1.
Free Imperial City of Nuremberg
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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
2.
Principality of Ansbach
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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
3.
Nobility
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The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be largely honorary, and vary from country to country and era to era. There is often a variety of ranks within the noble class. g, san Marino and the Vatican City in Europe. Hereditary titles often distinguish nobles from non-nobles, although in many nations most of the nobility have been un-titled, some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil. The term derives from Latin nobilitas, the noun of the adjective nobilis. In modern usage, nobility is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies and it rapidly came to be seen as a hereditary caste, sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is based on income. Being wealthy or influential cannot, ipso facto, make one noble, various republics, including former Iron Curtain countries, Greece, Mexico, and Austria have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se, usually privileges were granted or recognised by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small and it also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live nobly, that is, from the proceeds of these possessions, work involving manual labour or subordination to those of lower rank was either forbidden or frowned upon socially. In some countries, the lord could impose restrictions on such a commoners movements. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting, in France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. In some parts of Europe the right of war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman, Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in a general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimised, in France, a seigneurie might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a nobles prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged, if erected by the crown into, e. g. a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled, in other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. Nobility might be inherited or conferred by a fons honorum
4.
House of Hohenzollern
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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
5.
Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Brandenburg
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Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut, nicknamed Beautiful Beth, was an Electress of Brandenburg. Elizabeth was a daughter of Duke Frederick the Wise of Bavaria-Landshut, on 18 September 1401 she married Frederick VI of Hohenzollern, Burgrave of Nuremberg, who was promoted to Elector of Brandenburg in 1415 and ruled as Elector Frederick I. During her husbands long journeys to Italy, Hungary, and to the Council of Constance and she is the ancestress of the royal line of the House of Hohenzollern by her third son Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg. With Frederick she had ten children, 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 I 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. Territorialpolitik zwischen Dynastie und Reich, Munich contributions to history,5, Munich, Herbert Utz Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8316-0899-7 also dissertation, Munich University,2009
6.
Burgraviate of Nuremberg
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The Burgraviate of Nuremberg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the early 12th to the late 15th centuries. As a burgraviate, it was a county seated in the town of Nuremberg, the burgraviate soon lost power over the city, eventually, the burgraviate was partitioned in twain, to form Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth. From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes, king Conrad III established the 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. Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. 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 and commerce to Nuremberg. Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy to Northern Europe,1105 – c.1137 Gottfried II of Raabs c.1137 – c.1143 Conrad I c.1143 – c.1160 Gottfried III c. 1160–1191/92 Conrad II 1192–1200/1204 Frederick I, originally Frederick III, Count of Zollern, 1204–1218 Frederick II 1218–1261/1262 Conrad I der Fromme. Count of Zollern as Conrad III 1262–1297 Frederick III der Erber 1297–1300 John I, ruled with his brother Frederick IV. Took over the rule of the burgraviate after the death of his brother. 1332–1357 John II der Erwerber 1357–1397 Frederick V 1397–1420 John III, also Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from 1398. As Frederick I, also Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Elector of Brandenburg from 1415, Margrave of Brandenburg from 1417, sigmund Benker, Andreas Kraus, Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. ISBN 3-406-39451-5 Max Spindler, Gertrude Diepolder, Bayerischer Geschichtsatlas (English, Bayerischer Schulbuch-Verlag, Munich 1969 Gerhard Taddey, Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte. ISBN 3-520-81303-3 Markus Twellenkamp, Die Burggrafen von Nürnberg und das deutsche Königtum
7.
Principality of Bayreuth
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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.
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
9.
Nuremberg
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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
10.
House of Wettin
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The House of Wettin is a dynasty of German counts, dukes, prince-electors and kings that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, the Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of medieval states. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, the family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig, the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation, many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony, agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of Great Britain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Saxony, and Belgium. Only the British and Belgian lines retain their thrones today, the oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is Theodoric I of Wettin, also known as Dietrich, Thiedericus, and Thierry I of Liesgau. He was most probably based in the Liesgau, around 1000, the family acquired Wettin Castle, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes, after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the Hassegau on the Saale River, around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a fief. The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March caused Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly, as Albert ruled under the title of Duke of Saxony, his possessions were also known as Ducal Saxony. The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation, Frederick III appointed Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon to the University of Wittenberg, which he had established in 1502. The Ernestine predominance ended in the Schmalkaldic War, which pitted the Protestant Schmalkaldic League against the Emperor Charles V, although itself Lutheran, the Albertine branch rallied to the Emperors cause. Charles V had promised Moritz the rights to the electorship, after the Battle of Mühlberg, Johann Friedrich der Großmütige, had to cede territory and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university and it was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as the Höhere Landesschule at Jena. On 15 August 1557, Emperor Ferdinand I awarded it the status of university, the Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled, dividing into a number of smaller states, the Ernestine duchies. In the 18th century, Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, established what was to become known as Weimar Classicism at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there. The Ernestine Wettins, on the hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory
11.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
12.
Albert III, Duke of Austria
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Albert III of Austria, known as Albert with the Braid, a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1365 until his death. Albert III was born in the residence of Vienna, the third son of the Habsburg duke Albert II of Austria. He reaffirmed his supremacy issuing the Privilegium Maius, however, as his marriage remained childless he again had to share his power with his younger brothers. In 1365 Rudolf IV, Albert III, and Leopold III together signed the certificate of the Vienna University. Albert, then the eldest surviving brother, inherited the rule, both were formally enfeoffed with the Duchy of Austria, Duchy of Styria, Duchy of Carinthia, and Duchy of Carniola by Emperor Charles IV. In 1368 the Habsburg brothers purchased the Swabian city of Freiburg, but their attempt to gain control over the Adriatic port of Trieste failed in an armed conflict with the Republic of Venice in 1369/70. Trieste was not won until 1382, when the citizens sought protection from Venice by subjecting themselves to Austrian rule. In 1374 the Austrian dukes inherited large territories in the Windic March and Istria from the late Albert III, Count of Gorizia, the next year they acquired the Swabian lordship of Feldkirch from the Counts of Montfort, the nucleus of the Habsburg possessions in later Vorarlberg. Tension developed between the brothers, and in 1379 Albert and Leopold, by the Treaty of Neuberg divided the extended Habsburg territories, Albert received Austria proper, while Leopold get Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, Tyrol and the dynastys original possessions in Swabia. The division of the Habsburgs into the Albertinian Line and Leopoldian line was a significant disadvantage in competition with the rival Wittelsbach and it persisted until 1490, when Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol and Further Austria handed over his estates to his cousin King Maximilian I. In 1377, Albert went on a crusade in Prussia against pagan Baltic Lithuanian and Samogitian tribes, meanwhile, the expansion of the Habsburg dukes in Swabia collided with the growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy and sparked armed rvolts. Another attempt to restore Habsburg rule in Swabia failed, when Alberts knights were defeated by the Swiss pike squares in the 1388 Battle of Näfels. In the Austrian lands, his government was beneficial to the realm, as he supported the arts, Albert was an apt scholar himself, particularly as a mathematician and astrologer. The eldest preserved book of the Austrian National Library, a 1386 Evangelion, the duke expanded the University of Vienna and, during the Western Schism, reached the consent of Pope Urban VI to establish a theological faculty. He continued the building of St. Stephens Cathedral and attempted to refurbish Vienna modelled on Emperor Charles residence in Prague, Alberts nickname refers to his particular hairstyle, part of the vestments of a short-lived chivalric order he had established and which dissolved upon his death. However, he died in August 1395 while staying in his Laxenburg hunting lodge and he is buried in the Ducal Crypt in the Stephansdom cathedral in Vienna. The first marriage, after 19 March 1366, was with Elisabeth of Bohemia and this marriage was childless, his wife died at age fifteen. The Albertinian line became extinct with the death of Ladislaus the Posthumous in 1457
13.
