1.
House of Hohenzollern
–
The House of Hohenzollern is a dynasty of former princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family arose in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century, the first ancestor of the Hohenzollerns was mentioned in 1061. They may have derived from the Burchardinger dynasty, the Hohenzollern family split into two branches, the Catholic Swabian branch and the Protestant Franconian branch, which later became the Brandenburg-Prussian branch. The Swabian branch ruled the principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 1849, members of the Franconian branch became Margrave of Brandenburg in 1415 and Duke of Prussia in 1525. The Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were ruled in personal union after 1618 and were called Brandenburg-Prussia, germanys defeat in World War I in 1918 led to the German Revolution. The Hohenzollerns were overthrown and the Weimar Republic was established, thus bringing an end to the German monarchy, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia is the current head of the royal Prussian line, while Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern is the head of the princely Swabian line. Zollern, from 1218 Hohenzollern, was a county of the Holy Roman Empire and its ruling dynasty was first mentioned in 1061. The Hohenzollerns named their estates after Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps, the Hohenzollern Castle still belongs to the family today. According to the medieval chronicler Berthold of Reichenau, Burkhard I, Count of Zollern was born before 1025, the Zollerns received the comital title from Emperor Henry V in 1111. As loyal vassals of the Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty, they were able to enlarge their territory. In 1218 the burgraviate passed to Fredericks younger son Conrad I, he became the ancestor of the Franconian Hohenzollern branch. 1150-1155 and 1160, Gotfried of Zimmern, 4th oldest son of Frederick I before 1171 – c,1200, Frederick III/I Count Frederick III of Zollern was a loyal retainer of the Holy Roman Emperors Frederick Barbarossa and Henry VI. In about 1185 he married Sophia of Raabs, the daughter of Conrad II, after the death of Conrad II who left no male heirs, Frederick III was granted Nuremberg in 1192 as Burgrave Frederick I of Nuremberg-Zollern. Since then the name has been Hohenzollern. The younger brother, Conrad III, received the burgraviate of Nuremberg from his older brother Frederick IV in 1218, members of the Franconian line eventually became the Brandenburg-Prussian branch. The Franconian line later converted to Protestantism, the cadet Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern was founded by Conrad I, Burgrave of Nuremberg. Beginning in the 16th century, this branch of the family became Protestant and decided on expansion through marriage, the family supported the Hohenstaufen and Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire during the 12th to 15th centuries, being rewarded with several territorial grants. He ruled the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach after 1398, from 1420, he became Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
2.
Nuremberg
–
Nuremberg is a city on the river Pegnitz and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia, about 170 kilometres north of Munich. It is the second-largest city in Bavaria, and the largest in Franconia, the population as of February 2015, is 517,498, which makes it Germanys fourteenth-largest city. The urban area also includes Fürth, Erlangen and Schwabach with a population of 763,854. The European Metropolitan Area Nuremberg has ca.3.5 million inhabitants, Nuremberg was, according to the first documentary mention of the city in 1050, 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, Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly because Imperial Diet and courts met at Nuremberg Castle. The Diets of Nuremberg were an important part of the structure of the empire. The increasing demand of the court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade. 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, behind the massacre of 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz. The Jews of the German lands suffered many massacres during the plague years, in 1349, Nurembergs Jews were subjected to a pogrom. They were burned at the stake or expelled, and a marketplace was built over the former Jewish quarter, the plague returned to the city in 1405,1435,1437,1482,1494,1520 and 1534. Charles was the patron of the Frauenkirche, built between 1352 and 1362, where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg. Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, frequent fights took place with the burgraves without, however, inflicting lasting damage upon the city. Through these and other acquisitions the city accumulated considerable territory, the Hussite Wars, recurrence of the Black Death in 1437, and the First Margrave War led to a severe fall in population in the mid-15th century. During the Middle Ages, Nurembergs literary culture was rich, varied, the cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the centre of the German Renaissance. In 1525, Nuremberg accepted the Protestant Reformation, and in 1532, during the 1552 revolution against Charles V, Nuremberg tried to purchase its neutrality, but the city was attacked without a declaration of war and was forced into a disadvantageous peace. The state of affairs in the early 16th century, increased trade routes elsewhere, frequent quartering of Imperial, Swedish and League soldiers, the financial costs of the war and the cessation of trade caused irreparable damage to the city and a near-halving of the population. In 1632, 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 centre
3.
County
–
A county is a geographical region of a country used for administrative or other purposes, in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French conté or cunté denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count or a viscount. The modern French is comté, and its equivalents in other languages are contea, contado, comtat, condado, Grafschaft, graafschap, Gau, when the Normans conquered England, they brought the term with them. The Saxons had already established the districts became the historic counties of England. The Vikings introduced the term earl to the British Isles, thus, the Anglo-Saxons earl and earldom were taken as equivalent to the continental use of count and county under the conquering Normans, and over time the two blended and became equivalent terms. Further, the term became a synonym for the native English word scir or, in Modern English. Since a shire was a division of the kingdom, the term county evolved to designate an administrative division of states or of a national government in most other modern uses. A county may be subdivided into districts, hundreds, townships or other administrative jurisdictions within the county. A county usually, but not always, contains cities, towns, townships, villages, or other municipal corporations, Provinces in Argentina are divided into departments, except in the Buenos Aires Province, where they are called partidos. The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires is divided into communes, in the eastern states of Australia, counties are used in the administration of land titles. They do not generally correspond to a level of government, but are used in the identification of parcels of land, canadas five oldest provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island – are divided into counties. In addition to counties, Ontario is also subdivided into districts, district municipalities, metropolitan municipalities. British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, the word county is used to translate the Chinese term xiàn. In Mainland China, governed by the Peoples Republic of China, counties are the level of local government. There are 1,464 counties in the PRC out of a total of 2,862 county-level divisions, the number of counties has remained more or less constant since the Han dynasty. The county remains one of the oldest levels of government in China, the county government was particularly important in imperial China because this was the lowest layer at which the imperial government functioned. The head of a county during imperial times was the magistrate, in older context, prefecture and district are alternative terms to refer to xiàn before the establishment of the Republic of China. The English nomenclature county was adopted following the establishment of the ROC, contrary to the typical rural location of a county in Western countries, a city in China may enclose several counties
4.
Middle Ages
–
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
5.
