{{Use dmy dates, date=September 2011 ''Flurzwang'' is the German term for the obligation to participate in open field cultivation in Europe in former times. The owners of farmland and the lord of the manor ordered the cultivation of individual pieces of agricultural land in the community in areas using the three year

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

system, which was used between the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

until about the middle of the 19th century, or even much longer in some places. It typically resulted in dispersal of the ownership of property over the entire land of the community, the so-called ''Gemengelage'' (mixed location).

Objective

The aim was to prevent a farmer or property owner from gaining an advantage by harvesting earlier or cultivating other produce from what had previously been agreed upon. The agreements were also supposed to prevent damages to the land due to people walking or even driving onto the fields. In addition, they were to prevent theft of vegetables or other produce. As part of ''Flurzwang'', land owners had to relinquish part of their land for pathways when the land was developed. Fenced fields were exempted from ''Flurzwang'' and special crops could also be grown on them. This was the case for wine growing, for instance. The owner of such a field had to pay compensation to the other farmers.

Obligations

Each farmer had to obey the agreed upon sequence for the crops in the crop rotation system and also the agreed upon times for the work (plowing, sowing and harvesting). Otherwise, it would have been necessary for a farmer to drive his wagon over neighboring fields to reach his own fields. No one could disobey these rules. The chairman of a farmers cooperative or of a village who was in charge of the ''Flurzwang'' was called ''Schulze''.

End of ''Flurzwang''

''Flurzwang'' became questionable for the landowners affected after the introduction of

clover Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...

farming and later potato and

beet The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

farming. It was finally abolished during the liberation of the farmers, which happened in Germany, Switzerland and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

as a result of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

from approximately 1803 to 1850. History of agriculture