 1583, though it remained a constant source of friction.
Before 1790, Nuremberg held the Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
and seigneurial rights for both woodland Ämter of Sebaldi and Laurenzi in the Old District, the Pflegamt of Gostenhof and the Amt of the fortress with the judicial office of Wöhrd. At the time, the high courts held jurisdiction over the Nuremberg farmers' courts, the forest courts of the two Imperial forests and the beekeeper
Beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...
s' courts in Feucht
Feucht
Feucht is a municipality southwest of Nuremberg in the Middle Franconia of Bavaria, Germany. The name Feucht is derived from the Old High German noun "viuhtje" - "fichta", which is the tree spruce . As of July 31, 2005, had a population of 13,590...
. Within but especially outside of the Old District, there were also exclaves that were indirect estates and possessions of Nuremberg citizens and of former religious institutions (such as the monasteries secularised by the city in the 16th century) and charitable institutions (in particular the Heilig-Geist-Spital). These territories extended geographically from the Steigerwald and Little Switzerland in the north to the region of Gunzenhausen
Gunzenhausen
Gunzenhausen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 19 km northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and 45 km southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nationally recognized recreation area. The city was mentioned first in the...
and Greding
Greding
Greding is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 28 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 32 km north of Ingolstadt.-Geography:Greding is located in the south-eastern corner of Middle Franconia...
in the south, from Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
in the west to the arc of the Franconian Jura
Franconian Jura
The Franconian Jura is an upland in Bavaria, Germany. Located between two rivers, the Danube in the south and the Main in the north, its peaks reach elevations of up to .Large portions of the Franconian Jura are part of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park...
in the east. The Nürnberger Landalmosenamt (Nuremberg rural alms Amt) alone — responsible, amongst other things, for the land of the former Nuremberger monasteries — managed around 1790 properties in over 500 locations. In 1497, excluding the exclaves, the Old District available to Nuremberg, there were over 28,000 people, living in 5780 households in 780 towns. These tenants owed to the Imperial city allegiance, obedience, military service and tax obligations.
New District
In 1504/05, the New District comprised Pflegämtern in the following places, all now in Landkreis Nürnberger LandNürnberger Land
Nürnberger Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Forchheim, Bayreuth, Amberg-Sulzbach, Neumarkt, Roth and Erlangen-Höchstadt, and by the city of Nuremberg.-History:...
except where indicated:
- AltdorfAltdorf bei NürnbergAltdorf bei Nürnberg is a town in south-eastern Germany. It is situated 25 km east of Nuremberg, in the district Nürnberger Land. Its name literally means Altdorf near Nuremberg, to distinguish it from other Altdorfs.-History:...
- BetzensteinBetzensteinBetzenstein is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Franconian Switzerland, 35 km northeast of Nuremberg....
with Stierberg, now in Lkr BayreuthBayreuth (district)Bayreuth is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds, but does not include the city of Bayreuth. The district is bounded by the districts of Kulmbach, Hof, Wunsiedel, Tirschenreuth, Neustadt/Waldnaab, Amberg-Sulzbach, Nürnberger Land, Forchheim and Bamberg.-History:The district was established... - EngelthalEngelthalEngelthal is a municipality near Nürnberg in the Frankenalb . The municipality has a population of approximately 1100 people. It was established as a cloister around 1250 AD and has retained many of the original cloister buildings...
- HersbruckHersbruckHersbruck is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. Famous for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the beautiful landscape of the "Hersbrucker Schweiz".-History:...
- HiltpoltsteinHiltpoltsteinHiltpoltstein is a municipality in the district of Forchheim in Bavaria in Germany....
, bought in 1503 now in Lkr ForchheimForchheim (district)Forchheim is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bamberg, Bayreuth, Nürnberger Land and Erlangen-Höchstadt.-History:...
) - HohensteinKirchensittenbachKirchensittenbach is a municipality in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria in Germany....
and WildenfelsSimmelsdorfSimmelsdorf is a municipality in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria in Germany....
, bought in 1505 and 1511 - LaufLauf an der PegnitzLauf an der Pegnitz is a municipality near Nuremberg, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nürnberger Land, in Bavaria....
, ReicheneckHappurgHappurg is a municipality in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria in Germany. During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenburg concentration camp was located here.- References :...
and VeldenVelden (Pegnitz)Velden is a town in the district Nürnberger Land, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Pegnitz River, 16 km south of Pegnitz, and 36 km northeast of Nuremberg .... - HauseckEtzelwangEtzelwang is a municipality in the district of Amberg-Sulzbach in Bavaria in Germany.Places of interest in Etzelwang include Schloss Neidstein, a castle once owned by actor Nicolas Cage....
, now in Lkr Amberg-SulzbachAmberg-SulzbachAmberg-Sulzbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds but does not include the city of Amberg. It is bounded by the districts of Neustadt , Schwandorf, Neumarkt, Nürnberger Land and Bayreuth.- History :... - Pflegamt GräfenbergGräfenberg, BavariaGräfenberg is a Franconian town in the district of Forchheim, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 16 km southeast of Forchheim and 25 km northeast of Nuremberg.-Location:Gräfenberg is located in the southern part of Little Switzerland....