High, middle and low justice
–
Low justice regards the level of day-to-day civil actions, including voluntary justice, minor pleas, and petty offences generally settled by fines or light corporal punishment. It was held by many petty authorities, including lords of the manor, who sat in justice over the serfs, unfree tenants. As a rule, each court administered justice in general, as long as the matter was not reserved for a court or by virtue of some privilegium fori. In addition to civil and criminal trials, the notion of justice also included voluntary justice, a right of appeal was not automatically available, only when explicitly established, and if so not always to a court of the superior political level and/or a higher degree of our trio. In the early Holy Roman Empire, high justice was reserved to the king, from the 13th century, it was transferred to the kings vassals along with their fiefs. The first codification of capital punishment was the Halsgerichtsordnung passed by Maximilian I in 1499, both codes formed the basis of the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina, passed in 1532 under Charles V. In the Habsburg Monarchy, all codes were superseded by the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana in 1768. The Blutbanner or Blutfahne was a red flag. It was presented to feudal lords as a symbol of their power of high jurisdiction together with the banner of the fief. Some feudal houses adopted a red field symbolic of the banner into their coat of arms. The Talschaft of Schwyz used the banner as a war flag from ca. 1240, and was incorporated into the flag of Schwyz. Often it is displayed, in the form of relevant status symbols. Thus permanent gallows are often erected in prominent public places, the word for them in French. These privileges indicating its so-called liberty was an enclave in the territorial jurisdiction of the neighboring feudal Lord. Not every Vogt held high justice, up to the 18th century, for example, the blood court of much of what is now the canton of Zürich lay with Kyburg, even in the territory ruled by the counts of Greifensee. The self-administration of the court was an important factor of Imperial immediacy. Private jurisdiction Zwing und Bann Richard J. Evans, Rituals of Retribution, Capital Punishment in Germany, 1600-1987, Oxford University Press
6.
Principality of Ansbach
–
The Principality of Ansbach or Markgraftum Brandenburg-Ansbach was a reichsfrei principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Bavarian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, the principality was established at the death of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg, on 21 January 1398, when his lands were partitioned between his two sons. The younger son, Frederick VI, received Ansbach and the elder, John III, after John IIIs death on 11 June 1420, the two principalities were reunited under Frederick VI, who had become Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg in 1415. Upon Frederick Is death on 21 September 1440, his territories were divided between his sons, John received the principality of Bayreuth, Frederick received Brandenburg, and Albert received Ansbach. Thereafter Ansbach was held by branches of the House of Hohenzollern. The Margrave was middle-aged and childless, and Frederick William was his kinsman as the head of the House of Hohenzollern, the Margrave moved to England with his English second wife. Ansbach was formally annexed on 28 January 1792. org Marek, Ansbach and Bayreuth on Tacitus Historical Atlas
7.
Brandenburg-Bayreuth
–
The Principality of Bayreuth or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. The Kulmbach-Bayreuth principality arose from the uplands of the former Burgraviate of Nuremberg. Mountainous and densely wooded, most of the lands were of agricultural use, nevertheless mineral resources. Beside the residence Bayreuth, the separate Oberland and Unterland territories were administrated from Hof, the two principalities were once again united under the younger son, Frederick, after Johns death on 11 June 1420. At the Council of Constance in 1415, Emperor Sigismund vested Frederick with the title of an Elector of Brandenburg. Frederick finally sold his title to the citizens of the Imperial City of Nuremberg. Ansbach passed to the third son Albert Achilles, as John the Alchemist had no male heirs, he renounced his rights in 1457, whereupon Kulmbach-Bayreuth fell to his brother, Albert Achilles. When the eldest brother, the Brandenburg elector Frederick Irontooth abdicated in 1470, the rulers were commonly known as the Margraves of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Kulmbach-Bayreuth became part of the Franconian Circle in 1500, in 1552 he sparked the Second Margrave War against Nuremberg and the neighbouring Prince-bishoprics of Würzburg and Bamberg. His soaring plans to re-establish the medieval Duchy of Franconia under his rule ended with his utter defeat, with George Fredericks death in 1603, the elder Bayreuth line became extinct. He left his successor, Margrave Christian, younger son of the Brandenburg elector John George, in 1705 his son Prince George William founded the Ordre de la Sincerité, predecessor to the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle. A university was founded in 1742 and relocated to Erlangen the next year, on 2 December 1791, Charles Alexander signed a treaty with King Frederick William II of Prussia, whereby he ceded his principalities to the Prussian state against a lifelong annuity. He married socialite Elizabeth Craven and retired to life in England, while Bayreuth. Occupied by French troops during the War of the Fourth Coalition, Prussia had to cede Bayreuth according to the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit
8.
Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
–
The Prince 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. The Bishops of Bamberg received the title by Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen before his deposition by Pope Innocent IV in 1245. During the 18th century, it was held in conjunction with the neighboring Bishopric of Würzburg. The Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa purchased these territories in 1759, in the course of the German Mediatization of 1802/3 which saw the suppression of virtually all the ecclesiastical principalities, Bamberg was annexed to Bavaria. The former prince-bishopric then had an area of 3,580 km², beginning on 1 November 1007, a synod was held in the city of Frankfurt am Main. Eight archbishops and twenty-seven bishops were present, led by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz, as well as the King of the Romans, the king intended to create a new diocese that would aid in the final conquest of paganism in the area around Bamberg. Bamberg was made subordinate to Rome. It was also decided that Eberhard, the chancellor, would be ordained by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz. The new diocese had expensive gifts at the synod confirmed by documents, the next seven bishops were named by the emperors, after which election by the cathedral chapter became the rule, as in all the German prince-bishoprics. Eberhards immediate successor, Suidger of Morsleben, became pope in 1046 as Clement II and he was the only pope to be interred north of the Alps at the Bamberg Cathedral. At the Peace of Westphalia, the prince-bishops recovered their possessions, during the French Revolution, Bamberg was overrun by the French and, in the course of the German mediatization of 1802/3, it was annexed to Bavaria. From 1808 to 1817 the See was vacant, but by the Bavarian Concordat of the year it was made an archbishopric, with Würzburg, Speyer. The prince bishops operated courts like minor royalty and employed artists, kapellmeisters and organists attached to the court included several minor South German masters such as Heinrich Pfendner, Johann Baal, Georg Arnold and Georg Mengel. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg Map of the Bishopric of Bamberg 1789
9.
Free Imperial City of Nuremberg
–
The Imperial City of Nuremberg was a free imperial city — independent city-state — within the Holy Roman Empire. The Diets of Nuremberg were an important part of the structure of the Empire. The cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, 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, c.400 BC, the area of the city of Nuremberg itself — and especially todays old town — has detectable traces of a settlement as early as the 9th century. At that time, present-day Nuremberg was on the border between the Bavarian Nordgau and the duchy of Franconia. 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 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. The increasing demands of the court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade and commerce to Nuremberg. 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, 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, they decided that the Jewish population had to be removed and 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 and Charles IV expanding the citys powers, the royal and Imperial connection was strengthened when Sigismund of Luxembourg granted the Imperial regalia to be kept permanently in Nuremberg in 1423. These remained in Nuremberg until 1796, when the advance of French troops required their removal to Regensburg and thence to Vienna, 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 Frauenkirche, built between 1352 and 1362, where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg. With the increasing importance of handicraft, a spirit of independence developed among the artisans, in 1349 the members of the guilds unsuccessfully rebelled against the patricians in the Handwerkeraufstand, supported by merchants and some councillors. Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, 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, 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
10.