House of Luxembourg
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The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval European royal family, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperors as well as Kings of Bohemia and Hungary. Their rule over the Holy Roman Empire was twice interrupted by the rival House of Wittelsbach and her father, Count Henry IV of Luxembourg, was related on his mothers side to the Ardennes-Verdun dynasty, which had ruled the county since the late 10th century. Count Henry Vs grandson Henry VII, Count of Luxembourg upon the death of his father Henry VI at the 1288 Battle of Worringen, was elected Rex Romanorum in 1308. One year after being crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, Henry VII, still on campaign in Italy, John instead concentrated on securing his rule in Bohemia and gradually vassalized the Piast dukes of adjacent Silesia from 1327 until 1335. His son Charles IV, in 1346 mounted the Imperial throne and his Golden Bull of 1356 served as a constitution of the Empire for centuries. Charles not only acquired the duchies of Brabant and Limburg in the west, the familys decline began under Charles son King Wenceslaus, deposed by the prince-electors in 1400 who chose the Wittelsbach Elector Palatine Rupert. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, the Habsburg archduke Albert V of Austria, the Habsburgs finally prevailed as Luxembourg heirs, ruling the Empire until their extinction upon the death of Maria Theresa in 1780. Henry VII — elected King of the Romans in 1308 succeeding assassinated Albert of Habsburg and he was succeeded by Louis IV from the House of Wittelsbach. Baldwin — brother of Henry, Prince-Archbishop of Trier and thereby Archchancellor of Burgundy 1307–54, John the Blind — only son of Henry. He was enfeoffed with the Bohemia by his father in 1310, married the Přemyslid heiress Elisabeth of Bohemia, Charles IV — eldest son of John. He was elected King of the Romans in opposition to Louis IV in 1346 and succeeded his father as king of Bohemia in the same year, John Henry, Margrave of Moravia — younger brother of Charles. He married Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, daughter of Henry the Carinthian in 1330, jobst of Moravia — eldest son of John Henry. Margrave of Brandenburg 1388–1411, elected King of the Romans in 1410, Wenceslaus — eldest surviving son of Charles. As Margrave of Brandenburg from 1373 to 1378, he was elected King of the Romans in 1376, declared deposed by the prince-electors in 1400, he was succeeded by Rupert of Wittelsbach. Sigismund — younger son of Charles, Jacquetta of Luxembourg — Mother of Queen Consort, Elizabeth Woodville and subsequent ancestress of all English and British monarchs since Henry VIII including the current monarch, Elizabeth II. According to the Salic law, the succession could have been disputed and that branch descended from a younger son of Henry V, and was headed by Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, before he was executed for treason by Louis XI of France. The first instance of the house of Luxembourg seems to be, Two houses descended from the women of the counts of Luxembourg, the Counts of Loon, both families had a place in relation to the succession of the House of Ardennes. The Counts of Loon are also in position to claim the inheritance Luxembourg, albeit weaker position, Jacquetta of Luxembourg
14.
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
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Sigismund von Luxembourg was the leader of the last West European Crusade - the Crusade of Nicopolis of 1396. Afterwards he founded the Dragon Order to fight the Turks and he was regarded as highly educated, spoke several languages and was an outgoing person who also took pleasure in the tournament. He was named after Saint Sigismund of Burgundy, the saint of Sigismunds father. From Sigismunds childhood he was nicknamed the fox in the Crown of Bohemia. King Louis named him as his heir and appointed him his successor as King of Hungary, King Wenceslaus also gave him Neumark to facilitate communication between Brandenburg and Poland. Instead, the landlords of Lesser Poland gave it to Marys younger sister Jadwiga I of Poland, on the death of her father in 1382, his betrothed, Mary, became queen of Hungary and Sigismund married her in 1385 in Zólyom. The next year, he was accepted as Marys future co-ruler by the Treaty of Győr, Sigismunds mother-in-law was strangled, while Mary was liberated. Having secured the support of the nobility, Sigismund was crowned King of Hungary at Székesfehérvár on 31 March 1387. Having raised money by pledging Brandenburg to his cousin Jobst, margrave of Moravia, the central power was finally weakened to such an extent that only Sigismunds alliance with the powerful Czillei-Garai League could ensure his position on the throne. The restoration of the authority of the administration took decades of work. Not until 1395 did Nicholas II Garay succeed in suppressing them, Mary died heavily pregnant in 1395. To ease the pressure from Hungarian nobles, Sigismud tried to employ foreign advisors, which was not popular, however, this was not applied to Stibor of Stiboricz, who was Sigismunds closest friend and advisor. On a number of occasions, Sigismund was imprisoned by nobles, in 1396 Sigismund led the combined armies of Christendom against the Turks, who had taken advantage of the temporary helplessness of Hungary to extend their dominion to the banks of the Danube. This crusade, preached by Pope Boniface IX, was popular in Hungary. Sigismund set out with 90,000 men and a flotilla of 70 galleys, after capturing Vidin, he camped with his Hungarian armies before the fortress of Nicopolis. Sultan Bayezid I raised the siege of Constantinople and, at the head of 140,000 men, the disaster in Nicopolis angered several Hungarian lords, leading to instability in the kingdom. However, he was unable to support Wenceslaus when he was deposed in 1400, on his return to Hungary in 1401, Sigismund was imprisoned once and deposed twice. In 1401 Sigismund helped an uprising against Wenceslaus, during the course of which the Bohemian king was taken prisoner, and Sigismund ruled Bohemia for nineteen months
15.
