1.
Margraviate of Brandenburg
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The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg, it played a role in the history of Germany. Brandenburg developed out of the Northern March founded in the territory of the Slavic Wends and its ruling margraves were established as prestigious prince-electors in the Golden Bull of 1356, allowing them to vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The state thus became known as Electoral Brandenburg or the Electorate of Brandenburg. The House of Hohenzollern came to the throne of Brandenburg in 1415, under Hohenzollern leadership, Brandenburg grew rapidly in power during the 17th century and inherited the Duchy of Prussia. The resulting Brandenburg-Prussia was the predecessor of the Kingdom of Prussia, although the electors highest title was King in/of Prussia, their power base remained in Brandenburg and its capital Berlin. Although the Margraviate of Brandenburg ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, despite its meager beginnings in the Holy Roman Empire, the Hohenzollern Kingdom of Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871. The Mark Brandenburg is still used today to refer to the federal state of Brandenburg in the Federal Republic of Germany. The territory of the margraviate, commonly known as the Mark Brandenburg, lies in present-day eastern Germany. Geographically it encompassed the majority of the present-day German states Brandenburg and Berlin, the Altmark, parts of the present-day federal state Brandenburg, such as Lower Lusatia and territory which had been Saxon until 1815, were not parts of the Mark. Colloquially but not accurately, the federal state Brandenburg is sometimes identified as the Mark or Mark Brandenburg, the region was formed during the ice age and characterized by moraines, glacial valleys, and numerous lakes. The territory is known as a Mark or march because it was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark is defined by two uplands and two depressions, the depressions are taken up by rivers and chains of lakes with marsh and boggy soil along the shores, once used for peat collection, the riverbanks are now mostly drained and dry. The Northern or Baltic Uplands of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau have only minor extensions into Brandenburg, the southern depression is generally to the north of this ridge and appears strikingly in the Spreewald. Between these two depressions is a low plateau that extends from the Poznań area westward to Brandenburg through Torzym, the Spree plateau, the region is predominantly marked by dry, sandy soil, wide stretches of which have pine trees and erica plants, or heath. However, the soil is loamy in the uplands and plateaus and, Mark Brandenburg has a cool, continental climate, with temperatures averaging near 0 °C in January and February and near 18 °C in July and August. Precipitation averages between 500 mm and 600 mm annually, with a modest summer maximum, by the 8th century, Slavic Wends, such as the Sprevjane and Hevelli, started to move into the Brandenburg area. They intermarried with Saxons and Bohemians, the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg were established at the beginning of the 10th century
2.
Kingdom of Prussia
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It was the driving force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 and was the leading state of the German Empire until its dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. Prussia was a power from the time it became a kingdom, through its predecessor, Brandenburg-Prussia. Prussia continued its rise to power under the guidance of Frederick II, more known as Frederick the Great. After the might of Prussia was revealed it was considered as a power among the German states. Throughout the next hundred years Prussia went on to win many battles and it was because of its power that Prussia continuously tried to unify all the German states under its rule. Attempts at creation of a federation remained unsuccessful and the German Confederation collapsed in 1866 when war ensued between its two most powerful states, Prussia and Austria. The North German Confederation which lasted from 1867–1871, created a union between the Prussian-aligned states while Austria and most of Southern Germany remained independent. The North German Confederation was seen as more of an alliance of military strength in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War, the German Empire lasted from 1871–1918 with the successful unification of all the German states under Prussian hegemony. This was due to the defeat of Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, in 1871, Germany unified into a single country, minus Austria and Switzerland, with Prussia the dominant power. Prussia is considered the predecessor of the unified German Reich. The Kingdom left a significant cultural legacy, today notably promoted by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, in 1415 a Hohenzollern Burgrave came from the south to the March of Brandenburg and took control of the area as elector. In 1417 the Hohenzollern was made an elector of the Holy Roman Empire, after the Polish wars, the newly established Baltic towns of the German states including Prussia, suffered many economic setbacks. Many of the Prussian towns could not even afford to attend political meetings outside of Prussia, the towns were poverty stricken, with even the largest town, Danzig, having to borrow money from elsewhere to pay for trade. Poverty in these towns was partly caused by Prussias neighbors, who had established and developed such a monopoly on trading that these new towns simply could not compete and these issues led to feuds, wars, trade competition and invasions. However, the fall of these gave rise to the nobility, separated the east and the west. It was clear in 1440 how different Brandenburg was from the other German territories, not only did it face partition from within but also the threat of its neighbors. It prevented the issue of partition by enacting the Dispositio Achillea which instilled the principle of primogeniture to both the Brandenburg and Franconian territories, the second issue was solved through expansion
3.