Germany
–
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
11.
Coat of arms
–
A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
12.
Stained glass
–
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, mosques, although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensional structures and sculpture. Modern vernacular usage has extended the term stained glass to include domestic leadlight. As a material stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together by strips of lead. Painted details and yellow stain are used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is applied to windows in which the colours have been painted onto the glass. Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive an appropriate and workable design, and the engineering skills to assemble the piece. A window must fit snugly into the space for which it is made, must resist wind and rain, Many large windows have withstood the test of time and remained substantially intact since the late Middle Ages. In Western Europe they constitute the form of pictorial art to have survived. In this context, the purpose of a glass window is not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even primarily to admit light. For this reason stained glass windows have been described as illuminated wall decorations, Stained glass is still popular today, but often referred to as art glass. It is prevalent in luxury homes, commercial buildings, and places of worship, artists and companies are contracted to create beautiful art glass ranging from domes, windows, backsplashes, etc. During the late Medieval period, glass factories were set up there was a ready supply of silica. Silica requires very high heat to become molten, something not all glass factories were able to achieve, such materials as potash, soda, and lead can be added to lower the melting temperature. Other substances, such as lime, are added to rebuild the weakened network, Glass is coloured by adding metallic oxide powders or finely divided metals while it is in a molten state. Copper oxides produce green or bluish green, cobalt makes deep blue, much modern red glass is produced using copper, which is less expensive than gold and gives a brighter, more vermilion shade of red. Glass coloured while in the pot in the furnace is known as pot metal glass
13.
Hohenzollern Castle
–
Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. A popular tourist destination, Hohenzollern castle has over 300,000 visitors per year, the first fortress on the mountain was constructed in the early 11th century. This castle was destroyed in 1423 after a ten-month siege by the free imperial cities of Swabia. A larger and sturdier structure was constructed from 1454 to 1461, by the end of the 18th century it was thought to have lost its strategic importance and gradually fell into disrepair, leading to the demolition of several dilapidated buildings. Today, only the chapel remains. The final castle was built between 1846 and 1867 as a memorial by Hohenzollern scion King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Architect Friedrich August Stüler based his design on English Gothic Revival architecture, the castle sits atop the 855 meters Berg Hohenzollern, an isolated 855 m promontory on the western side of the Swabian Alps. Only written records exist of the medieval castle of the House of Hohenzollern. While first mentioned in 1267, it appears to have dated back to the 11th century, attacked in 1423, it was besieged for over a year by troops from the Swabian Free Imperial Cities before being taken and totally destroyed on 15 May 1423. Construction on a second, stronger castle began in 1454 and it was captured by Württemberg troops in 1634 midway in the Thirty Years War, then fell under Habsburg control for about a century. During the War of the Austrian Succession it was occupied in the winter of 1744/45 by French soldiers, returned to Habsburg control after the war, it was rarely occupied and began to fall to ruin after the last Austrian owner left the castle in 1798. By the beginning of the 19th century only the Chapel of St. Michael remained usable, the current castle was built by Hohenzollern scion Crown-Prince Frederick William IV of Prussia. Traveling through southern Germany en route to Italy in 1819 he wished to learn about his familys roots, Stüler began work on an ornate design influenced by English Gothic Revival architecture and the Châteaux of the Loire Valley in 1846. The impressive entryway is the work of the Engineer-Officer Moritz Karl Ernst von Prittwitz, the sculptures around and inside the castle are the work of Gustav Willgohs. Like Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Hohenzollern Castle is a monument to German Romanticism which incorporated an idealized vision of a knights castle. Lacking some of the elements and excesses of Neuschwanstein, the castles construction served to enhance the reputation of the Prussian Royal Family. Construction began in 1850, and was funded entirely by the Brandenburg-Prussian, construction was completed on 3 October 1867, under Frederick William IVs brother King William I. After the castle was rebuilt, it was not regularly occupied and he and his wife Crown Princess Cecilie are buried there, as the familys estates in Brandenburg had been occupied by the Soviet Union at the time of their passings
14.
Nuremberg Castle
–
Nuremberg Castle is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one of Europes most formidable medieval fortifications and it represented the power and importance of the Holy Roman Empire and the outstanding role of the Imperial City of Nuremberg. In the Middle Ages, German kings did not have a capital, thus, the castle at Nürnberg became an important imperial castle, and in the following centuries, all German kings and emperors stayed at the castle, most of whom on several occasions. Nuremberg Castle comprises three sections, the Imperial castle, the former Burgraves castle, and the buildings erected by the Imperial City at the eastern site, the first fortified buildings appear to have been erected around 1000. The castle lost its importance after the Thirty Years War, in the 19th century with its general interest in the medieval period, some modifications were added. During the Nazi period, in preparation of the Nuremberg party rally in 1936, a few years later, during World War II and its air raids in 1944/1945, a large part of the castle was laid in ruins. It took some thirty years to complete the rebuilding and restoration to its present state, the usual access to the castle is via Burgstrasse ending in front of the sandstone ridge. A wide footpath leads into the courtyard through the Heavenly Gate situated next to the Hasenburg tower. The Sinwell Tower built in the 2nd half of the 13th century was the keep of the Castle. It is named after its cylindrical form, in Middle High German sinwell means perfectly round, in the 1560s, its height was increased by a further floor and a pavilion roof with a pointed helm. The Deep Well inside the small half-timbered house in the middle of the courtyard is certainly as old as the castle itself and its shaft reaches the water level in a depth of 50 meters and the water usually is 3 m deep. Above the water level, a niche was cut out of the rock for cleaning purposes, the lower stone walls of the building date from 1563. The little annex built in the year was used as bathroom. The Deep Well provided sufficient quantities of water for normal consumption, the Inner Gate leads to the Inner Courtyard, surrounded by the Palas, the Imperial Chapel and the Kemenate. In the courtyard, remains of foundations of the Salian Period may be seen, in the middle, there is the Kunigunde Lime Tree planted in 1984, replacing older trees first mentioned in 1455 and named after Saint Cunigunde, consort of Emperor Henry II. The Palas, the building of the Imperial Castle, has two floors which were used for official functions and as the Emperors residence. It was rebuilt and modified a number of times during the castles history and it now houses the permanent exhibition »Emperor – Empire – City. The Imperial Chapel, from a point of view, is the most important building on the castle rock
15.
German language
–
German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
16.