Ottoman wars in Europe
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The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars in the 13th century, followed by the Bulgarian–Ottoman wars and the Serbian–Ottoman Wars in the 14th century. Much of this period was characterized by Ottoman expansion into the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire made further inroads into Central Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, culminating in the peak of Ottoman territorial claims in Europe. The Ottoman–Venetian Wars spanned four centuries, starting in 1423 and lasting until 1718, the island of Corfu under Venetian rule remained the only Greek island not conquered by the Ottomans. Nevertheless, Ottoman armies were able to hold their own against their European rivals until the half of the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century the Ottomans were confronted with insurrection from their Serbian and this occurred in tandem with the Russo-Turkish wars, which further destabilized the empire. The final retreat of Ottoman rule came with the First Balkan War, Constantinople fell in 1453 after the Battle of Varna and the Second Battle of Kosovo. The remaining Greek state fell in 1461, sofia fell in 1382, followed by the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire Tarnovgrad in 1393, and the northwest remnants of the state after the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Much of Serbia fell to the Ottomans by 1459, the Kingdom of Hungary made a partial reconquest in 1480, the Ottomans took much of Albania in the 1385 Battle of Savra. The 1444 League of Lezhë briefly restored one part of Albania, until Ottomans captured complete territory of Albania after capture of Shkodër in 1479 and Durrës in 1501. It has been argued that Albanian resilience halted the Ottoman advance along the Eastern flank of the Western Civilization, Sultan Mehmet II died in 1481, merely two years after the collapse of the Albanian resistance and one year after he launched an Italian campaign. Ottoman Empire first reached Bosnia in 1388 where they were defeated by Bosnian forces in the Battle of Bileca, after the fall of Serbia in 1389 Battle of Kosovo, where the Bosnians participated through Vlatko Vuković, the Turks began various offensives against the Kingdom of Bosnia. The Bosnians defended themselves but without much success, Bosnians resisted strongly in the Bosnian Royal castle of Jajce, where the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević tried to repel the Turks. The Ottoman army conquered it after a few months of the siege of Jajce, in 1463, the House of Kosača held Herzegovina until 1482. The Ottomans meanwhile reached the river Neretva and having conquered Herzegovina in 1482, they encroached upon Croatia, a decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field shook all of Croatia. However, it did not dissuade the Croats from making persistent attempts at defending themselves against the attacks of the superior Ottoman forces. After almost two hundred years of Croatian resistance against the Ottoman Empire, the victory in the Battle of Sisak marked the end of Ottoman rule, the Viceroys army, chasing the fleeing remnants at Petrinja in 1595, sealed the victory. The Kingdom of Hungary, which at the time spanned the area from Croatia in the west to Transylvania in the east, was gravely threatened by Ottoman advances. The origins of such a deterioration can be traced back to the fall of the ruling dynasty and their subsequent replacement with the Angevin
16.
Battle of Nicopolis
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It is often referred to as the Crusade of Nicopolis as it was one of the last large-scale Crusades of the Middle Ages, together with the Crusade of Varna in 1443–1444. There were many minor crusades in the 14th century, undertaken by individual kings or knights, most recently there had been a failed crusade against Tunisia in 1390, and there was ongoing warfare in northern Europe along the Baltic coast. In 1393 the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Shishman had lost Nicopolis — his temporary capital — to the Ottomans, while his brother, Ivan Stratsimir, still held Vidin but had been reduced to an Ottoman vassal. In the eyes of the Bulgarian boyars, despots and other independent Balkan rulers, in addition, the frontline between Islam and Christianity had been moving slowly towards the Kingdom of Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary was now the frontier between the two religions in Eastern Europe, and the Hungarians were in danger of being attacked themselves. The Genoese also owned the citadel of Galata, located at the north of the Golden Horn in Constantinople, to which Bayezid had laid siege in 1395. The two decisive factors in the formation of the last crusade were the ongoing Hundred Years War between Richard IIs England and Charles VIs France and the support of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, in 1389, the war had ground to one of its periodic truces. The support of Burgundy, among the most powerful of the French nobles was also vital, in 1391, Burgundy, trying to decide between sending a crusade to either Prussia or Hungary, sent his envoy Guy de La Trémoille to Venice and Hungary to evaluate the situation. Burgundy originally envisioned a crusade led by himself and the Dukes of Orléans and Lancaster and it was very unlikely that defense against the Turks was considered a particularly important goal of the crusade. Charles VI, having secured a peace with England through the marriage of his daughter, was able to reply that it was his responsibility to protect Christianity, the number of combatants is heavily contested in historical accounts. The oft-given figure of 100,000 crusaders is dismissed by Tuchman, next in importance were the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, who were the standard bearers of Christianity in the Levant since the decline of Constantinople and Cyprus. Venice supplied a fleet for supporting action, while Hungarian envoys encouraged German princes of the Rhineland, Bavaria, Saxony. French heralds had proclaimed the crusade in Poland, Bohemia, Navarre and Spain, the Italian city-states were too much engaged in their customary violent rivalries to participate, and the widely reported and acclaimed English participation never actually occurred. The report of 1,000 English knights comes from contemporary Antonio Fiorentino, a thousand knights would have actually amounted to four to six thousand men and at least twice as many horses, counting foot-soldiers and other retainers. However, there are no records of financial arrangements being made in England to send a force abroad, nor of any royal preparation needed to organize and dispatch such a force. Atiya also thought that the invocation of St. Furthermore, there was no collection of money in England to pay for captives. Nevertheless, obviously inflated figures continue to be repeated, the strength of the Ottoman forces is also estimated at about 20-25,000, but inflated figures continue to be repeated. The Ottoman force also included 1,500 Serbian heavy cavalry knights under the command of Prince Stefan Lazarević, however, Burgundy retained control of the enterprise he was funding by naming 24-year-old John, Count of Nevers, the Dukes eldest son, for nominal command
17.