(Lkr Forchheim) was successively acquired, in 1347 by Nuremberger families and in 1536 by the city itself - Pflegamt Lichtenau, purchased in 1406, now in Lkr AnsbachAnsbachAnsbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
The structure of the Nuremberg Pflegämter resembles the administrative structure of the Electoral Palatinate and the duchies of Bavaria office structure prior to 1504. In 1513, the Nuremberg Pflegämter were placed under the newly-created Landpflegamt as an intermediate authority. In contrast to the Old District, the Pflegämter of the New District were demarcated with stones showing the limits of the city's judicial, financial and administrative powers exercised by the district. Only in the Pflegämter of Altdorf and Lauf and extending into parts of the Imperial forests, did the margraviate deny high justice to the city authorities; the self-government of cities Altdorf (from 1575 including the University of Altdorf
University of Altdorf
The University of Altdorf was a university in Altdorf bei Nürnberg, a small town outside Nuremberg. It was founded in the late 16th century, received university privileges in 1622 and was closed in 1809 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria....
), Lauf, Hersbruck, Velden, Betzenstein and Gräfenberg remained under Nuremberger administration.
Gradual mediatisation from 1790
In both Margraves Wars (1449/50First Margrave War
The First Margrave War from 1449–50 was the result of disputes between the Imperial City of Nuremberg and Albert III Achilles, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Numerous towns in Franconia in modern Germany were badly affected by the war....
and 1552–54
Second Margrave War
The Second Margrave War was a conflict in the Holy Roman Empire between 1552 and 1555. Instigated by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, it involved numerous raids, plunderings and the destruction of many towns and castles in the empire, especially in...
) and in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the city's territory and its population were violently affected by quartering of troops, looting, troop movements and disease.
After the ducal line of Bavaria fell extinct and the Electorate of Bavaria
Electorate of Bavaria
The Electorate of Bavaria was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria....
was inherited by Charles Theodore
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria reigned as Prince-Elector and Count palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death...
, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
Palatinate-Sulzbach
Palatinate-Sulzbach was the name of two separate states of the Holy Roman Empire located in modern Amberg-Sulzbach, Bavaria, Germany.-Palatinate-Sulzbach :...
in 1777, the Electorate began to claim Nuremberg's exclaves in the Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...
as well as counting the Ämter of Heideck
Heideck
Heideck is a town with full legal town charter in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg and at the same time in the Franconian Lake District-Notable persons:...
and Hilpoltstein
Hilpoltstein
Hilpoltstein is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 10 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 30 km south of Nuremberg.-History:* Origins of the castle and the town date back to the 10th century....
into the County Palatine of Neuburg
Palatinate-Neuburg
Palatinate-Neuburg is a former territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of some 100,000.-History:...
for judicial and tax purposes. In 1790/91, the Electorate used its historic claim from before the Landshut War of Succession
Landshut War of Succession
The Landshut War of Succession resulted from an agreement between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich and Bavaria-Landshut . The agreement concerned the law of succession when one of the two Dukes should die without a male heir...
to occupy Nuremberger territories in what became known as the Bavarian Sequestrations .
Large parts of the Pflegämter Hiltpoltstein, Gräfenberg and Velden and were now occupied, which led to corresponding tax losses for Nuremberg; protests to the Emperor and the Empire were in vain, due to the military-political situation at the time. The powerplay over the Nuremberger legacy saw the Electorate providing goodwill and support to Revolutionary France in competition with Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, to whom the two Franconian margraviates had fallen in 1791. Since then, the Minister President of Prussia, Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August von Hardenberg
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career he implemented a variety of Liberal reforms...
(1750–1822), had been trying to create an integral Prussian Province of Franconia. When Prussia, in the course of her Revindikationspolitik, had already claimed the margravial rights of high justice
High Justice
High Justice is a 1974 collection of science fiction short stories by Jerry Pournelle. It was republished in a omnibus edition with Exiles to Glory in 2009 as Exile -- and Glory....
over the Old District in 1796, Nuremberg was all but restricted to the territory circumscribed by town walls; Nuremberg retained the right of high justice only over the reduced Pflegamt Lichtenau
Lichtenau, Bavaria
Lichtenau is a market town in the district of Ansbach, Mittelfranken, Bavaria, Germany.-External links:* * A small village/town of roughly 3,780 population just off the infamous “Castle Road” theme route of Southern Germany. Its a small market town in the district of Ansbach, Mittelfranken,...
and the exclaves within the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
The Bishopric of Bamberg was established in 1007, to further expand the spread of Christianity in Germany. The ecclesiastical state was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from about 1245 until it was subsumed to the Electorate of Bavaria in 1802...
, also diminished by annexation by the Electorate.
In 1972, most of the former territories of Nuremberg — particularly those in the New District — were reunited into the Bavarian Landkreis of Nürnberger Land
Nürnberger Land
Nürnberger Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Forchheim, Bayreuth, Amberg-Sulzbach, Neumarkt, Roth and Erlangen-Höchstadt, and by the city of Nuremberg.-History:...
.