Holy Roman Empire
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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
4.
Ruhr
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The Ruhr, or the Ruhr district, Ruhr region, Ruhr area or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2, 800/km² and a population of eight and a million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of large, industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west. In the southwest it borders the Bergisches Land and it is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people, which is among the largest in Europe. The most populous cities are Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg, the Ruhr area has no administrative center, each city in the area has its own administration, although there exists the supracommunal Regionalverband Ruhr institution in Essen. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a complex with a vast industrial landscape. For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture, the urban landscape of the Ruhr extends from the Lower Rhine Basin east to the Westphalian Plain and south to the hills of the Rhenish Massif. Through the centre of the Ruhr runs a segment of the belt that extends across Germany from west to east. Historically, this belt has underlain some of Germanys richest agricultural regions. Geologically, the region is defined by coal-bearing layers from the upper Carboniferous period, the coal seams reach the surface in a strip along the River Ruhr and dip downward from the river to the north. Beneath the River Lippe, the coal seams lie at a depth of 600 to 800 metres, the thickness of the coal layers ranges from one to three metres. This geological feature played a role in the development of coal mining in the Ruhr. According to the Regionalverband Ruhr,37. 6% of the area is built up. A total of 40. 7% of the land remains in agricultural use. Forests account for 17. 6%, and bodies of water and other types of land use occupy the rest, the inclusion of four mainly rural districts in the otherwise mainly industrial Ruhr helps to explain the large proportion of agricultural and forested land. In addition, the city boroughs of the Ruhr region have outlying districts with a rural character, seen on a map, the Ruhr could be considered a single city, since—at least in the north-south dimension—there are no visible breaks between the individual city boroughs. Thus the Ruhr is described as an urban area, which shares a similar history of urban. Instead, the city boroughs and urban districts of the Ruhr grew independently of one another during the Industrial Revolution
5.
Westphalia
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Westphalia is a region in northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of 7,802 sq mi and 7.9 million inhabitants, the region is almost identical with the Province of Westphalia which was a part of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1918 and the Free State of Prussia from 1918 to 1946. In 1946, Westphalia merged with the Northern Rhineland, another part of Prussia. In 1947, the state with its two parts was joined by a third one, Lippe, a former principality and free state. All of the 17 districts and 9 independent cities of Westphalia, the Westphalian language, a variant of the German language, spreads north of Westphalias borders into southwest Lower Saxony. Being a part of the North German Plain, most of Westphalias north is flat, in the south the German Central Uplands emerge. Westphalia is divided into the following landscapes, other important rivers are the Ems and the Lippe. The Langenberg and the Kahler Asten in the Sauerlands part of the Rothaar Mountains are Westphalias, Westphalia is divided into three governmental districts. These are subdivided into districts and independent cities. All districts and independent cities of the districts of Arnsberg. The District of Lippe as successor of the Free State of Lippe in the Governmental District of Detmold is rather considered to be a historic region. The traditional symbol of Westphalia is the Westphalian Steed, a horse on a red field. It is derived from the Saxon Steed in the coat of arms of the medieval Duchy of Saxony which most of todays Westphalia was part of. In official contexts the coat of arms of Westphalia is being used by the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association which represents these two historic parts of North Rhine-Westphalia. The coat of arms of Lower Saxony uses a different version of the Saxon Steed since the state also covers parts of the Old Saxons duchy. The colors of Westphalia are white and red, the flag of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association uses these colors with the Westphalian coat of arms in its center. The flag of North Rhine-Westphalia is a combination of the Northern Rhinelands colors green/white, the flag of the Prussian Province of Westphalia already displayed the colors white and red. The flag of Lower Saxony shows the colors of Germany and the Saxon Steed, composed in Iserlohn in 1886 by Emil Rittershaus, the Westfalenlied is an unofficial anthem of Westphalia
6.
North Rhine-Westphalia
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North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with a population of approximately 18 million, and the fourth largest by area. Its capital is Düsseldorf, the most populous city is Cologne, four of Germanys ten largest cities—Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen—are located within the state, as well as the largest metropolitan area on the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr. North Rhine-Westphalia was formed in 1946 as a merger of the provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia, the state has been run by a coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens since 2010. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as the Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior, North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri. By the 8th century the Frankish dominion was established in western Germany. But at the time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, the Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military, Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795 the whole of the bank of the Rhine was resigned to France. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium, around 1 AD there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this came from the area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts and his Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück, Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern, Westphalia was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony, in 1180 Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa. The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only an area south of the Lippe River. Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years War
7.