Franconia
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However, there is no fixed area that is officially defined as Franconia. The German word Franken - Franconians - also refers to the people group and they are to be distinguished from the Germanic tribe of the Franks and who historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the Elbe Germanic people in the Main river area. Known from the 9th century as Francia Orientalis. in the Middle Ages the region formed much of the part of the Duchy of Franconia and, from 1500. In the course of the restructuring of the south German states by Napoleon after the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, the German name for Franconia, Franken, comes from the dative plural form of Franke, a member of the Germanic tribe known as the Franks. The onomatologists largely follow the book compiled by early medieval scholar, Saint Isidore of Seville. This syllable occurs in the Middle Dutch vrac, avaricious, and old Norwegian frakkr, quick, bold, according to this the Franks were thus the brave ones, courageous ones or audacious ones. From the 9th century the name no longer referred to the whole of France, but increasingly to the region along the River Main. The German word frank in the sense of free is, by contrast, not a description of the Franks. Not until the 15th century was the German word frei borrowed from the French, other large rivers include the upper Werra in Thuringia and the Tauber, as well as the upper Jagst and Kocher streams in the west, both right tributaries of the Neckar. In southern Middle Franconia, the Altmühl flows towards the Danube, the man-made Franconian Lake District has become a popular destination for day-trippers and tourists. The landscape is characterized by numerous Mittelgebirge ranges of the German Central Uplands, to the north rise the Rennsteig ridge of the Thuringian Forest, the Thuringian Highland and the Franconian Forest, the border with the Upper Saxon lands of Thuringia. In the east, the Fichtel Mountains lead to Vogtland, Bohemian Egerland in the Czech Republic, the hills of the Franconian Jura in the south mark the border with the Upper Bavarian region, historical Swabia, and the Danube basin. The northern parts of the Upper Bavarian Eichstätt District, territory of the historical Bishopric of Eichstätt, are counted as part of Franconia. In the west, Franconia proper comprises the Tauber Franconia region along the Tauber river, the states larger Heilbronn-Franken region also includes the adjacent Hohenlohe and Schwäbisch Hall districts. In the city of Heilbronn, beyond the Haller Ebene plateau, furthermore, in those easternmost parts of the Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis which had formerly belonged to the Bishopric of Würzburg, the inhabitants have preserved their Franconian identity. Franconian areas in East Hesse along Spessart and Rhön comprise Gersfeld, the two largest cities of Franconia are Nuremberg and Würzburg. Though located on the periphery of the area, the Nuremberg metropolitan area is often identified as the economic
18.
Rupert, King of Germany
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Rupert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 and King of Germany from 1400 until his death. Rupert was born at Amberg in the Upper Palatinate, the son of Elector Palatine Rupert II and Beatrice of Aragon, ruperts great-granduncle was the Wittelsbach emperor Louis IV. He was raised at the Dominican Liebenau monastery near Worms, where his widowed grandmother Irmengard of Oettingen lived as a nun, from his early years Rupert took part in the government of the Electoral Palatinate to which he succeeded on his fathers death in 1398. He and the three ecclesiastical prince-electors met at Lahneck Castle in Oberlahnstein on 20 August 1400 and declared the Luxembourg king Wenceslaus deposed. On the next day the same four electors met at Rhens to ballot for Rupert as next German king, as the Imperial City of Aachen refused to let him enter through its gates, Rupert was crowned by Archbishop Frederick III in Cologne on 6 January 1401. Lacking a solid base in the Empire, his rule remained contested by the mighty House of Luxembourg. In the Western Schism, Rupert backed Pope Boniface IX who, however, was reluctant to acknowledge his rule in view of the Luxembourg claims. In the autumn of 1401 he crossed the Alps, but his troops, checked before Brescia, melted away during wintertime and in April 1402 Rupert, too poor to continue the campaign, had to return to Germany. The news of this increased the disorder in Germany. The Luxembourg resistance waned after Wenceslaus was arrested at Prague Castle by his brother Sigismund in March 1402, Rupert also gained the support of England by the marriage of his son Louis with Blanche of Lancaster, daughter of King Henry IV on 6 July 1402. In his Palatinate hereditary lands, Rupert turned out to be a capable ruler and it was nevertheless only the indolence of Wenceslaus that prevented his overthrow. On his deathbed Rupert had decreed the division of his heritage among his four surviving sons, in the following Imperial election on September 20, Elector Louis III voted for Sigismund of Luxembourg, who however lost to his cousin Margrave Jobst of Moravia. He was married in Amberg on 27 June 1374 to Elisabeth of Hohenzollern, daughter of Burgrave Frederick V of Nuremberg and he also commissioned the Ruprecht building in Heidelberg Castle. He was related to other king of Germany
19.
Elisabeth of Nuremberg
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Elisabeth of Nuremberg was the daughter of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Meissen. She was a member of the House of Hohenzollern, and the wife of Rupert of Germany, in 1398, she became the Electress of the Palatinate of the Rhine, and in 1400 she became Queen of the Romans. She was born in 1358, and on 27 June 1374 married Rupert, then heir to the Elector Palatine, Rupert II. Elisabeth became Electress of the Palatinate when Rupert succeeded to his fathers estate 6 January 1398, Rupert died on 18 May 1410, Elisabeth died a little over a year later on 26 July 1411. Elisabeth and Rupert had nine children, six sons and three daughters, who survived to adulthood, Rupert Pipan, margaret, married in 1394 to Charles II, Duke of Lorraine. Agnes, married in Heidelberg shortly before March 1400 to Duke Adolf of Kleve, Elisabeth, married in Innsbruck 24 December 1407 to Duke Frederick IV of Austria
20.
King of the Romans
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King of the Romans was the title used by the German king following his election by the princes from the time of Emperor Henry II onward. The title was predominantly a claim to become Holy Roman Emperor and was dependent upon coronation by the Pope, the title originally referred to any elected king who had not yet been granted the Imperial Regalia and title of Emperor at the hands of the Pope. Later it came to be used solely for the apparent to the Imperial throne between his election and his succession upon the death of the Emperor. The territory of East Francia was not referred to as the Kingdom of Germany or Regnum Teutonicum by contemporary sources until the 11th century, during this time, the kings claim to coronation was increasingly contested by the papacy culminating in the fierce Investiture Controversy. Pope Gregory VII insisted on using the derogatory term Teutonicorum Rex in order to imply that Henrys authority was merely local, Henry continued to regularly use the title Romanorum Rex until he finally was crowned Emperor by Antipope Clement III in 1084. Henrys successors imitated this practice, and were also called Romanorum Rex before, candidates for the kingship were at first the heads of the Germanic stem duchies. As these units broke up, rulers of principalities and even non-Germanic rulers were considered for the position. The only requirements generally observed were that the candidate be a male, a Catholic Christian. The kings were elected by several Imperial Estates, often in the city of Frankfurt after 1147. They were the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne as well as the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Saxon duke, after the Investiture Controversy, Charles intended to strengthen the legal status of the Rex Romanorum beyond Papal approbation. Consequently, among his successors only Sigismund and Frederick III were still crowned Emperors in Rome, the Golden Bull remained effective as constitutional law until the Empires dissolution in 1806. After his election, the new king would be crowned as King of the Romans, though the ceremony was no more than a symbolic validation of the election result, it was solemnly celebrated. The details of Ottos coronation in 936 are described by the medieval chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his Res gestae saxonicae, the kings received the Imperial Crown from at least 1024, at the coronation of Conrad II. In 1198 the Hohenstaufen candidate Philip of Swabia was crowned Rex Romanorum at Mainz Cathedral, at some time after the ceremony, the king would, if possible, cross the Alps, to receive coronation in Pavia or Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy. Finally, he would travel to Rome and be crowned Emperor by the Pope, in such cases, the king might retain the title King of the Romans for his entire reign. At this time Maximilian also took the new title King of the Germans or King in Germany, the following were ruling Kings of the Romans, i. e. men who ruled the Kingdom without subordination to another King but who had not yet been crowned Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy, no person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Emperor. However, the Emperor could, and often did, have an elected to succeed him after his death
21.
