A ''Freiheit'' (
German for liberty or freedom; plural ''Freiheiten'') was a
quarter of medieval
Königsberg,
Prussia. All land surrounding Königsberg belonged to the
Teutonic Knights, aside from specific tracts allocated to Königsberg's constituent towns or castle. The tracts, originally pastures and farmland, developed into suburbs subordinate in administrative, judicial, religious, and educational matters.
The ''Freiheiten'' of
Königsberg Castle included
Burgfreiheit Münzstraße
Burgfreiheit or Schlossfreiheit was a quarter of Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia.
History
Burgfreiheit extended north of Königsberg Castle on both sides of the Schlossteich, and was outside o ...
,
Neue Sorge,
Rossgarten,
Sackheim, and
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 ...
. The highest authority over these suburbs was the castle's
Oberburggraf.
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 ...
's ''Freiheiten'' included
Laak,
Lastadie,
Neurossgarten, and
Steindamm. They were subordinate to the town council of Altstadt. The island town of
Kneiphof controlled
Vorstadt
In German, a Vorstadt is an area of a city that is outside the Altstadt (city center) but tightly connected to it and densely populated, thus distinguishing itself from a ''Vorort'' (suburb).
Historically, a ''Vorstadt'' ("suburb" in German) was ...
and
Haberberg, while
Löbenicht controlled only the small districts Anger and Stegen.
By the ''Rathäusliche Reglement'' of 13 June 1724, King
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuch ...
merged Altstadt, Löbenicht, Kneiphof, and their respective suburbs into the united city of Königsberg. Königsberg Castle and its suburbs remained separate until the ''
Städteordnung'' of
Stein on 19 November 1808 during the era of
Prussian reforms.
[Gause II, p. 334]
Notes
References
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Former subdivisions of Königsberg
{{Germany-hist-stub