States of the Holy Roman Empire
–
The Holy Roman Empire was a complex political entity that existed in central Europe for most of the medieval and early modern periods. In the 18th century, the Holy Roman Empire consisted of approximately 1,800 such territories and this page does not directly contain the list, but it discusses the format of the various lists, and offers some background to understand the complex organisation of the Holy Roman Empire. For a more complete history of the empire, see Holy Roman Empire, while any such list could never be definitive, the list attempts to be as comprehensive as possible. It is sorted alphabetically and split into separate articles linked in the box below, there is also a separate list of Free Imperial Cities, as well as a list of participants in the Imperial Diet as of 1792. The Circle column shows the Imperial Circle that the state belonged to, the Bench column shows where the state was represented in the Imperial Diet. Note that in the Circle column, n/a denotes a state that had ceased to exist before the Reichsreform, Imperial Diet, The Imperial Diet was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire. The same name was used within the North German Confederation and within Germany until 1945, Imperial Estate, An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet. Several states had no seats in the Empire, while officials were non-voting members. Free cities also had independent representation in the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, an immediate city, abbey or territory was under the direct authority of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Imperial Diet, without any intermediary Liege lord. Advantages were that immediate regions had the right to taxes and tolls themselves. De facto immediacy corresponded to a semi-independence with a far-reaching autonomy, Imperial Reform, In 1495, an attempt was made at a Diet in the city of Worms to give the disintegrating Holy Roman Empire a new structure, commonly referred to as Imperial Reform. Imperial State, An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet. Mediatization, defined broadly, is the annexation of one monarchy by another monarchy in such a way that the ruler of the state keeps his or her noble title. Prince of the Empire, A Prince of the Empire is any ruling Prince whose territory is a member of the Holy Roman Empire, the designated abbey may be a monastery or a convent. Thus, because of the possibility of it being a convent, in many cases they were prince of the empire of a Reichsabtei in or near Germany, with a seat in the Imperial Diet. If the see is an archbishopric, the term is prince-archbishop. Secularization, Secularization is a process of transformation as a society slowly migrates from close identification with the institutions of religion to a more clearly separated relationship. In this context, often referring to the transfer of Prince-Bishoprics to the control of lay rulers, the following excerpt from François Veldes Unequal and Morganatic Marriages in German Law provides an excellent overview on what an Estate of the Empire is
17.
Holy Roman Empire
–
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
18.
Burgrave
–
Burgrave was since the medieval period a title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, as well as a castle district or fortified settlement or city. The burgrave was a count in rank equipped with judicial powers, the title became hereditary in certain feudal families and was associated with a territory or domain called a Burgraviate. The position and office of burgrave could be either by the king, a nobleman or a bishop. Etymologically, the word burgrave is the English and French form of the German noble title Burggraf, the wife of a burgrave was titled Burgravine, in German Burggräfin. The title is originally equivalent to that of castellan or French châtelain, in Germany, owing to the distinct conditions of the Holy Roman Empire, the title, as borne by feudal nobles having the status of Reichsfürst, obtained a quasi-princely significance. The most famous holder was William the Silent, who used his influence over the city to control its government and his predecessors in his family were Engelbrect, Henry and Rene. Subsequently in the Low countries, the rank of burggraaf evolved into the nobiliary synonymous with Viscount, the title Viscount of Antwerp is still claimed by the reigning monarch of the Netherlands as one of the subsidiary titles. The Grand Duke of Luxembourg maintains as a subsidiary title Burgrave of Hammerstein, in the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the position and office of burgrave was also of senatorial rank. Their primus was the Burgrave of Kraków of the capital of Poland and Wawel Castle. Burgmann Ministerialis Vogt List of the burgraves of Meissen This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chambers, Ephraim. Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, james and John Knapton, et al
19.
East Francia
–
East Francia or the Kingdom of the East Franks was a successor state of Charlemagnes empire and precursor of the Holy Roman Empire. Until 911 it was ruled by Carolingian dynasty and it was created after the 840-43 civil war between Charlemagnes grandchildren which ended with the Treaty of Verdun which divided the former empire into three kingdoms. In August 843, after three years of war following the death of emperor Louis the Pious on 20 June 840. The division of lands was based on the Meuse, Scheldt. The contemporary East Frankish Annales Fuldenses describes the kingdom being divided in three and Louis acceding to the eastern part, while West and Middle Francia contained the traditional Frankish heartlands, the East consisted mostly of lands only annexed to the Frankish empire in the eighth century. These included the duchies of Alemannia, Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, as well as the northern and eastern marches with the Danes, in 869 Lotharingia was divided between West and East Francia under the Treaty of Meersen. The short lived Middle Francia turned out to be the theatre of Franco-German wars up until the 20th century, all the Frankish lands were briefly reunited by Charles the Fat, but in 888 he was deposed by nobles and in East Francia Arnulf of Carinthia was elected king. The increasing weakness of royal power in East Francia meant that dukes of Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, Saxony, Kings increasingly had to deal with regional rebellions. Because Conrad I was one of the dukes, he found it hard to establish his authority over them. Duke Henry of Saxony was in rebellion against Conrad I until 915 and struggle against Arnulf, on his deathbed Conrad I chose Henry of Saxony as the most capable successor. This kingship changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne, by his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power as was happening in West Francia and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. After Otto I was crowned as the Emperor in Rome in 962 the era of the Holy Roman Empire began, the term orientalis Francia originally referred to Franconia and orientales Franci to its inhabitants, the ethnic Franks living east of the Rhine. The use of the term in a sense, to refer to the eastern kingdom, was an innovation of Louis the Germans court. Since eastern Francia could be identified with old Austrasia, the Frankish heartland, under his grandson, Arnulf, the terminology was largely dropped and the kingdom, when it was referred to by name, was simply Francia. When it was necessary, as in the Treaty of Bonn with the West Franks, Henry I refers to himself as rex Francorum orientalium, king of the East Franks, in the treaty. By the 12th century, the historian Otto of Freising, in using the Carolingian terminology had to explain that the kingdom of the Franks was now called the kingdom of the Germans. The regalia of the Carolingian empire had divided by Louis the Pious on his deathbed between his two faithful sons, Charles the Bald and Lothair. Louis the German, then in rebellion, received nothing of the jewels or liturgical books associated with Carolingian kingship
20.
