The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages . There were many such viae regiae associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire .
142-729: The Via Regia ran west–east through the centre of the Holy Roman Empire , from the Rhine at Mainz-Kastel ( Elisabethenstraße ) to Frankfurt am Main, trade city and site of the election of the King of the Romans , continuing along Hanau , the Kaiserpfalz at Gelnhausen , the towns of Steinau an der Straße , Neuhof , Fulda and Eisenach to Erfurt , a centre of woad production. It ran further eastwards to Eckartsberga , crossing
284-732: A "Byzantine-like presidency over a family of nations, centred on pope and emperor in Rome". This has proved a lasting achievement. Otto's early death though made his reign "the tale of largely unrealized potential". Henry II died in 1024 and Conrad II , first of the Salian dynasty , was elected king only after some debate among dukes and nobles. This group eventually developed into the college of electors . The Holy Roman Empire eventually came to be composed of four kingdoms: Kings often employed bishops in administrative affairs and often determined who would be appointed to ecclesiastical offices. In
426-745: A 1031 campaign by Emperor Conrad II in favour of the Saxon German rulers of the Meissen House of Wettin and the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg , who purchased the March of (Lower) Lusatia in 1303. In 1367 the Brandenburg elector Otto V of Wittelsbach finally sold Lower Lusatia to King Karel of Bohemia , thereby becoming a Bohemian crown land . As Margrave Egbert II of Meissen supported anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden during
568-649: A Lusatian Land within the Federal Republic of Germany failed after German reunification in 1990. The constitutions of Saxony and Brandenburg guarantee cultural rights, but not autonomy, to the Sorbs. More than 80,000 of the Sorbian Slavic minority continue to live in the region. Historically, their ancestors are West-Slavic-speaking tribes such as the Milceni , who settled in the region between
710-485: A compromise candidate. Henry VII was crowned king at Aachen on 6 January 1309, and emperor by Pope Clement V on 29 June 1312 in Rome, ending the interregnum. During the 13th century, a general structural change in how land was administered prepared the shift of political power toward the rising bourgeoisie at the expense of the aristocratic feudalism that would characterize the Late Middle Ages . The rise of
852-665: A document in 1474. The adoption of this new name coincided with the loss of imperial territories in Italy and Burgundy to the south and west by the late 15th century, but also to emphasize the new importance of the German Imperial Estates in ruling the Empire due to the Imperial Reform . The Hungarian denomination "German Roman Empire" ( Hungarian : Német-római Birodalom ) is the shortening of this. By
994-552: A far-reaching constitutional act. Frederick's policies were primarily directed at Italy, where he clashed with the free-minded cities of the north, especially the Duchy of Milan . He also embroiled himself in another conflict with the Papacy by supporting a candidate elected by a minority against Pope Alexander III (1159–1181). Frederick supported a succession of antipopes before finally making peace with Alexander in 1177. In Germany,
1136-488: A gradual development of the imperial role. While the office of emperor had been reestablished, the exact term for his realm as the "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until the 13th century, although the emperor's theoretical legitimacy from the beginning rested on the concept of translatio imperii , that he held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome . Nevertheless, in the Holy Roman Empire,
1278-773: A hatowa krajina ) is the region richest in ponds in Germany, and together with the Lower Lusatian Pond Landscape forms the biggest pond landscape in Central Europe. According to the earliest records, the area was settled by culturally Celtic tribes. Later, around 100 BC, the Germanic Semnones settled in that area. The name of the region may be derived from that of the Ligians . From around 600 onwards, West Slavic tribes known as
1420-726: A hilly southern "upper" section and a "lower" region, which belongs to the North European Plain . The border between Upper and Lower Lusatia is roughly marked by the course of the Black Elster river at Senftenberg and its eastern continuation toward the Silesian town of Przewóz on the Lusatian Neisse. Neighbouring regions were Silesia in the east, Bohemia in the south, the Margraviate of Meissen , and
1562-575: A land connection between their Saxon homelands and the Polish territories. Two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the region in the 18th century and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled the routes. Numerous Polish dignitaries also traveled through Lusatia on several occasions, and some Polish nobles owned estates in Lusatia. A distinct remnant of