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
22.
Jobst of Moravia
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Jobst was an ambitious and versatile ruler, who in the early 15th century dominated the ongoing struggles within the Luxembourg dynasty and around the German throne. Designated heir upon his fathers death in 1375, he ruled the Margraviate of Moravia, often quarreling with his younger brother Prokop, in 1388 Jobst received the Duchy of Luxembourg, given in pawn by his cousin King Wenceslaus, son of late Emperor Charles IV. The same year, Jobst also became Prince-elector of Brandenburg, pawned by Wenceslaus younger brother Sigismund, peace was made at the instigation of Wenceslaus brothers Sigismund and John of Görlitz, however, once released, the king had Jobst expelled from Prague. Sigismund and Jobst signed an inheritance treaty in 1401. Jobst married twice, without issue, Elisabeth of Opole, daughter of Duke Władysław Opolczyk, agnes of Opole, daughter of Duke Bolesław II of Opole and sister of Duke Władysław, in 1374. King of the Romans, Margrave of Moravia, Lusatia and Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg, Duke of Luxembourg, Vicarius of Italy, Margrave Jobst - his personality and relationship with the other members of the Luxembourg family, in, Moravští Lucemburkové 1315-1411. ISBN 80-901969-7-7 Media related to Jobst von Mähren at Wikimedia Commons
23.
Prince-elector
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The prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the Prince-Electors had the privilege of electing the King of the Romans, Charles V was the last to be a crowned Emperor, his successors were elected Emperors directly by the electoral college, each being titled Elected Emperor of the Romans. In practice, all but one Emperor from 1440 onwards came from the Austrian House of Habsburg, the dignity of Elector carried great prestige and was considered to be second only to that of King or Emperor. The Electors had exclusive privileges that were not shared with the princes of the Empire. The heir apparent to a secular prince-elector was known as an electoral prince, the German practice of electing monarchs began when ancient Germanic tribes formed ad hoc coalitions and elected the leaders thereof. Elections were irregularly held by the Franks, whose successor states include France, the French monarchy eventually became hereditary, but the Holy Roman Emperors remained elective, at least in theory, although the Habsburgs provided most of the later monarchs. While all free men originally exercised the right to vote in such elections, in the election of Lothar II in 1125, a small number of eminent nobles chose the monarch and then submitted him to the remaining magnates for their approbation. Soon, the right to choose the monarch was settled on a group of princes. The college of electors was mentioned in 1152 and again in 1198, a letter of Pope Urban IV suggests that by immemorial custom, seven princes had the right to elect the King and future Emperor. The seven have been mentioned as the vote-casters in the election of 1257 that resulted in two kings becoming elected, the Count Palatine of the Rhine held most of the former Duchy of Franconia after the last Duke died in 1039. The Margrave of Brandenburg became an Elector when the Duchy of Swabia was dissolved after the last Duke of Swabia was beheaded in 1268, Saxony, even with diminished territory, retained its eminent position. The Palatinate and Bavaria were originally held by the same individual, meanwhile, the King of Bohemia, who held the ancient imperial office of Arch-Cupbearer, asserted his right to participate in elections. Sometimes he was challenged on the grounds that his kingdom was not German, though usually he was recognized, instead of Bavaria which after all was just a younger line of Wittelsbachs. The Declaration of Rhense issued in 1338 had the effect that election by the majority of the electors automatically conferred the title and rule over the empire. The Golden Bull of 1356 finally resolved the disputes among the electors, in 1621, the Elector Palatine, Frederick V, came under the imperial ban after participating in the Bohemian Revolt. The Elector Palatines seat was conferred on the Duke of Bavaria, originally, the Duke held the electorate personally, but it was later made hereditary along with the duchy. When the Thirty Years War concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, since the Elector of Bavaria retained his seat, the number of electors increased to eight, the two Wittelsbach lines now sufficiently estranged so as not to pose a combined potential threat. In 1685, the composition of the College of Electors was disrupted when a Catholic branch of the Wittelsbach family inherited the Palatinate
24.
Council of Constance
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The Council of Constance is the 15th century ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Western Schism, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining papal claimants, the Council also condemned Jan Hus as a heretic and facilitated his execution by the civil authority. It also ruled on issues of sovereignty, the rights of pagans. The Council is important for its relationship to ecclesial Conciliarism and Papal supremacy, the councils main purpose was to end the Papal schism which had resulted from the confusion following the Avignon Papacy. After thirty years of schism, the Council of Pisa had sought to resolve the situation by deposing the two claimant popes and elected a new pope, Alexander V. The council claimed that in such a situation, a council of bishops had greater authority than just one bishop, therefore, many voices, including Sigismund, King of the Romans and of Hungary, pressed for another council to resolve the issue. That council was called by John XXIII and was held from 16 November 1414 to 22 April 1418 in Constance, according to Joseph McCabe, the council was attended by roughly 29 cardinals,100 learned doctors of law and divinity,134 abbots, and 183 bishops and archbishops. Sigismund arrived on Christmas Eve 1414 and exercised a profound and continuous influence on the course of the council in his capacity of imperial protector of the Church, an innovation at the Council was that instead of voting as individuals, the bishops voted in national blocs. The vote by nations was in great measure the work of the English, German, the four nations consisted of England, France, Italy, and Germany, with Poles, Hungarians, Danes, and Scandinavians counted with the Germans. While the Italian representatives made up half of those in attendance, they were equal in influence to the English, many members of the new assembly strongly favored the voluntary abdication of all three popes, as did King Sigismund. Although the Italian bishops who had accompanied John XXIII in large numbers supported his legitimacy, partly in response to a fierce anonymous attack on his character from an Italian source, on 2 March 1415 he promised to resign. However, on 20 March he secretly fled the city and took refuge at Schaffhausen in territory of his friend Frederick, haec Sancta Synodus marks the high-water mark of the Conciliar movement of reform. The Church declared the first sessions of the Council of Constance an invalid and illicit assembly of bishops, the acts of the Council were not made public until 1442, at the behest of the Council of Basel, they were printed in 1500. The creation of a book on how to die was ordered by the council, in part because of the constant presence of the King, other rulers demanded that they have a say in who would be pope. This would pave the way for the end of the Western Schism, on 4 July 1415 the Bull of Gregory XII which appointed Malatesta and Cardinal Dominici of Ragusa as his proxies at the council was formally read before the assembled Bishops. The cardinal then read a decree of Gregory XII which convoked the council, thereupon, the Bishops voted to accept the summons. Prince Malatesta immediately informed the Council that he was empowered by a commission from Pope Gregory XII to resign the Papal Throne on the Pontiffs behalf and he asked the Council whether they would prefer to receive the abdication at that point or at a later date. The Bishops voted to receive the Papal abdication immediately, former Pope Gregory XII was then created titular Cardinal Bishop of Porto and Santa Ruffina by the Council, with rank immediately below the Pope
25.
