Old Württemberg (german: link=no, Altwürttemberg) was the princely territory of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

prior to the imperial treaty or ''

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

'' of 1803, as opposed to the New Württemberg which followed and which acquired a large number of additional territories – especially to the east and south of Old Württemberg.

Geographic structure

Old Württemberg was made up of those regions that had belonged to the

Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg (german: Herzogtum Württemberg) was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries ...

prior to 1803. These included the former

County of Württemberg The County of Württemberg was a historical territory with origins in the realm of the House of Württemberg, the heart of the old Duchy of Swabia. Its capital was Stuttgart. From the 12th century until 1495, it was a county within the Holy Rom ...

in the heartland on the Middle Neckar and the additional territories it had gained: the counties of

Calw Calw (; previously pronounced and sometimes spelled ''Kalb'' accordingly) is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital and largest town of the district Calw. It is located in the Northern Black Forest and is a ...

, Mömpelgard,

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

, Urach and Vaihingen, the baronies of Heidenheim and

Teck Teck may refer to: * Teck Castle (Burg Teck) in Württemberg, Germany * Teckberg, mountain on which it is located * Duke of Teck, a title of nobility, associated with Teck Castle * Teck Railway, Germany * Teck Resources, a Canadian mining company ...

, the inherited ''Reichslehen'' or

imperial fief Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...

Grüningen Grüningen is a town and municipality in the district of Hinwil in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, notable for its well-preserved historic nucleus. History Grüningen is first mentioned in 1243 as ''apud Gruningin''. The village of Itziko ...

, and numerous smaller lordships as well as the many ecclesial territories, that Dukes

Ulrich Ulrich (), is a German given name, derived from Old High German ''Uodalrich'', ''Odalric''. It is composed of the elements '' uodal-'' meaning "(noble) heritage" and ''-rich'' meaning "rich, powerful". Attested from the 8th century as the name of Al ...

and

Christoph Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

had seized and secularised in the wake of

the Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Independent "islands" on Württemberg soil were the imperial towns of

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Mid ...

, Esslingen,

Weil der Stadt Weil der Stadt is a town of about 19,000 inhabitants in the Stuttgart Region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is about west of Stuttgart city centre, in the valley of the River Würm, and is often called the "Gate to the Black Fore ...

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818. Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...

, and the expansive

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

on the southeastern edge as well as several secular lordships whose locations are marked by Georg Gadner on his overview map of 1596 as red dots. Until 1803 Württemberg was one of the few

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

territories that had a seat and vote in the Circle of Swabia.

Political structure

There had been a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in Tubingen since 1477. Its founder, Count

Eberhard im Bart Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

, was elevated to a duke in 1495. Following the

Poor Conrad The Poor Conrad (german: Armer Konrad, also ''Armer Kunz'') was the name of several secret peasants' leagues, which in 1514 revolted against the rule of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg. The rebels adopted the term used by the nobility to mock them, me ...

uprising, the 1514

Treaty of Tübingen The Treaty of Tübingen was a treaty signed in the Duchy of Württemberg between its Duke, Ulrich, and the Estates of Württemberg. The treaty concluded the Poor Conrad revolt against Ulrich and annulled his recent taxes on the populace of the D ...

came into force, which was intended to influence the constitution of Württemberg for centuries. For example, until 1805 the Duchy had a parliamentary assembly dominated by

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

s and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

s that restricted the rights and fiscal policies of the duke, however since the Reformation there had been no political forum (such as the ''

Landstände The ''Landstände'' (singular ''Landstand'') or ''Landtage'' (singular ''Landtag'') were the various territorial estates or diets in the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages and the early modern period, as opposed to their respective territorial ...

'') of organised nobility, because the former estate-owning aristocracy had largely remained Roman Catholic, had placed themselves directly under the Holy Roman Emperor as

imperial knight The Free Imperial knights (german: link=no, Reichsritter la, Eques imperii) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility (''edelfrei'') and the ministeri ...

s and no longer saw themselves owing

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...

to the Duke of Württemberg. From 1803 to the final dissolution of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

in 1806 there was, for a short time, an independent state of New Württemberg with its governmental seat in

Ellwangen Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen (Jagst), in common use simply Ellwangen () is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated about north of Aalen. Ellwangen has 25,000 inhabitants. ...

, in which the ''

'' or the ''Ständeversammlung'' (parliamentary assembly) of Old Württemberg had no voice. Both states were ruled by Prince-Elector and Duke

Frederick I of Württemberg , image = Seele-Friedrich I..jpg , caption = Portrait by Johann Baptist Seele , birth_date = , birth_place = Treptow an der Rega, Prussia (now Trzebiatów, Poland) , death_date = , death_place = Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württem ...

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

, until they were amalgamated into a kingdom by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and thus the burdensome estates constitution of Old Württemberg could be officially revoked.Walter Grube: ''Stände in Württemberg''. In: ''Von der Ständeversammlung zum demokratischen Parlament''. Theiss, Stuttgart, 1982, pp. 49f. The political differentiation between Old and New Württemberg now became obsolete, but was occasionally still used to make a regional distinction. For example, in the 20th century the name of Old Württemberg surfaced in the naming of the electricity supplier, ''Kraftwerk Altwürttemberg'' or i.e. "Old Württemberg Power Station", and in the ''Bezirksbaugenossenschaft Altwürttemberg'' ("Old Württemberg District Construction Cooperative"). The '' Altwürttemberger'' is also a breed of horse that is threatened by extinction today.

Literature

* Walter Grube: ''Stände in Württemberg''. In: ''Von der Ständeversammlung zum demokratischen Parlament''. Theiss, Stuttgart, 1982, pp. 31–50 * Wolfgang von Hippel: ''Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte'' In: ''Handbuch der Baden-Württembergischen Geschichte. Dritter Band.'' pp. 486, 519, 722 * Bernhard Mann: ''Württemberg 1800 bis 1866.'' In: ''Handbuch der Baden-Württembergischen Geschichte. Dritter Band. Vom Ende des alten Reiches bis zum Ende der Monarchien'' Ernst Klett, Stuttgart, 1992, , pp. 241 ff., 246–251, 254–256, 265–266, 269–275, 287, 295, 330 * Dieter Mertens: ''Württemberg.'' In: ''Handbuch der Baden-Württembergischen Geschichte. Zweiter Band. Die Territorien im alten Reich.'' Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart, 1995, , pp. 1–163

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Wurttemberg Duchy of Württemberg Geography of Baden-Württemberg