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#17327660578341704-415: A legal system of jurisdiction and public prosecution of criminal acts – a predecessor of the modern concept of rule of law . Another new concept of the time was the systematic founding of new cities by the emperor and by the local dukes. These were partly a result of the explosion in population; they also concentrated economic power at strategic locations. Before this, cities had only existed in
1846-600: A public ban and the confiscation of all Henry's territories. In 1190, Frederick participated in the Third Crusade , dying in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia . During the Hohenstaufen period, German princes facilitated a successful, peaceful eastward settlement of lands that were uninhabited or inhabited sparsely by West Slavs . German-speaking farmers, traders, and craftsmen from the western part of
1988-523: A remarkable change in terminology as well. the Statutum affirmed a division of labor between the emperor and the princes and laid much groundwork for the development of particularism in Germany. Even so, from 1232 the vassals of the emperor had a veto over imperial legislative decisions and any new law established by the emperor had to be approved by the princes. These provisions not withstanding, royal power in Germany remained strong under Frederick and by
2130-426: A series of revolts from a younger brother and from several dukes. After that, the king managed to control the appointment of dukes and often also employed bishops in administrative affairs. He replaced leaders of most of the major East Frankish duchies with his own relatives. At the same time, he was careful to prevent members of his own family from making infringements on his royal prerogatives. In 951, Otto came to
2272-734: A special mixture of herbs and spices) are often associated with the Sorbs even though the cucumbers themselves were introduced by Dutch migrants, who started to pickle them for higher durability. Soon Sorbs adopted the pickling and might have changed the recipes slightly over time. The traditional Sorbian costumes are still to be worn in the Spreewald region even though mainly in the tourism industry. Recently, some women started to revive traditional clothes by using them as wedding dresses, even though this practise differs from original traditions. Percentage of Sorbs : Total number: 93,032 The percentage of Serbs (Sorbs) in Lusatia has decreased since
2414-732: 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 (or Ottonian) dynasty , would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom or the Kingdom of Germany for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowler's death, Otto , his son and designated successor, was elected king in Aachen in 936. He overcame
2556-598: Is Dresden Airport in Klotzsche ( Kłóčow ). The largest Lusatian city is Cottbus ( Chóśebuz ), with nearly 100,000 inhabitants. Other notable towns are the former members of the Lusatian League : the German/Polish twin towns of Görlitz ( Zhorjelc ) and Zgorzelec , Bautzen ( Budyšin ), Zittau ( Žitawa ), Lubań , Kamenz ( Kamjenc ), and Löbau ( Lubij )), as well as Żary ,
2698-559: Is Europe's largest artificial lake district. The village of Herrnhut ( Ochranow ) is the seat of the Moravian Church . Muskau Park in Bad Muskau ( Mužakow ) and Łęknica is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The Tropical Islands Resort , a large water park housed in a former airship hangar that is the biggest free-standing hall in the world, is located in the north of Lusatia. The closest international airport to Lusatia
2840-620: Is a historical region in Central Europe , territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland . Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Pulsnitz and Black Elster rivers in the west, and is located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Polish voivodeships of Lower Silesia and Lubusz . Major rivers of Lusatia are
2982-405: Is called Lower Lusatia ( Niederlausitz, Łużyce Dolne or Dolna Łužyca ) and is characterized by forests and meadows. In the course of much of the 19th and the entire 20th century, it was shaped by the lignite industry and extensive open-pit mining. Important towns include Cottbus , Eisenhüttenstadt , Lübben , Lübbenau , Spremberg , Finsterwalde , Senftenberg (Zły Komorow), and Żary , which
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#17327660578343124-484: Is currently the main language for a few hundred Lusatian children. There is a daily newspaper in the Sorbian language ( Serbske Nowiny ); a Sorbian radio station (Serbski Rozhłós) uses local frequencies of two otherwise German-speaking radio stations for several hours a day. There are very limited programmes on television (once a month) in Sorbian on two regional television stations ( RBB and MDR TV). In 2020, despite
3266-532: Is now considered the capital of Polish Lusatia. Between Upper and Lower Lusatia is a region called the Grenzwall , literally meaning "border dyke", although it is in fact a morainic ridge. In the Middle Ages this area had dense forests, so it represented a major obstacle to civilian and military traffic. Some of the region's villages were damaged or destroyed by the open-pit lignite mining industry during