Margrave
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Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defense of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empire, thereafter, those domains were absorbed in larger realms or the titleholders adopted titles indicative of full sovereignty. Etymologically, the margrave is the English and French form of the German noble title Markgraf. As a noun and hereditary title, margrave was common to the languages of Europe, a Markgraf originally functioned as the military governor of a Carolingian mark, a medieval border province. The greater exposure of a province to military invasion mandated that the margrave be provided with military forces. As a military governor, the margraves authority often extended over a larger than the province proper. The margrave thus usually came to exercise commensurately greater politico-military power than other nobles, the margrave maintained the greater armed forces and fortifications required for repelling invasion, which increased his political strength and independence relative to the monarch. Most marks, and their margraves, sprung up along the Eastern border of the Carolingian Empire, the Breton Mark on the Atlantic Ocean and on the border of peninsular Brittany, and the Marca Hispanica on the Muslim frontier are notable exceptions. The Crusaders created new perilous borders, prone to war against the Saracens, hence had use for real border marches. These margraves became substantially independent rulers of states under the jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Emperor, similar to the evolution of dukes, landgraves, counts palatine. The Golden Bull of 1356 was issued by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, the Mark Brandenburg became the nucleus of the House of Hohenzollerns later Kingdom of Prussia and the springboard to their eventual accession as German Emperors in 1871. They also inherited several, mainly Eastern European and Burgundian, principalities, Austria was originally called Marchia Orientalis in Latin, the eastern borderland, as Austria formed the eastern outpost of the Holy Roman Empire, on the border with the Magyars and the Slavs. Since the 19th century the term has been translated as Ostmark by some Germanophones, another Mark in the south-east, Styria, still appears as Steiermark in German today. The Margraves of Brandenburg and the Margraves of Meissen eventually became, respectively, by the 19th century, the sovereigns in Germany, Italy and Austria had all adopted higher titles, and not a single sovereign margraviate remained. However, from 1817 his male-line descendants of both marriages were internationally recognised as entitled to the prefix, which all used henceforth. The title of Margrave of Baden has been borne as a title of only by the head of the House of Zähringen since the death of the last reigning Grand Duke, Frederick II. Likewise, Margrave of Meissen is used as a title of pretence by the claimant to the Kingdom of Saxony since the death in exile of its last monarch, King Fredrick Augustus III, the margrave/marquis ranked below its nations equivalent of duke or of prince, but above count. The wife of a margrave is a margravine, in Germany and Austria, where titles were borne by all descendants in the male line of the original grantee, men and women alike, each daughter was a Markgräfin as each son was a Markgraf
26.
Landtag
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A Landtag is a representative assembly in German-speaking countries with legislative authority and competence over a federated state. Landtage assemblies are the bodies for the individual states of Germany and states of Austria. Likewise, the Landtag of South Tyrol is the legislature of the province of South Tyrol in northeast Italy. In the sovereign principality of Liechtenstein the national parliament is called the Landtag of Liechtenstein, the German word Landtag is composed of the words Land and Tag. The German word Tagung is derived from the German word Tag, as such meetings were held at daylight, the English word diet likewise comes from Latin, dies. Therefore, the representatives primarily defended class interests, and decisions were based on an electoral system. The precise composition obviously varied greatly, and could change over time, as the result of privileges granted or lost, entities split or merged, since 1466, Prussian Landtag were held in Royal Prussia. Prior to that, Prussian Landtag meetings were held in the Monastic state of the Teutonic Order, since 1525, Prussian Landtag were held in Ducal Prussia. 1806 the German Confederation was founded as successor of the Holy Roman Empire, §13 of the Bundesakte forced the German states to pass constitutions and implement parliaments called Landstände or Landtag. The first constitution was passed in Nassau, until 1841 all but 2 states got their constitution and parliaments. 1871 the German Empire was founded, all 25 states of the German Empire and the Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen had Landtage as legislative authorities. The most important one was the Prussian Landtag, in the Weimar Republic 1918 till 1933 all German states had Landtage. In difference to the former Landstände and Landtage the Weimar Republik Landtage have been elected in free an equal elections,1933 the Nazis abandoned the federal structure of the Weimar Republic and established a unitary state. The Landtage were abolished as a result, since then, the official term in Swedish is riksdag, equivalent of the German Reichstag. In the contemporary Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria and the Italian Republics province of South Tyrol, in the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Landtag is the sole national parliament, because Liechtenstein has no federal structure due to its size. The national bicameral Parliament comprises the directly elected Bundestag and the Bundesrat which represents the governments in Federal matters which affect the Länder. The representatives are elected in general, free, secret and direct ballots according to the principle of proportional representation, the largest of the parliamentary groups usually nominates the Landeshauptmann governor. The modern Landtage are the successors of the estates assemblies in the corresponding crown lands of the Austrian Empire
27.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
28.
Hussites
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This predominantly religious movement was propelled by social issues and strengthened Czech national awareness. Among present-day Christians, Hussite traditions are represented in the Moravian Church, Unity of the Brethren, the arrest of Hus in 1414 caused considerable resentment in Czech lands. The authorities of both countries appealed urgently and repeatedly to King Sigismund to release Jan Hus, when news of his death at the Council of Constance in 1415 arrived, disturbances broke out, directed primarily against the clergy and especially against the monks. Even the Archbishop narrowly escaped from the effects of popular anger. The treatment of Hus was felt to be a disgrace inflicted upon the whole country, King Wenceslaus, prompted by his grudge against Sigismund, at first gave free vent to his indignation at the course of events in Constance. His wife openly favoured the friends of Hus, avowed Hussites stood at the head of the government. The university would arbitrate any disputed points, the entire Hussite nobility joined the league. Other than verbal protest of the treatment of Hus, there was little evidence of any actions taken by the nobility until 1417. The chalice of wine became the central identifying symbol of the Hussite movement, the prospect of a civil war began to emerge. Pope Martin V as Cardinal Otto of Colonna had attacked Hus with relentless severity and he energetically resumed the battle against Huss teaching after the enactments of the Council of Constance. He wished to completely the doctrine of Hus, for which purpose the co-operation of King Wenceslaus had to be obtained. In 1418, Sigismund succeeded in winning his brother over to the standpoint of the council by pointing out the inevitability of a war if the heretics in Bohemia found further protection. Hussite statesmen and army leaders had to leave the country and Roman Catholic priests were reinstated and these measures caused a general commotion which hastened the death of King Wenceslaus by a paralytic stroke in 1419. Hussism organised itself during the years 1415–1419, the moderate party, who followed Hus more closely, sought to conduct reform while leaving the whole hierarchical and liturgical order of the Church untouched. This required the removal of the hierarchy and the secularisation of ecclesiastical possessions. The radicals preached the sufficientia legis Christi—the divine law is the rule and canon for human society, not only in the church. But above all they clung to Wycliffes doctrine of the Lords Supper, denying transubstantiation, the radicals had their gathering-places all around the country. Their first armed assault fell on the town of Ústí, on the river Lužnice
29.