March of the Nordgau
–
The March of the Nordgau or Bavarian Nordgau was a medieval administrative unit on the frontier of the German stem duchy of Bavaria. From the mid 6th century onwards, the region was Christianised by several wandering bishops, among them Saints Boniface, in 739, the Diocese of Regensburg was founded. The great fortress of Wogastisburg was built at the insistence of Saint Boniface by Charles Martel, when King Charlemagne deposed Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria in 788, he entered the Nordgau and brought the Carolingian Empire into contact with Bohemia permanently. For this reason, the incorporated Nordgau has been called the Bohemian March on occasion, by a 806 deed issued at Thionville, Charlemagne separated the Bavarian lands left of the Danube including the ducal residences of Regensburg and Lauterhofen, called pagum, qui dicitur Northgowe. His chancellor Einhard reached the confirmation by Pope Leo III, the Nordgau was again separated from Bavaria following the death of the Luitpolding duke Arnulf in 937. Likewise, Bertholds son Count Henry of Schweinfurt appeared as Margrave of the Nordgau in 994 and he backed the election of Duke Henry IV of Bavaria as King of the Romans in 1002, however, he the new king responded with ingratitude. Count Henry soon after joined a revolt led by the Polish ruler Bolesław I the Brave, however, the margravial title survived in a succession of families in the region. Count Henrys possessions were restored and his descendants used the title Margrave of Schweinfurt. Throughout the 11th and 12th centuries, the Nordgau was a pathway for invading armies from Bohemia and Hungary, in the mid 11th century, the Salian emperor Henry III had an Imperial castle erected at Cham to encounter the forces of Duke Bretislaus I of Bohemia. It became the residence of the Rapotonen noble family, who received the margravial title by royal grant about 1073. Margrave Diepold III was a supporter of Emperor Henry V and founder of the abbeys in Reichenbach. From about 1125, he had the fortress of Eger erected at the border with Bohemia and his daughter Adelaide married the Swabian duke and later emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1147. The Egerland was incorporated as a Hohenstaufen imperial territory upon Diepolds death and it attained the immediate status of an Imperial city, while large parts of the Norgau were controlled by the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach from the mid 13th century onwards. In 1322 the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV gave the Egerland in pawn to the Kingdom of Bohemia, by the 1329 Treaty of Pavia, he ceded the remaining Nordgau region to his Palatinate nephews Rudolf II and Rupert I, whereafter it became known as the Upper Palatinate. Luitpold, served 895–907 Arnulf, served 907–937 interregnum Berthold of Schweinfurt, Henry of Schweinfurt, served 994–1004 Reuter, Timothy. Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056, new York, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.1928
21.
Conrad III of Germany
–
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Duke Frederick I of Swabia and Agnes, the origin of the House of Hohenstaufen in the Duchy of Swabia has not been conclusively established. Conrads father took advantage of the conflict between King Henry IV of Germany and the Swabian duke Rudolf of Rheinfelden during the Investiture Controversy and he died in 1105, leaving two sons, Conrad and his elder brother Frederick II, who inherited the Swabian ducal title. Their mother entered into a marriage with Babenberg margrave Leopold III of Austria. In 1105 Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor since 1084, was overthrown by his son Henry V, Emperor since 1111, Henry V preparing for his second campaign to Italy upon the death of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany, in 1116 appointed Conrad a Duke of Franconia. Conrad was marked out to act as regent for Germany, together with his elder brother, at the death of Henry V in 1125, Conrad unsuccessfully supported Frederick II for the kingship of Germany. Frederick was placed under a ban and Conrad was deprived of Franconia, with the support of the imperial cities, Swabia, and the Duchy of Austria, Conrad was elected anti-king at Nuremberg in December 1127. Conrad quickly crossed the Alps to be crowned King of Italy by Anselm V, Archbishop of Milan. Over the next two years, he failed to achieve anything in Italy, however, and returned to Germany in 1130, after Nuremberg and Speyer, two strong cities in his support, fell to Lothair in 1129. Conrad continued in Lothairs opposition, but he and Frederick were forced to acknowledge Lothair as emperor in 1135, after this they were pardoned and could take again possession of their lands. After Lothairs death, Conrad was elected king at Coblenz on 7 March 1138, Conrad was crowned at Aachen six days later and was acknowledged in Bamberg by several princes of southern Germany. Henry, however, retained the loyalty of his subjects, the civil war that broke out is considered the first act of the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, which later extended southwards to Italy. After Henrys death, the war was continued by his son Henry the Lion, supported by the Saxons, Conrad, after a long siege, defeated the latter at Weinsberg in December 1140, and in May 1142 a peace agreement was reached in Frankfurt. In the same year, Conrad entered Bohemia to reinstate his brother-in-law Vladislav II as prince, the attempt to do the same with another brother-in-law, the Polish prince Ladislaus the Exile, failed. Bavaria, Saxony, and the regions of Germany were in revolt. In 1146, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, before leaving, he had the nobles elect and crown his son Henry Berengar king. The succession secured in the event of his death, Conrad set out and his army of 20,000 men went overland, via Hungary, causing disruptions in the Byzantine territories through which they passed. They arrived at Constantinople by September 1147, ahead of the French army, rather than taking the coastal road around Anatolia through Christian-held territory, by which he sent most of his noncombatants, Conrad took his army across Anatolia
22.
Hohenstaufen
–
The Hohenstaufen, also called the Staufer or Staufen, were a dynasty of German kings during the Middle Ages. Besides Germany, they ruled the Kingdom of Sicily. In Italian historiography, they are known as the Svevi, since they were dukes of Swabia from 1079, three members of the dynasty—Frederick I, Henry VI and Frederick II—were crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The name Staufen derives from Stauf, meaning chalice, and was applied to conical hills in Swabia in the Middle Ages. The family derives its name from the castle which the first Swabian duke of the lineage built there in the half of the 11th century. Staufen castle was finally called Hohenstaufen by historians in the 19th century. The name of the dynasty followed, but in recent decades the trend in German historiography has been to prefer the name Staufer, the noble family first appeared in the late 10th century in the Swabian Riesgau region around the former Carolingian court of Nördlingen. A local count Frederick is mentioned as progenitor in a pedigree drawn up by Abbot Wibald of Stavelot at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1153. He held the office of a Swabian count palatine, his son Frederick of Buren married Hildegard of Egisheim-Dagsburg and their son Frederick I was appointed Duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle by the Salian king Henry IV of Germany in 1079. At the same time, Duke Frederick I was engaged to the kings approximately seventeen-year-old daughter, Fredericks brother Otto was elevated to the Strasbourg bishopric in 1082. Upon Fredericks death, he was succeeded by his son, Duke Frederick II, Frederick II remained a close ally of the Salians, he and his younger brother Conrad were named the kings representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around 1120, Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from the rival House of Welf, when the last male member of the Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V, died without heirs in 1125, a controversy arose about the succession. A civil war between Fredericks dynasty and Lothairs ended with Fredericks submission in 1134, after Lothairs death in 1137, Fredericks brother Conrad was elected King as Conrad III. In 1147, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, conrads brother Duke Frederick II died in 1147, and was succeeded in Swabia by his son, Duke Frederick III. When King Conrad III died without heir in 1152, Frederick also succeeded him. As royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced and he was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The Papacy and the prosperous city-states of the Lombard League in northern Italy were traditional enemies, under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III, the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. During Fredericks long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger, offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east in the course of the Ostsiedlung
23.
Capital city
–
A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right
24.
Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)
–
The Imperial Diet was the deliberative and legislative body of the Holy Roman Empire. Its members were the Imperial Estates, divided into three colleges, the diet as a permanent, regularized institution evolved from the Hoftage of the Middle Ages. From 1663 until the end of the empire in 1806, it was in permanent session at Regensburg, the Imperial Estates had, according to feudal law, no authority above them besides the Holy Roman Emperor himself. The holding of an Imperial Estate entitled one to a vote in the diet, thus, an individual member might have multiple votes and votes in different colleges. In general, members did not attend the permanent diet at Regensburg, the late imperial diet was in effect a permanent meeting of ambassadors between the Estates. Initially, there was neither a fixed time nor location for the Diet, the Golden Bull of 1356 cemented the concept of territorial rule, the largely independent rule of the dukes over their respective territories, and also limited the number of electors to seven. The Pope, contrary to myth, was never involved in the electoral process. However, until the late 15th century, the Diet was not actually formalized as an institution, instead, the dukes and other princes would irregularly convene at the court of the Emperor, these assemblies were usually referred to as Hoftage. Only beginning in 1489 was the Diet called the Reichstag, initially, the two colleges were that of the prince-electors and that of the other dukes and princes. Several attempts to reform the Empire and end its slow disintegration, notably starting with the Diet of 1495, from then to its end in 1806, the Empire was not much more than a collection of largely independent states. Only with the introduction of the Perpetual Diet of Regensburg in 1663 did the Diet permanently convene in a fixed location. The Imperial Diet of Constance opened on 27 April 1507, it recognized the unity of the Holy Roman Empire and founded the Imperial Chamber, the empire’s supreme court. Since 1489, the Diet comprised three colleges, The Electoral college, led by the Prince-Archbishop of Mainz in his capacity as Archchancellor of Germany, in 1692 the Elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg became the ninth Prince-elector as Archbannerbearer during the Nine Years War. In the War of the Bavarian Succession, the dignities of the Palatinate. The college of Imperial Princes incorporated the Imperial Counts as well as lords, Prince-Bishops. Strong in members, though often discordant, the second college tried to preserve its interests against the dominance of the Prince-electors, the House of Princes was again subdivided into an ecclesiastical and a secular bench. Remarkably, the bench was headed by the—secular—Archduke of Austria. As the Austrian House of Habsburg had failed to assume the leadership of the secular bench, the ecclesiastical bench also comprised the Grand Master and Deutschmeister of the Teutonic Knights, as well as the Grand Prior of the Monastic State of the Knights Hospitaller at Heitersheim
25.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Frederick II was a Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily in the Middle Ages, a member of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, however, his enemies, especially the popes, prevailed, and his dynasty collapsed soon after his death. As such, he was King of Germany, of Italy, at the age of three, he was crowned King of Sicily as a co-ruler with his mother, Constance of Hauteville, the daughter of Roger II of Sicily. His other royal title was King of Jerusalem by virtue of marriage, Pope Gregory IX went so far as to call him an Antichrist. Speaking six languages, Frederick was a patron of science. He played a role in promoting literature through the Sicilian School of poetry. His Sicilian royal court in Palermo, from around 1220 to his death, saw the first use of a form of an Italo-Romance language. The poetry that emanated from the school had a significant influence on literature and he was also the first king who explicitly outlawed trials by ordeal as they were considered irrational. After his death, his line died out and the House of Hohenstaufen came to an end. Born in Iesi, near Ancona, Italy, Frederick was the son of the emperor Henry VI and he was known as the puer Apuliae. Some chronicles say that his mother, the forty-year-old Constance, gave birth to him in a square in order to forestall any doubt about his origin. In 1196 at Frankfurt am Main the infant Frederick was elected King of the Germans and his rights in Germany were disputed by Henrys brother Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick. At the death of his father in 1197, Frederick was in Italy travelling towards Germany when the bad news reached his guardian, Conrad of Spoleto. Frederick was hastily brought back to his mother Constance in Palermo, Sicily, Constance of Sicily was in her own right queen of Sicily, and she established herself as regent. Upon Constances death in 1198, Pope Innocent III succeeded as Fredericks guardian, Fredericks tutor during this period was Cencio, who would become Pope Honorius III. However, Markward of Annweiler, with the support of Henrys brother, Philip of Swabia, reclaimed the regency for himself, in 1200, with the help of Genoese ships, he landed in Sicily and one year later seized the young Frederick. He thus ruled Sicily until 1202, when he was succeeded by another German captain, William of Capparone, Frederick was subsequently under tutor Walter of Palearia, until, in 1208, he was declared of age. His first task was to reassert his power over Sicily and southern Italy, Otto of Brunswick had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Innocent III in 1209
26.
German town law
–
The German town law or German municipal concerns was a set of early town privileges based on the Magdeburg rights developed by Otto I. The Magdeburg Law became the inspiration for regional town charters not only in Germany, the German town law was used in the founding of many German cities, towns, and villages beginning in the 13th century. As Germans began establishing towns throughout northern Europe as early as the 10th century, such privileges often included the right to self-governance, economic autonomy, criminal courts, and militia. Town laws were more or less copied from neighboring towns, such as the Westphalian towns of Soest, Dortmund, Minden. The granting of German city rights modelled after a town to a new town regarded the original model as a Rechtsvorort. For instance, Magdeburg became the sponsor of towns using Magdeburg Rights, as territorial borders changed through the passage of time, changes to German city rights were inevitable. During the course of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, ultimately, the older towns laws, along with local autonomy and jurisdiction, gave way to landed territorial rulers. The only remnants of medieval town rights included in the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch of 1 January 1900 were single articles concerning family, the cities of Hamburg, Bremen, and Berlin are currently administered under Landesrechte, or laws of the federal states of Germany. Many towns granted German city rights had existed for some time. Many European localities date their foundation to their reception of a town charter, German town law was frequently applied during the Ostsiedlung of Central and Eastern Europe by German colonists beginning in the early 13th century. Because many areas were considered underpopulated or underdeveloped, local rulers offered urban privileges to peasants from German lands to them to immigrate eastward. Some towns which received a German town law charter were based on pre-existing settlements, many towns were formed in conjunction with the settlement of nearby rural communities, but the towns urban rights were jealously guarded. Initially German town law was applied only to ethnic Germans, but gradually in most localities all town-dwellers were regarded as citizens, regardless of ethnic origin. Lübeck law spread rapidly among the settlements along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and was used in northern Mecklenburg, Western Pomerania. It formed the basis of Riga law in Riga, used in the lands of the Livonian Order in Livonia, Estonia, other variants included Brandenburg, Litoměřice, and Olomouc law. South German law, broadly referring to the codes of Nuremberg and Vienna, was used in Bavaria, Austria, and Slovenia, jihlava law was a variant used frequently by mining communities in Bohemia, Moravia, the mountains of Slovakia, and Transylvania. Other town laws were only suitable for or were modified to fit local conditions, such as Głubczyce, Görlitz, Goslar, Lüneburg, Lwówek Śląski, Nysa, Spiš, and Székesfehérvár laws. Many Transylvanian Saxon settlements in Transylvania, especially in the regions of Altland, Burzenland, in the 16th century Muscovy granted or reaffirmed Magdeburg rights to various towns along the Dnieper acquired from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
27.