3408-465: Is the subject of debates: on one hand, it helped to restore peace in the lands of the Empire, that had been engulfed in civil conflicts after the end of the Hohenstaufen era; on the other hand, the "blow to central authority was unmistakable". Thomas Brady Jr. opines that Charles IV's intention was to end contested royal elections (from the Luxembourghs' perspective, they also had the advantage that
3550-517: Is unlikely that a particularly "strong ruler" such as Frederick II would have even pragmatically agreed to legislation that was truly concessionary rather than cooperative, neither would the princes have insisted on such. The Mainz Landfriede or Constitutio Pacis , decreed at the Imperial Diet of 1235, became one of the basic laws of the empire and provided that the princes should share the burden of local government in Germany. The authority of
3692-670: The Baltic Sea , the North Sea and along the connected navigable rivers. Each of the affiliated cities retained the legal system of its sovereign and, with the exception of the Free imperial cities , had only a limited degree of political autonomy. By the late 14th century, the powerful league enforced its interests with military means, if necessary. This culminated in a war with the sovereign Kingdom of Denmark from 1361 to 1370. The league declined after 1450. The difficulties in electing
3834-703: The Bohemian Crown in Upper Lusatia, the Saxon electors , the Abbey of Fulda , and the Archbishopric of Mainz and was chartered through tolling. Also the branch-off from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne via Wetzlar was called Hohe Straße . The road had a large economic significance for interregional trade and bartering. From the west came Flemish blankets, from the east wood, pelts, wax and honey, and
3976-750: The Bundesstraße 7 (B7); between Eckartsberga and Leipzig by the B87; and between Leipzig and Görlitz by the Bundesstraße 6 (B6) and eastwards to Kraków by the Polish national road 94. In Hanau the Birkenhainer Strasse branches off the Via Regia crossing the Spessart mountain range towards Gemünden am Main in Franconia, also as a high road. The Council of Europe awarded the Via Regia
4118-583: The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg in the west as well as the Margraviate of Brandenburg ( Mittelmark ) in the north. Upper Lusatia ( Oberlausitz , Łużyce Górne or Hornja Łužica ) is today part of the German state of Saxony, except for a small part east of the Neisse River around Lubań , which now belongs to the Polish Lower Silesian voivodeship. It consists of hilly countryside rising in
4260-665: The Holy Roman Empire , while the adjacent Northern March again got lost in the Slavic uprising of 983. The later Upper Lusatian region of the Milceni lands up to the Silesian border at the Kwisa river at first was part of the Margraviate of Meissen under Margrave Eckard I . At the same time the Polan duke of the later Kingdom of Poland raised claims to the Lusatian lands and upon
4402-607: The Investiture Controversy , King Henry IV of Germany in 1076 awarded the Milceni lands of Upper Lusatia as a fief to the Bohemian duke Vratislav II . After Emperor Frederick Barbarossa had elevated Duke Vladislaus II to the rank of a King of Bohemia in 1158, the Upper Lusatian lands around Bautzen evolved into a Bohemian crown land . Around 1200, large numbers of German settlers came to Lusatia in
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4544-563: The Margraviate of Brandenburg in the following years. From 1368, it was entirely part of the Bohemian Crown. In 1346 six Upper Lusatian cities formed the Lusatian League to resist the constant attacks conducted by robber barons . The association supported King Sigismund in the Hussite Wars leading to armed attacks and devastation. The cities were represented in the (Upper) Lusatian Landtag assembly, where they met with
4686-529: The Milceni and Lusici settled permanently in the region. In the 10th century, the region came under the influence of the Kingdom of Germany , starting with the 928 eastern campaigns of King Henry the Fowler . Until 963 the Lusatian tribes were subdued by the Saxon margrave Gero and upon his death two years later, the March of Lusatia was established on the territory of today's Lower Lusatia and remained with
4828-742: The Prussians in 1226. The monastic state of the Teutonic Order ( Deutschordensstaat ) and its later German successor state of the Duchy of Prussia was never part of the Holy Roman Empire. Under the son and successor of Frederick Barbarossa, Henry VI , the Hohenstaufen dynasty reached its apex, with the addition of the Norman kingdom of Sicily through the marriage of Henry VI and Constance of Sicily . Bohemia and Poland were under feudal dependence, while Cyprus and Lesser Armenia also paid homage. The Iberian-Moroccan caliph accepted his claims over