Gelsenkirchen
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Gelsenkirchen is a city in the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Germany. It is located in the part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2015 was c, Gelsenkirchen was first documented in 1150, but it remained a tiny village until the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution led to the growth of the entire area. In 1840, when the mining of coal began,6,000 inhabitants lived in Gelsenkirchen, in the early 20th century, Gelsenkirchen was the most important coal mining town in Europe. It was called the city of a thousand fires for the flames of mine gasses flaring at night, in 1928, Gelsenkirchen was merged with the adjoining cities of Buer and Horst. The city bore the name Gelsenkirchen-Buer, until it was renamed Gelsenkirchen in 1930, during the Nazi era Gelsenkirchen remained a centre of coal production and oil refining, and for this reason it was bombed in Allied air raids during World War II. There are no longer colliers in Gelsenkirchen with the city searching for a new image, today Germanys largest solar power plant is located in the city. In Gelsenkirchen-Scholven there is a power station with the tallest chimneys in Germany. Gelsenkirchen is home of the football club Schalke 04, which is named after the borough Schalke, while the clubs stadium. They did not live in houses as such, but in small yards gathered together near each other, later, the Romans pushed into the area. In about 700, the region was settled by the Saxons, a few other parts of town which today lie in Gelsenkirchens north end were mentioned in documents from the early Middle Ages, some examples being, Raedese, Middelvic, Sutheim and Sculven. Many nearby farming communities were identified as iuxta Bure. It was about 1150 when the name Gelstenkerken or Geilistirinkirkin appeared up for the first time, at about the same time, the first church in town was built in what is now Buer. This ecclesia Buron was listed in a directory of churches by the sexton from Deutz. This settlement belonged to the Mark, however, in ancient times and even in the Middle Ages, only a few dozen people actually lived in the settlements around the Emscher basin. Up until the middle of the 19th century, the area in and around Gelsenkirchen was only thinly settled and almost exclusively agrarian. In 1815, after belonging to the Grand Duchy of Berg, the land now comprising the city of Gelsenkirchen passed to the Kingdom of Prussia. This arrangement came to an end only in 1928, in 1868, Gelsenkirchen became the seat of an Amt within the Bochum district which encompassed the communities of Gelsenkirchen, Braubauerschaft, Schalke, Heßler, Bulmke and Hüllen
8.
Hamm
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Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849, the city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railway station is an important hub for transport and renowned for its distinctive station building. The coat of arms has been in use in its present form for about 750 years and it shows the markish chessboard in red and silver on a golden field. Originally it was the coat of arms, i. e. the Counts of Mark. The chessboard and the colours are displayed in the coats of arms of further towns founded by that family line. Similarly, the colours of the city are red and white, the name Ham means corner in the old Low German dialect spoken at that time. In the old times the name thom Hamme would be used,1350 The Black death killed nearly all of the citizens. 1469 Hamm became a member of the Hanseatic League and it was one of the most powerful towns in the region, while the large cities of the todays Ruhr area still were only tiny villages. Almost all buildings were destroyed, except for the main church St. Georg,1657 Establishment of the Gynasium illustre with three faculties. 1820 The regional appeal court moves from Cleve to Hamm,1944 Coal-mine Maximillian closes after several problems with water drainage of the hole mine. 1945 First meeting of the city council after the war 1946 Establishment of the industrial court,1956 Sport airfield founded in the Lippe meadows. 1976 Coal-mine Sachsen closes 1984 First Landesgartenschau of North Rhine-Westphalia is held in Hamm, the old area of the coal-mine Maximillian was used for this purpose. The world greatest Glasselefant is built as main attraction and until today is one of the landmarks of the city. The Oberbürgermeister is elected directly for a five years term, together with the city council, in 1939,1968 and 1975 Hamm incorporated several towns and municipalities, in 1939 the village Mark and in 1968 the villages of Berge and Westtünnen. The number of more than doubles from 83.000 in 1974 to 173.000 in 1975. The following table shows the situation in 2006, every quarter is named with the prefix Hamm, like Hamm-Bockum-Hövel or Hamm-Mitte
9.