Council of Florence
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At stake was the greater conflict between the Conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy. The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismunds death in 1437, Pope Eugene IV convoked a rival Council of Ferrara on 8 January 1438 and succeeded in drawing the Byzantine ambassadors to Italy. The Council of Basel first suspended him, declared him a heretic, the rival Council of Florence concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismunds successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel, ambrogio Traversari attended the Council of Basel as legate of Pope Eugene IV. Under pressure for reform, Pope Martin V sanctioned a decree of the Council of Constance obliging the papacy to summon general councils periodically. At the expiration of the first term fixed by this decree, due to an epidemic the location transferred almost at once to Siena and disbande, in circumstances still imperfectly known, just as it had begun to discuss the subject of reform. Martin himself, however, died before the opening of the synod, the Council was seated on December 14,1431, at a period when the conciliar movement was strong and the authority of the papacy weak. The Council at Basel opened with only a few bishops and abbots attending and it adopted an anti-papal attitude, proclaimed the superiority of the Council over the Pope and prescribed an oath to be taken by every Pope on his election. On December 18 Martins successor, Pope Eugene IV, tried to dissolve it and open a new council on Italian soil at Bologna, but he was overruled. Sigismund, King of Hungary and titular King of Bohemia, had defeated at the Battle of Domažlice in the fifth crusade against the Hussites in August 1431. Under his sponsorship, the Council negotiated a peace with Calixtine faction of the Hussites in January 1433, Pope Eugene acknowledged the council in May and crowned Sigismund Holy Roman Emperor on May 31,1433. The divided Hussites were defeated in May 1434, in June 1434, the pope had to flee a revolt in Rome and began a ten-year exile in Florence. When the Council was moved from Basel to Ferrara in 1438, some remained at Basel and they elected Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, as Antipope. Driven out of Basel in 1448, they moved to Lausanne, where Felix V, the pope they had elected, the next year, they decreed the closure of what for them was still the Council of Basel. The new council was transferred to Florence in 1439 because of the danger of plague at Ferrara and because Florence had agreed, against future payment, some, perhaps feeling political pressure from the Byzantine Emperor, accepted the decrees of the Council. Others did so by sincere conviction, such as Isidore of Kiev, only Bishop Mark of Ephesus, however, refused to accept the union and became the leader of opposition back home. The Russians, upon learning of the union, angrily rejected it, despite the religious union, Western military assistance to Byzantium was meager, and the fall of Constantinople occurred in May 1453
30.
Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg
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The latter was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and Beatrice della Scala. As the second son, his brothers included John the Alchemist and Albert Achilles, when Frederick I retired in 1437, he compensated his incapable eldest son John with the Principality of Bayreuth while Frederick II assumed the government of Brandenburg. Unlike his father, he turned away from politics and concentrated on his efforts to pacify the nobility. Quarrels with the city of Berlin began in 1440 with his plans to build a new residence on the Cölln island of the Spree river. In 1448 the Berliner Unwille against the cession of the territory for an electoral stronghold culminated in open revolt. Nevertheless, Frederick II prevailed, had the palace built and the citys rights decisively curtailed, in 1454 and 1455, he concluded the Treaties of Cölln and Mewe and thereby re-gained the Neumark from the Teutonic Order state. On 11 June 1441, Frederick II married Catherine of Saxony and they had four children, Dorothea of Brandenburg, married Duke John V of Saxe-Lauenburg on 12 February 1464. Margaret of Brandenburg, married Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania, johan of Brandenburg Erasmus von Brandenburg
31.
Ludwig Manzel
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Karl Ludwig Manzel was a German sculptor, painter and graphic artist. His father was a tailor and his mother was a midwife, the family moved twice, first to Boldekow then, in 1867, to Anklam where he attended the Gymnasium. It was there that he first expressed a desire to study art, in 1875, at the age of seventeen, he arrived in Berlin, penniless, with the intention of enrolling at the Prussian Academy of Arts. He supported his education by teaching drawing at an art school and providing illustrations to the magazines Ulk. Among his teachers at the Academy were Albert Wolff and Fritz Schaper, in 1889, he returned to Berlin, became a free-lance artist and developed a standing contract with the Imperial Family to produce busts and reliefs. His true breakthrough came in 1894, when he was commissioned to do figures for the Berlin Cathedral, in 1895, he became a member of the Academy and, the following year, a Professor at the Museum of Applied Arts. In 1903, he succeeded Reinhold Begas as head of the Masters Studio, perhaps his best-known student was Josef Thorak, one of the official sculptors of the Third Reich. He served two terms as President of the Academy, from 1912 to 1915 and from 1918 to 1920, in 1914, he was one of the signatories to the Manifesto of the Ninety-Three, a document supporting Germanys invasion of Belgium. He was a friend of both Kaiser Wilhelm II and Georg Wertheim, when the project was completed in 1905, the Wertheim Department Store obtained exclusive rights to sell the new products. In his final years, he turned to painting, producing altarpieces for churches in Charlottenburg. One of his last works was a medallion of Joseph Goebbels. His grave is decorated with a female head he sculpted at a stage of his career. 1894, Figures of the Apostles for the Berlin Cathedral,1898, A figure named Sedina, in a fountain which came to be known as the Manzelbrunnen. It was dismantled and melted for the copper in 1942, the fountain was later reconstructed with an anchor as the centerpiece. In 2012, the Szczecin City Council approved the re-establishment of a Sedina figure there,1906, Statue representing Labor, on the first floor landing of Wertheims department store, Leipziger Platz. 1912-1924, A monumental Christ-relief on the theme Come unto me, intended for a Protestant church in Gnesen, it could not be installed because that city was returned to Poland in 1920. Since 1932, it has been part of a memorial for F. W. Murnau in the Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf. In, Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, vol.24, E. A. Seemann, Leipzig 1930, pg.47 Julius Norden, Skulpturen von Ludwig Manzel
32.