4970-816: The Quitzdorf Dam was created to provide enough process water for the Boxberg Power Station , the Spremberg Dam was primarily planned for flood protection in the lake district, but was also used for process water for power plants. The Bautzen Reservoir was also artificially created in order to be able to continuously supply the Boxberg Power Station with water. The ponds of the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve, which are also located in
5112-707: The Republic of Poland along the Oder–Neisse line . Poland's communist government expelled all remaining Germans and Sorbs from the area east of the Neisse river in 1945 and 1946 in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. The Lusatian National Committee in Prague claimed the right to self-government and separation from Germany and the creation of a Lusatian Free State or attachment to Czechoslovakia . The majority of
5254-469: The Saale river between Bad Kösen and Naumburg and reached Leipzig , another trade city. The eastern part continued through Upper Lusatia ( Via Regia Lusatiae Superioris ) along Großenhain , Königsbrück , Kamenz , Bautzen and Görlitz to Wrocław in Silesia with further connection to Kraków in Poland . The road was first mentioned as strata regia in a document issued by Margrave Henry III of Meissen in 1252, while its origins date back to
5396-514: The Sixth Crusade in 1228, which ended in negotiations and a temporary restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . For his many-sided activities, prestige, and dynamic personality Frederick II has been called the greatest of all the medieval German emperors. In the Kingdom of Sicily and much of Italy, Frederick built upon the work of his Norman predecessors and forged an early absolutist state bound together by an efficient secular bureaucracy. Despite his imperial prestige and power, Frederick II's rule
5538-470: The Slavic Sorbs , one of Germany’s four officially recognized indigenous ethnic minorities . The Upper Sorbs inhabit Saxon Upper Lusatia, and the Lower Sorbs Brandenburgian Lower Lusatia. Upper and Lower Sorbian are spoken in the German parts of Upper and Lower Lusatia respectively, and the signage there is mostly bilingual. Throughout history, the region has been ruled variously by Poland , Bohemia , Germany and Hungary . The Lusatian Lake District
5680-415: The Spree and the Lusatian Neisse , which defines the border between Germany and Poland. The Lusatian Mountains of the Western Sudetes separate Lusatia from Bohemia ( Czech Republic ) in the south. Lusatia is traditionally divided into Upper Lusatia , the hilly southern part, and Lower Lusatia , the flat northern part. The areas east and west along the Spree in the German part of Lusatia are home to
5822-422: The cities and the emergence of the new burgher class eroded the societal, legal and economic order of feudalism. Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute to their landlords. The concept of property began to replace more ancient forms of jurisdiction, although they were still very much tied together. In the territories (not at the level of the Empire), power became increasingly bundled: whoever owned
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5964-414: The patriarch of Constantinople . Charlemagne's good service to the Church in his defense of Papal possessions against the Lombards made him the ideal candidate. 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. This can be seen as symbolic of the papacy turning away from the declining Byzantine Empire toward
6106-414: The "Long Hesse " road to Marburg and Cologne. Testimonies of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela are known from Großenhain, Leipzig, Erfurt, Gotha , Vacha , Fulda, Frankfurt am Main and Mainz. The road was repeatedly used by armies. Some large battles came to pass in its catchment area (e.g. Breitenfeld 1631, Lützen 1632, Rossbach 1757, Hochkirch 1758, and Jena-Auerstedt 1806 as well as
6248-415: The 1240s the crown was still rich in fiscal resources, land holdings, retinues, and all other rights, revenues, and jurisdictions. Frederick II used the political loyalty and practical jurisdictions granted to the higher German aristocracy to impose peace, order, and justice upon Germany. The jurisdictional autarky of the German princes was favoured by the crown itself in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in
6390-450: The 1930s by some 550 Poles. In the interbellum, the German government carried out a massive campaign of changing of place names in Lusatia in order to erase traces of Slavic origin, and while most of the historic names were restored after World War II , some were retained. This era came to an end during the Nazi regime in Germany, when all Sorbian organizations were abolished and forbidden, newspapers and magazines closed, and any use of
6532-476: The 8th and 9th centuries. After the downfall of the Imperial power in Central Germany in favour of the Saxon House of Wettin following the 1307 Battle of Lucka , the road lost its royal status and from the 14th century this route could no longer really be spoken of as a "Via Regia". Nevertheless, the important section of the road between Frankfurt and Leipzig continued to exist under the name Hohe Straße ("High Road"). It remained under sovereign control of e.g.