Imperial immediacy
–
As confirmed by the Peace of Westphalia, the possession of imperial immediacy came with a particular form of territorial authority known as territorial superiority. In todays terms, it would be understood as a form of sovereignty. They formed the Imperial Estates, together with roughly 100 immediate counts,40 Imperial prelates and 50 Imperial Cities who only enjoyed a collective vote. Additional advantages might include the rights to collect taxes and tolls, to hold a market, to mint coins, to bear arms, the last of these might include the so-called Blutgericht through which capital punishment could be administered. These rights varied according to the patents granted by the emperor. Immediate rights might be lost if the Emperor and/or the Imperial Diet could not defend them against external aggression, as occurred in the French Revolutionary wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The Treaty of Lunéville in 1801 required the emperor to renounce all claims to the portions of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine. The practical application of the rights of immediacy was complex, this makes the history of the Holy Roman Empire particularly difficult to understand, even such contemporaries as Goethe and Fichte called the Empire a monstrosity. Prussian historian Heinrich von Treitschke described it in the 19th century as having become a mess of rotted imperial forms. Pointing out that people like Goethe meant monster as a compliment in modern understanding, free Imperial City German mediatization Imperial Abbey Imperial Estate Imperial Village List of states of the Holy Roman Empire Braun, B. Reichsunmittelbarkeit in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2005-05-03
28.
Customs
–
The movement of people into and out of a country is normally monitored by immigration authorities, under a variety of names and arrangements. Each country has its own laws and regulations for the import and export of goods into and out of a country, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden. In most countries, customs are attained through government agreements and international laws, a customs duty is a tariff or tax on the importation or exportation of goods. Commercial goods not yet cleared through customs are held in an area, often called a bonded store. All authorized ports are recognized customs areas, at airports, customs is the point of no return for all passengers, once a passenger has cleared customs, they cannot go back. In many countries, customs procedures for arriving passengers at many international airports and some road crossings are separated into red, passengers with goods to declare go through the red channel. Passengers with nothing to go through the green channel. Each channel is a point of no return, once a passenger has entered a particular channel, australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States do not officially operate a red and green channel system, however, some airports copy this layout. Airports in EU countries such as Finland, Ireland or the United Kingdom, as the EU is a customs union, travellers between EU countries do not have to pay customs duties. Value-added tax and excise duties may be if the goods are subsequently sold. Passengers arriving from other EU countries go through the blue channel, luggage tickets for checked luggage travelling within the EU are green-edged so they may be identified. In most EU member states, travellers coming from other EU countries can use the green lane. All airports in the United Kingdom operate a system, however some dont have a red channel. Customs is part of one of the three functions of a government, namely, administration, maintenance of law, order, and justice. However, in a bid to mitigate corruption, many countries have partly privatised their customs and this has occurred by way of contracting pre-shipment inspection agencies, which examine the cargo and verify the declared value before importation occurs. The countrys customs is obliged to accept the report for the purpose of assessing duties and taxes at the port of entry. It has been found that evasion of customs duty escalated when pre-shipment agencies took over and it has also been alleged that involvement of such agencies has caused shipping delays. Privatization of customs has been viewed as a fatal remedy, the basic customs law is harmonized across Europe within the European Union Customs Union
29.
Augsburg
–
Augsburg is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years and it is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is a district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population of 286,000 citizens, after Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germanys third oldest city, being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday and this gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany. Augsburg was the home of two families that rose to great prominence internationally, replacing the Medicis as Europes leading bankers, the Fugger. Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, in the south extends the Lechfeld, an Outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats, on Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened, as a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europes greenest and most livable city. Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west, the neighboring towns and cities are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen und Diedorf. Augsburg has a continental climate. The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum, the name means Augusta of the Vindelici. This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages. Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia, Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity. Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9,1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights, with a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers
30.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
31.
Conrad I, Burgrave of Nuremberg
–
Conrad I of Nuremberg was a Burgrave of Nuremberg of the House of Hohenzollern. He was the son of Frederick I of Nuremberg and Sophie of Raabs. His title as Count of Zollern was Conrad III, but Conrad I as Burgrave of Nuremberg, Conrad was the son of Burgrave Frederick I, the first Nuremberg Burgrave of the Hohenzollern, and Sophie of Raabs. As a count of Zollern he is enumerated as Conrad III, after the death of his father around 1204 the rank of burgrave passed first to Conrads younger brother, Frederick II. However, in 1218 the houses possessions were divided again and Conrad then received the possessions in Franconia with the title of burgrave, in this period he strengthened his power and supported the House of Hohenstaufen in the fight between Guelphs and Ghibellines for the royal crown. Emperor Frederick II wished to develop Nuremberg to a dependable base, while Conrad took over the military protection of the town as a Burgrave, the citizens were able to attain an increasing autonomy in their internal affairs. Conrad also supported the emperor when he was banished, the death of Frederick II in 1250 was a heavy blow to the Hohenzollerns, because they now lacked their major support against the other German nobility. Between 1237 and 1239 Conrad was an administrator of the duchy of Austria together with the Counts of Henneberg and of Andechs, among other territories, he acquired the Rangau with Ansbach, significant parts of the Pegnitz valley and gained control over the most important trade routes to Nuremberg. He successfully fought against the knights and warded off the nobility. The exact name of his wife is not known and she may possibly have been Adelheid of Frontenhausen or the daughter of Frederick II, Count of Leiningen and Saarbrücken. He had the children, Frederick III of Nuremberg. Adelheid, married before 8 July 1241 to Count Rapoto III of Ortenburg, Sophie, married to Marquard of Arnsberg-Heydeck
32.
Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg
–
Frederick IV of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern was Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1300 to 1332. He was the son of Burgrave Frederick III from his second marriage with the Ascanian princess Helene. He succeeded to the burgraviate when his elder brother John I died in 1300, in 1307, he and King Albert I of Germany led an Imperial Army into the Battle of Lucka against the Wettin margraves Frederick I of Meissen and Dietrich IV of Lustia, and were defeated. Frederick IV fought more successfully alongside the Wittelsbach king Louis the Bavarian at the Battle of Mühldorf on 28 September 1322, in 1331 he purchased the town of Ansbach, nucleus of the later Hohenzollern Principality of Ansbach established in 1398. A year later Frederick died, and was succeeded by his son and he married before 2 August 1307 Margaret of Görz-Tyrol, a granddaughter of Duke Meinhard of Carinthia. Their children were, John II, Burgrave of Nuremberg, Frederick, Bishop of Regensburg in 1340-1365. Albert der Schöne, his daughter Anna of Nuremberg married Swantibor III, Berthold, Bishop of Eichstädt in 1354-1365, Chancellor to Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Helene, married to, c. 1321 Count Otto V of Orlamünde, 1341/46 Count Henry VII, Anna, married Ulrich I of Leuchtenberg. Margarete, married 1332 Adolph I, Count of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein, agnes, married to, in 1336 Berthold V of Neuffen, Count of Marstetten and Graisbach, ca.1343 Albrecht II of Werdenberg and Heiligenberg. Katharina, married in 1338 to Eberhard of Wertheim
33.