Essen Abbey
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Essen Abbey was a monastery of secular canonesses for women of high nobility in Essen, Germany. It was founded about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid, later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near an estate called Astnidhi. The first abbess was Altfrids kinswoman, Gerswit, a chapter of male priests were also attached to the abbey, under a dean. Because of its advancement by the Liudolfings the abbey became reichsunmittelbar sometime between 874 and 947 and its best years began in 973 under the Abbess Mathilde, granddaughter of Otto I and thus herself a Liudolfing, who governed the abbey until 1011. In her time the most important of the art treasures of what is now the Essen Cathedral treasury came to Essen, the next two abbesses to succeed her were also from the Liudolfing family and were thus able further to increase the wealth and power of the foundation. In 1228 the abbesses were designated Princesses for the first time, from 1300 they took up residence in Schloss Borbeck, where they spent increasing amounts of time. In the north of the territory was located the monastery of Stoppenberg, founded in 1073. Also among the possessions of the abbey was the area round Huckarde, on the borders of the County of Dortmund, approximately 3,000 farms in the area owed dues to the abbey, in Vest Recklinghausen, on the Hellweg and round Breisig and Godesberg. From 1512 to its dissolution the Imperial abbey belonged to the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle, from 1802 the territory was occupied by Prussian troops. The abbey was dissolved in 1803, the spiritual territory of three square miles passed to Prussia, then between 1806/1807 to 1813 to the Duchy of Berg and afterwards to Prussia again. The last abbess, Maria Kunigunde von Sachsen, died on 8 April 1826 in Dresden. When in 1958 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen was created, the dates of the rule of the abbesses are incompletely preserved. The sequence of the abbesses between Gerswid II and Ida is uncertain, particularly in regard to the Abbess Agana, saint Altfrid Ute Küppers-Braun, Macht in Frauenhand –1000 Jahre Herrschaft adeliger Frauen in Essen. Torsten Fremer, Äbtissin Theophanu und das Stift Essen, familienforschung in den Kirchenbüchern des Stifts Essen
10.
Common land
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A person who has a right in, or over, common land jointly with another or others is called a commoner. This article deals mainly with land in England, Wales. Common land or former common land is referred to as a common, for instance. This manorial system, founded on feudalism, granted rights of use to different classes. These would be appurtenant rights, that is the ownership of rights belonged to tenancies of particular plots of land held within a manor, a commoner would be the person who, for the time being, was the occupier of a particular plot of land. Some rights of common were said to be in gross, that is and this was more usual in regions where commons are more extensive, such as in the high ground of Northern England or on the Fens, but also included many village greens across England and Wales. Most land with appurtenant commons rights is adjacent to the common or even surrounded by it, example rights of common are, Pasture. Right to pasture cattle, horses, sheep or other animals on the common land, right to take sods of turf for fuel. Common in the Soil This is a term used for rights to extract minerals such as sands, gravels, marl, walling stone. Right to turn out pigs for a period in autumn to eat mast, right to take sufficient wood for the commoners house or holding, usually limited to smaller trees, bushes and fallen branches. On most commons, rights of pasture and pannage for each commoner are tightly defined by number and type of animal, on some commons, the rights are not limited by numbers, and instead a marking fee is paid each year for each animal turned out. However, if excessive use was made of the common, for example, in overgrazing, a common would be stinted, that is and these regulations were responsive to demographic and economic pressure. Thus rather than let a common become degraded, access was restricted even further, Pasture commons are those where the primary right is to pasture livestock. These habitats are often of high nature conservation value, because of their very long continuity of management extending in some cases over many hundreds of years. In the past, most pasture commons would have been grazed by mixtures of cattle, sheep, the modern survival of grazing on pasture commons over the past century is uneven. When not in use for those purposes, such commons were grazed, examples include the common arable fields around the village of Laxton in Nottinghamshire, and a common meadow at North Meadow, Cricklade. Lammas rights entitled commoners to pasture following the harvest, between Lammas day,12 August, to 6 April, even if they did not have rights to the land. Such rights sometimes had the effect of preventing enclosure and building development on agricultural land, most of the medieval common land of England was lost due to enclosure
11.