6674-427: The Bald ) and then the eastern ( Charles the Fat ), who briefly reunited the Empire, attaining the prize. In the 9th century, Charlemagne and his successors promoted the intellectual revival, known as the Carolingian Renaissance . Some, like Mortimer Chambers, opine that the Carolingian Renaissance made possible the subsequent renaissances (even though by the early 10th century, the revival already diminished). After
6816-457: The Battles of Bautzen , Lützen (Großgörschen) and Leipzig in 1813). After the final defeat of Napoleon , the significance of the road declined, since, as a result of the reduction of the Kingdom of Saxony by large parts of its Lusatian territories at the Congress of Vienna , the toll on behalf of Leipzig was no longer continued. Parts of the historic Via Regia route are today marked by major national roads: between Eisenach and Erfurt by
6958-436: The Burgundian territories lost to France . Although the Italian territories were formally part of the empire, the territories were ignored in the Imperial Reform and splintered into numerous de facto independent territorial entities. The status of Italy in particular varied throughout the 16th to 18th centuries. Some territories like Piedmont-Savoy became increasingly independent, while others became more dependent due to
7100-436: The Carolingian king Louis the Child died without issue in 911, East Francia did not turn to the Carolingian ruler of West Francia to take over the realm but instead elected one of the dukes, Conrad of Franconia , as Rex Francorum Orientalium . On his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony ( r. 919–936 ), who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached
7242-410: The DDR era. Some, now exhausted, former open-pit mines are now being converted into artificial lakes, with the hope of attracting holiday-makers, and the area is now being referred to as the Lusatian Lake District . As Lusatia is not, and never has been, a single administrative unit, Upper and Lower Lusatia have different, but in some respects similar, histories. The city of Cottbus is the largest in
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#17327660578347384-420: The Elbe and the Saale. Many still speak their language (though numbers are dwindling and especially Lower Sorbian is considered endangered), and road signs are usually bilingual . However, the number of all the inhabitants of this part of eastern Saxony is declining rapidly – by 20% in the last 10 to 15 years. Sorbs make efforts to protect their traditional culture manifested in the traditional folk costumes and
7526-417: The Emperor's legitimacy always rested on the concept of translatio imperii , that he held supreme power inherited from the ancient emperors of Rome . In a decree following the Diet of Cologne in 1512, the name was changed to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation ( German : Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation , Latin : Sacrum Imperium Romanum Nationis Germanicae ), a form first used in
7668-426: The Empire were gradually reduced. Charles IV set Prague to be the seat of the Holy Roman emperor. After the death of Frederick II in 1250, Conrad IV , Frederick's son (died 1254), enjoyed a strong position having defeated his papal-backed rival anti-king , William of Holland (died 1256). However, Conrad's death was followed by the Interregnum , during which no king could achieve universal recognition, allowing
7810-491: The Empire, both Christians and Jews, moved into these areas. The gradual Germanization of these lands was a complex phenomenon that should not be interpreted in the biased terms of 19th-century nationalism . The eastward settlement expanded the influence of the empire to include Pomerania and Silesia , as did the intermarriage of the local, still mostly Slavic, rulers with German spouses. The Teutonic Knights were invited to Prussia by Duke Konrad of Masovia to Christianize
7952-422: The Franks and began an extensive expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, the Low Countries and beyond, linking the Frankish kingdom with Papal lands. Although antagonism about the expense of Byzantine domination had long persisted within Italy, a political rupture was set in motion in earnest in 726 by the iconoclasm of Emperor Leo III