John II, Burgrave of Nuremberg
–
John II of Nuremberg was a Burgrave of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern. He was the son of Frederick IV of Nuremberg and Margarete of Görz. He succeeded his father in 1332 and he attained his name by the increase of the Frankish house possession of the Hohenzollern. In the time of his government, came the outbreak of the plague, because the Jewish population was held responsible for the epidemic, numerous Nuremberg Jews were murdered, without the burgrave intervening against it. He married countess Elisabeth of Henneberg, daughter of Berthold VII, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen and their children were, Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg. Margarete, married in 1359, Landshut, to Duke Stephen II, Elisabeth, married 1360, to Ulrich, Count of Schaunberg. Anna, Abbess of Birkenfeld and of Himmelkron, adelheid, a nun in Birkenfeld from 1361 to 1370
34.
Principality of Bayreuth
–
The Principality of Bayreuth or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. The Kulmbach-Bayreuth principality arose from the uplands of the former Burgraviate of Nuremberg. Mountainous and densely wooded, most of the lands were of agricultural use, nevertheless mineral resources. Beside the residence Bayreuth, the separate Oberland and Unterland territories were administrated from Hof, the two principalities were once again united under the younger son, Frederick, after Johns death on 11 June 1420. At the Council of Constance in 1415, Emperor Sigismund vested Frederick with the title of an Elector of Brandenburg. Frederick finally sold his title to the citizens of the Imperial City of Nuremberg. Ansbach passed to the third son Albert Achilles, as John the Alchemist had no male heirs, he renounced his rights in 1457, whereupon Kulmbach-Bayreuth fell to his brother, Albert Achilles. When the eldest brother, the Brandenburg elector Frederick Irontooth abdicated in 1470, the rulers were commonly known as the Margraves of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Kulmbach-Bayreuth became part of the Franconian Circle in 1500, in 1552 he sparked the Second Margrave War against Nuremberg and the neighbouring Prince-bishoprics of Würzburg and Bamberg. His soaring plans to re-establish the medieval Duchy of Franconia under his rule ended with his utter defeat, with George Fredericks death in 1603, the elder Bayreuth line became extinct. He left his successor, Margrave Christian, younger son of the Brandenburg elector John George, in 1705 his son Prince George William founded the Ordre de la Sincerité, predecessor to the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle. A university was founded in 1742 and relocated to Erlangen the next year, on 2 December 1791, Charles Alexander signed a treaty with King Frederick William II of Prussia, whereby he ceded his principalities to the Prussian state against a lifelong annuity. He married socialite Elizabeth Craven and retired to life in England, while Bayreuth. Occupied by French troops during the War of the Fourth Coalition, Prussia had to cede Bayreuth according to the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit
35.
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, Frederick entered early into the service of Austria and fought on the side of King Sigismund of Hungary. After he returned to Nuremberg, he divided the inheritance from his father with his brother John, who received Bayreuth, while Frederick kept Ansbach. At first he tried to mediate in the confusion between King Wenceslaus and the party of Rupert of the Palatinate, but he fought on the side of Rupert in September 1399 nonetheless. Frederick resumed his rule of Ansbach in 1409 and after heavy feuding, in 1410, the death of Rupert, King of the Germans, left the throne of the Holy Roman Empire vacant. Sigismund enlisted Fredericks help in obtaining the throne, at the time, Jobst of Moravia ruled Brandenburg and thus was one of the prince-electors who had the right to vote for the new king. However, Sigismund disputed Jobsts claim to Brandenburg and his right to vote in the imperial election, Sigismund claimed these rights for himself and designated Frederick to represent him as elector of Brandenburg in the imperial election of 20 September 1410. While Sigismund won this vote, Jobst of Moravia won the support of a majority of electors in an election in October 1410. Jobsts death under suspicious circumstances in January 1411 cleared the way for Sigismunds recovery of Brandenburg, in gratitude for Fredericks services, King Sigismund made him Oberster Hauptmann and Verwalter der Marken. With an iron hand Frederick fought against the nobility of the March of Brandenburg and, in the end. Frederick also became a member of the Parakeet Society and of the League of Constance, at the Council of Constance Sigismund granted Frederick the titles of Margrave and Prince-elector of Brandenburg. On 21 October 1415 the Brandenburg states meeting in a Landtag asked him to rule in Berlin, the king awarded him the formal enfeoffment of the margravate on 18 April 1417. As Frederick did not agree with the action of Sigismund against the Hussites. Constant feuding with the nobility of Brandenburg led Frederick to withdraw to his castle at Cadolzburg in 1425, after 1427 he organized the imperial war against the Hussites and subsequently provided substantial assistance in the mediation of the Compacta of Prague at the Council of Basel. Upon his death in 1440, Frederick was succeeded as elector by his second-eldest son and he married Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut, daughter of Duke Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut and Maddalena Visconti. Their children were, Elisabeth, married, in Konstanz 1418 Duke Louis II of Brieg and Legnica, John the Alchemist, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Married in 1416 Princess Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg Cecilia, married, in Berlin 30 May 1423 Duke William III of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Margaret, married, in 1423 to Duke Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg, in Ingolstadt 20 July 1441 to Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria, magdalene, married, in Tangermünde 3 July 1429 to Duke Frederick of Brunswick-Lüneburg
36.
Elector of Brandenburg
–
This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or March, of Brandenburg was one of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created in 1157 as the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear, Margrave of the Northern March. In 1356, by the terms of the Golden Bull of Charles IV, the early rulers came from several different dynasties, but from 1415 Brandenburg and its successor states were ruled by the House of Hohenzollern for over 500 years. From 1618 onward, Brandenburg was ruled in union with the Duchy of Prussia. The titles of Margrave of Brandenburg and Elector of Brandenburg were abolished along with the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, from 1871 to 1918 the Hohenzollerns were also the German Emperors. The upper president carried out central prerogatives on the provincial level and these parliaments legislated within the competences transferred to the provinces. The provincial diet of Brandenburg elected an executive body, the provincial committee, and a head of province. Self-rule was abolished under the Nazi dictatorship, after being abolished in a reorganization of the territories administered by the German Democratic Republic, the Land Brandenburg was restored in the prelude to German unification in 1990. Matthias Platzeck, 2002–2013 Dietmar Woidke, since 2013
.svg)
Germany
.jpg)
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Nuremberg". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913).