What does the term free city mean? In German law, so-called cities that were independent in territorial and political terms. They were not dependent on the countries whose territories surrounded them. This term does not apply to modern city states. Read more about what a free city means in an article.
In the Middle Age
Free city - this is essentially the meaning of a free city. In the Middle Ages, this was the name for entities that were free from the authority of bishops and archbishops. The rights to:
- self management;
- independent tax collection;
- military defense;
- judicial power.
When talking about free cities, it is, for example, about (about):
- Augsburg
- Basel;
- Speyer;
- Worms;
- Strassburg;
- Zoste;
- Cologne (until 1794);
- Mainz (until 1462).
Next - more about the legal status of the considered territorial and political entities.
Legal regime
Free cities are independent demilitarized and neutralized formations. Their legal regime is regulated by international treaties; it is guaranteed by state and international organizations. Free cities have a certain international legal personality.
Unlike imperial cities, the free did not pay taxes to the emperor. Citizens sent them directly to the local treasury, which was controlled by the dukes and princes - the local feudal lords. However, the duties of such entities included participation in the defense of imperial borders and the provision of soldiers to participate in crusades.
As for the legal status, in addition to the above privileges, it was close to that of the imperial cities. They were dependent on the power of the emperor.
A bit of history
Between the 14th and 16th centuries part of these cities passed to the Swiss Union. And in the XVIII century. the other part is to the French Empire. In 1805-06 the kingdom of Bavaria annexed Nuremberg and Augsburg.
In 1803-1806 in the German states, mediation was carried out. Its essence was that in the process of the destruction of the Holy Roman Empire under the pressure of Napoleon’s armies, the question arose of reducing the number of sovereign principalities. They used to report directly to the emperor. Their number from three hundred was reduced to thirty.
As a result, free cities were abolished. Larger formations swallowed them. The exception was only four cities. It:
In 1866, at the end of the Austro-Prussian-Italian conflict, Frankfurt sided with Austria. After this, Prussia annexed it, making it part of one of its provinces - Hesse-Nassau. When the German Empire was formed in 1871, it included Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen. They became member states of the new entity.
In the 20th century
With the Nazis coming to power, the federal system was virtually eliminated, as were the local parliaments, land and provincial. Germany became a unitary state, divided into party units under the name "Gau". At the same time, states formally included in the empire were not abolished as independent states. As for Berlin, it has never been a free city. But in 1821 he actually stood out from the province of Brandenburg and received the right to self-government.
In the postwar years, during the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany, Hamburg and Bremen officially received the status of independent lands. But Lubeck, despite all attempts to regain former independence, failed to do this.
After the war, Berlin was in a special position. It was an occupational four-sided status. In 1958, the head of the Soviet state, N. S. Khrushchev, proposed creating a free city - West Berlin. But he received a sharp rebuff from the Western states. After 1990, Berlin was united, becoming an independent land.
Other examples
And also the name of free cities has been or continues to be carried to this day and a number of other territorial entities. But, in fact, they are not related to examples from the history of the Holy Roman Empire.
Among them, one can name the free city of Danzig (Gdansk). He was such from 1807 to 1814, and then from 1920 to 1939.
And also Krakow (1815-1846).
Among the free cities are Friume (1920-1924) and Christiania (since 1971). At one time, the Russian emperor Nicholas I made plans to make Constantinople a free city if victory was achieved in the Crimean War. Later, this idea was discussed at the initial stage of the First World War, but this did not happen.