Münzstraße
Burgfreiheit or Schlossfreiheit was a
quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25.
Quarter or quarters may refer to:
Places
* Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town
Placenames
* Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland
* Le Quartier, a settlement ...
of
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Its territory is now part of
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
History
Burgfreiheit extended north of
Königsberg Castle
The Königsberg Castle (german: Königsberger Schloss, russian: Кёнигсбергский замок, Konigsbergskiy zamok) was a castle in Königsberg, Germany (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia), and was one of the landmarks of the East Prussian ...
on both sides of the
Schlossteich, and was outside of Königsberg's three constituent towns,
Altstadt
''Altstadt'' is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ''Alt ...
,
Löbenicht View of Löbenicht from the Pregel, including its church and gymnasium, as well as the nearby Propsteikirche
Löbenicht ( lt, Lyvenikė; pl, Lipnik) was a quarter of central Königsberg, Germany. During the Middle Ages it was the weakest of ...
, and
Kneiphof
Coat of arms of Kneiphof
Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse
Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum
Kneiphof (russian: Кнайпхоф; pl, Knipawa; lt, Knypava) was a quarter of central Königsberg (Kaliningrad). During the M ...
. Bordering quarters were
Steindamm to the west,
Tragheim Tragheim was a quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia.
History
Tragheim was first documented in 1299, but probably already existed as an Old Prussian farming village in 1255 when the Teutonic Kni ...
to the north,
Rossgarten Rossgarten's marketplace, the Roßgärter Markt
Rossgarten (german: Roßgarten) was a quarter of northeastern Königsberg, Germany. It was also occasionally known as Altrossgarten (''Altroßgarten'') to differentiate it from Neurossgarten in north ...
to the northeast,
Neue Sorge Königstraße
Neue Sorge, also known as Königstraße or Königstrasse after its main boulevard, was a quarter of eastern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Leningradsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia.
Etymology
The origina ...
to the east, Löbenicht to the southeast, and the castle to the south.
Documented in 1255, Burgfreiheit was inhabited by noble officials and craftsmen
[Mühlpfordt, p. 35] in the vicinity of
the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
' castle (''Burg''). It was one of the castle's ''
Freiheiten'', suburbs with special rights. During the Teutonic era, Burgfreiheit also included mills, a court, the servants' infirmary, and two churches. Ca. 1500 it was defended by city walls. During the
ducal era, it fell under the jurisdiction of the
Oberburggraf residing in the castle.
Most of Königsberg's
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
adherents lived in Burgfreiheit; the
Burgkirche was constructed in the 1690s. Reformed students attended the
Burgschule school. In 1680 or 1682
Frederick William, the Great Elector, allowed the city's Jewish residents to rent space for prayer at the Eulenburgsches Haus (later Hotel Deutsches Haus) on Burgfreiheit's Kehrwiederstraße (later Theaterstraße).
In 1701 the mostly Protestant burghers of Burgfreiheit petitioned the newly crowned King
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...
to raise the district to the status of a proposed fourth town known as Friedrich(s)stadt
or König(s)stadt. They also requested a coat of arms depicting a hand descending from the heavens holding a crown, flanked by a star and a blue cross; the imagery was taken from Frederick's
Order of the Black Eagle
The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...
. The burghers' petitions were defeated by opposition from the other three towns' councils and a bribe of 200 ducats from
Wartenberg.
Altstadt, Löbenicht, Kneiphof, and their respective suburbs were merged to form the united city of Königsberg in 1724. However, Königsberg Castle and its suburbs, including Burgfreiheit, were included within the new city limits but remained under royal, not municipal, control. Burgfreiheit was finally merged into the city during the ''
Städteordnung'' of
Stein
Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to:
Places In Austria
* Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austr ...
on 19 November 1808 during the era of
Prussian reforms
The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August ...
. After recognizing the reorganization, King
Frederick William III
Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...
relinquished Burgfreiheit from crown land on 4 November 1809.
Burgfreiheit was heavily damaged by the 1944
Bombing of Königsberg
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
and 1945
Battle of Königsberg
The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussia ...
. Buildings which survived
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
were subsequently demolished by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Places
Streets and squares in Burgfreiheit included:
[Frischbier, p. 515]
*Münzplatz, where the mint was located, and Münzstraße
*Junkerstraße, where court attendants and
Junker
Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...
s lived
*Theaterstraße, formerly known as Kehrwiederstraße and once derogatorily known as Arschkerbe because of its street gutter
*Französische Straße, formerly Burggasse, where many French Huguenot refugees allegedly settled after the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
*Burgkirchenplatz, which included the Protestant
Burgkirche
*
Paradeplatz
Paradeplatz is a square on Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland and has become synonymous with wealth and the Swiss banks, being the location of the headquarters ...
and the Königsgarten
*Kasernengasse, formerly Stallengasse, where courtiers were granted stables
*Prinzessinstraße (later part of Kantstraße), where court ladies resided
Notes
References
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{{Authority control
1255 establishments in Europe
Former subdivisions of Königsberg
Populated places established in the 13th century