Siegesallee
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The Siegesallee was a broad boulevard in Berlin, Germany. In 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered and financed the construction and expansion of an alley with a variety of marble statues. About 750 m in length, it ran northwards through the Tiergarten park from Kemperplatz, to the site of the Berlin Victory Column at the Königsplatz. Along its length the Siegesallee cut across the Charlottenburger Chausee, the marble monuments and the neobaroque ensemble were ridiculed even by its contemporaries. Berlin folkore dubbed the Kaiser Denkmalwilly for his excessive historicism, moves to have the statues demolished were thwarted after the end of the monarchy in 1919. The Siegessäule and the figures were moved by the Nazi government to the Große Stern in 1939 to allow for military parades. Some of the monuments were lost in the aftermath of the Second World War, the allied forces had the alley erased and the area replanted. The Soviet War Memorial was erected there, deliberately crossing the former Victor Avenue of its foes in an act immediately after the end of the war. Currently the remaining figures are being repaired and exhibited in Spandau and they will be part of the exhibition Enthüllt – Berlin und seine Denkmäler. The track itself has recently reconstructed as a footpath. It was on 27 January 1895, the 36th birthday of William II, German Emperor, dedicated on 18 December 1901, they consisted firstly of 32 main statues, each about 2. The whole construction was widely derided by art critics, and regarded by many Berliners as grossly over-indulgent and it was dubbed the Puppenallee, as well as the Avenue of the Puppets, Plaster Avenue, and other unsavoury titles. The term Puppen has been used before, even the Emperor’s own wife Augusta Viktoria, had reportedly been unhappy about it and had tried to persuade him not to go ahead with it, but all to no avail. Just one woman has been depicted, Elisabeth of Bavaria praying on her knees before her husband, the lack of women was already noted by the contemporaries. Some of the turned on the fact that Italian artisans in Berlin did the actual sculpting while artists of the Berliner Bildhauerschule just provided models in plaster or clay. Wilhelms opening speech, the infamous Rinnsteinrede, portrayed Modernism and Impressionism as a descent of art into the gutter, karl Scheffler wrote a devastating criticism in 1907, comparing the Siegesallee to an overly patriotic out of tune amateur brassband concerto. The Siegesallee was still a place to stroll or relax. The figures were used to teach the history of Brandenburg to pupils, a series of essays in a prestigious school, the Joachimsthalsche Gymnasium, reached the Kaiser
33.
Spandau Citadel
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The Spandau Citadel is a fortress in Berlin, Germany, one of the best-preserved Renaissance military structures of Europe. Built from 1559–94 atop a medieval fort on an island created by the meeting of the Havel and the Spree, it was designed to protect the town of Spandau, in recent years it has been used as a museum and has become a popular tourist spot. Italian architect Francesco Chiaramella de Gandino started to plan the citadel in 1557 and was replaced by his compatriot Rochus Graf zu Lynar one year later, with four bastions, symmetrically arranged and connected by curtain walls, the Spandau citadel is an ideal example of a 16th-century fortress. Due to the formation, there is no blind spot for enemies to hide. In 1580, first troops were assigned to the Spandau Citadel which was completed only in 1594, swedish troops were the first to besiege the citadel in 1675 and Napoleon was the first to conquer it in 1806. During the French attack it was almost completely destroyed and had to be restored, in 1935, a gas laboratory was installed for military research on nerve gas. Close to the end of the Second World War, during the battle in Berlin, although several hundred years old, the Citadels tracé à litalienne design made the structure difficult to storm. So instead of bombarding and storming the Citadel, the Soviets invested it, after the Second World War, the Spandau Citadel was first occupied by Soviet troops. With the division of Berlin, Spandau and its Citadel was part of the British sector, the citadel was used as a prison for Prussian state prisoners such as German nationalist Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. It was not used as the prison for National Socialist war criminals, the citadel is composed of different buildings all related to defence or representative housing. The gate house with a bridge used to hinder attackers to enter the citadel. The Gothic hall building palace was used as residential building, in the bastion Königin,70 medieval gravestones were found bearing witness of Jewish life in the important trade town and the function of the citadel as a refuge. Julius tower is Spandaus most famous sight, originally built as a keep or watchtower, it was also used as a residence tower. Its castellated top was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1838 and is an example of Romantic architecture. After the Franco-Prussian War 1870/71, part of the war reparations paid by France,120 million marks in gold coin, was stored at Julius tower until its restitution to France in 1919, the word Juliusturm has since been used in Germany for governmental budget surpluses. From 1950 to 1986, the citadel housed vocational school Otto Bartning, subsequently, more and more buildings were redesigned for museums and exhibition. Today, Spandau Citadel is famous for its open-air concerts during the Citadel Music Festival, scenes from the 1985 action film Gotcha. were filmed at and around Spandau Citadel
34.
Maddalena Visconti
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Maddalena Visconti was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. Maddalena was Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut by her marriage to Frederick, Duke of Bavaria, Maddalena was born in Milan and was the twelfth of seventeen children born to her parents. Maddalenas maternal grandparents were Mastino II della Scala and his wife Taddea da Carrara and her paternal grandparents were Stefano Visconti and his wife Valentina Doria. Her father, Bernabò was a cruel and ruthless despot, and he seized the papal city of Bologna, rejected the Pope and his authority, confiscated ecclesiastical property, and forbade any of his subjects to have any dealings with the Curia. He was excommunicated as a heretic in 1363 by Pope Urban V, when Bernabò was in one of his frequent rages, only Beatrice Regina was able to approach him. Maddalena married on 2 September 1381 Frederick, Duke of Bavaria and her father wanted to improve relations with Bavaria so married his three daughters, Maddalena, Elisabetta and Taddea to the three rival Dukes. Frederick had been married to Anna of Neuffen, with whom he had a daughter, Isabella of Bavaria. On Annas death, Frederick married Maddalena, the couple had five children, Henry XVI the Rich. Elisabeth, married to Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg, magdalene, married 1404 to Count Johann Meinhard VII of Görz. Maddalenas stepdaughter, Isabella was married to one of Maddalenas brother, Marco Visconti, from 1375 to 1392 Frederick ruled with his brothers Stephen III and John II, Maddalena therefore ruled as consort jointly with sister Taddea, but only for a few weeks, before Taddea died. John IIs wife was Catherine of Gorizia, it is unknown whether Maddalena, in 1387 Frederick imprisoned the archbishop of Salzburg to force him to finish his alliance with a confederation of cities in Swabia. Frederick was an advisor of King Wenceslaus in legal affairs and a candidate for the kings succession when he died at Budweis already in 1393. He was succeeded in Bavaria-Landshut by his son with Maddalena, Henry, Henry inherited not only the black hair of Maddalena but also the despotic temperament of her family, the Visconti. Henry oppressed very cruelly uprisings of the citizenry of Landshut in 1410 and fought successfully against his cousin Louis VII the Bearded and he united Louis’ enemies in the Parakeet Society of 1414 and the League of Constance of 1415. Maddalena died in Burghausen, Bavaria on 17 July 1404 and she is buried at Raitenhaslach Monastery