Electorate of Cologne
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The Electorate of Cologne, sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire and existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift — the temporal possessions — of the Archbishop of Cologne, the Electorate should not be confused with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, which was larger and over which the Elector-Archbishop exercised only spiritual authority. There were only two other ecclesiastical prince-electors in the Empire, the Electorate of Mainz and the Electorate of Trier, the capital of the electorate was Cologne. Conflicts with the citizens of Cologne caused the Elector to move to Bonn, the Free Imperial City of Cologne was recognized after 1475, thus removing it from even the nominal secular authority of the Elector. Cologne and Bonn were occupied by France in 1794, the right bank territories of the Electorate were secularized in 1803 during the German mediatization. The territory of the Electorate of Cologne was smaller than the Archdiocese of Cologne, Cologne was the ancient Roman city of Colonia Agrippina in the province of Germania Inferior, and has been a bishops see since Roman times. In 953, the archbishops of Cologne first gained noteworthy secular power, to weaken the secular nobility, who threatened his power, Otto endowed Bruno and his successors in the bishops see with the prerogatives of secular princes. This was the beginning of the state of Cologne. By the end of the 12th century, the Archbishop of Cologne was one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Emperor, besides being prince-elector, he was Arch-chancellor of Italy as well, technically from 1238 and permanently from 1263 until 1803. In the Battle of Worringen, the archbishop was captured by soldiers of the city, eventually, the archbishop moved to Bonn to escape jurisdiction conflicts with the city government. In 1475, Cologne became a Free Imperial City, independent from the archbishop, the first pogrom against the Jews was in 1349, when they were used as scapegoats for the Black Death, and therefore burnt in an auto-da-fé. Political tensions arose from issues of taxation, public spending, regulation of business, long-distance trade in the Baltic grew, as the major trading towns came together in the Hanseatic League, under the leadership of Lübeck. The chief cities were Cologne on the Rhine River, Hamburg and Bremen on the North Sea, during the 16th century, two Archbishops of Cologne converted to Protestantism. The first, Hermann von Wied, resigned the archbishopric on converting, but Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, the war ruined most of the Electoral economy, and many villages and towns were besieged and destroyed. The Siege of Godesberg in November–December 1583 ended with the destruction of Godesberg Castle, after several more sieges, von Waldburg gave up his claim to the see and retired to Strasbourg with his wife. Ernst became archbishop–the first major success of the Counter-Reformation in Germany, under Ernsts direction, Jesuits supervised the reintroduction of Catholicism in the Electorate. From 1583 to 1761, the archbishopric was effectively a secundogeniture of the Bavarian branch of the House of Wittelsbach, as the archbishop in this period usually also held the Bishopric of Münster, he was one of the most important princes of northwestern Germany. From 1597 until 1794, Bonn was the residence the Elector, after 1795, the electorates territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by France, and were formally annexed in 1801
12.
John I, Duke of Brabant
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John I of Brabant, also called John the Victorious was Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. During the 19th century, John I was venerated as a Belgian folk hero, born at Leuven, he was the son of Henry III, Duke of Brabant and Aleidis of Burgundy, daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy. He was also a brother of Maria of Brabant, Queen consort of Philip III of France. In 1267 his older brother Henry IV, Duke of Brabant and his greatest military victory was the Battle of Worringen 1288, by which John I came to reign over the Duchy of Limburg. He was completely outnumbered in forces but led the invasion into the Rhineland to defeat the confederacy. In 1288 Limburg was formally attached to Brabant, John I was said to be a model of feudal prince, brave, adventurous, excelling in every form of active exercise, fond of display, and generous in temper. He was considered one of the most gifted princes of his time and this made him very popular in Middle Ages poetry and literature. Even today there exists an ode to him, so known that it was a potential candidate to be the North Brabant anthem. John I delighted in tournaments and was eager to take part in jousts. He was also famous for his illegitimate children. On 3 May 1294 at some marriage festivities at Bar-le-Duc, John I was mortally wounded in the arm in an encounter by Pierre de Bausner. He was buried in the church of the Minderbroeders in Brussels, on 5 September 1270, he wed Margaret of France, daughter of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence. She took the title of Duchess of Brabant and he had a son, but both wife and child died shortly after the boys birth. In 1273, He married Margaret of Flanders, daughter of Guy, Count of Flanders and had the following children, Margaret, married 9 June 1292 to Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor. Marie, married to Count Amadeus V of Savoy, John I had several illegitimate children, Gillis van der Balcht Jean Meuwe, Seigneur of Wavre and Dongelberg. Margareta of Tervuren, she was married on 2 March 1292 to Jean de Rode de Lantwyck Jan Pylyser Jan van der Plasch The duke is remembered in the folkish song Harbalorifa that remains popular, the popular Dutch beer Hertog Jan was named after the duke. Dukes of Brabant family tree Hertog Jan
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