8094-429: The German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe , usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor . It developed in the Early Middle Ages and lasted for almost a thousand years until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars . On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned Frankish king Charlemagne as Roman emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe more than three centuries after
8236-475: The German/Polish twin towns of Guben ( Gubin ) and Gubin , Hoyerswerda ( Wojerecy ), Senftenberg ( Zły Komorow ), Eisenhüttenstadt ( Pśibrjog ), and Spremberg ( Grodk ). The name derives from the Sorbian word łužicy meaning "swamps" or "water-hole", Germanized as Lausitz . Lusatia is the Latinized form which spread in the English and Romance languages area. Lusatia comprises two both scenically and historically different parts:
8378-453: The Germans and capturing the region. In Horka , on April 26, 1945, the Germans carried out a massacre of a field hospital column of the 9th Polish Armored Division , killing some 300 POWs, mostly wounded soldiers and medical personnel (see German atrocities committed against Polish prisoners of war ). After World War II according to the Potsdam Agreement , Lusatia was divided between Allied-occupied Germany ( Soviet occupation zone ) and
8520-444: The Holy Roman emperor seized the city. Otto died young in 1002, and was succeeded by his cousin Henry II , who focused on Germany. Otto III's (and his mentor Pope Sylvester's) diplomatic activities coincided with and facilitated the Christianization and the spread of Latin culture in different parts of Europe. They coopted a new group of nations (Slavic) into the framework of Europe, with their empire functioning, as some remark, as
8662-403: The Isaurian , in what Pope Gregory II saw as the latest in a series of imperial heresies. In 797, the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VI was removed from the throne by his mother, Empress Irene , who declared herself sole ruler. As the Latin Church only regarded a male Roman emperor as the head of Christendom , Pope Leo III sought a new candidate for the dignity, excluding consultation with
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#17327660578348804-503: The King of Bohemia had a permanent and preeminent status as one of the Electors himself). At the same time, he built up Bohemia as the Luxembourghs' core land of the Empire and their dynastic base. His reign in Bohemia is often considered the land's Golden Age. According to Brady Jr. though, under all the glitter, one problem arose: the government showed an inability to deal with the German immigrant waves into Bohemia, thus leading to religious tensions and persecutions. The imperial project of
8946-421: The Lake District area, were partly created in the Middle Ages, but also during the GDR period for agricultural reasons, as the moor-rich land was restructured and made usable. These very shallow waters are mostly used for fish farming. The ponds of the Muskau Arch are also located between the large opencast mining holes. They arose from faults in the terminal moraine of glaciers from the Ice Age, and partly through
9088-430: The Lusatian National Committee also submitted a petition to the Polish Government, signed by Paweł Cyż – the minister and an official Sorbian delegate in Poland. There was also a project to proclaim a Lusatian Free State, whose Prime Minister was intended to be the Polish archaeologist of Lusatian origin, Wojciech Kóčka . In 1945, the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia west of the Neisse rejoined Saxony and in 1952, when
9230-454: The Luxembourgh halted under Charles's son Wenceslaus (reigned 1378–1419 as King of Bohemia, 1376–1400 as King of the Romans), who also faced opposition from 150 local baronial families. Lusatia Lusatia ( German : Lausitz [ˈlaʊzɪts] ; Polish : Łużyce [wuˈʐɨt͡sɛ] ; Upper Sorbian : Łužica [ˈwuʒitsa] ; Lower Sorbian : Łužyca [ˈwuʒɨtsa] ; Czech : Lužice )
9372-419: The Ottonian kings actually built their empire on the back of military and bureaucratic apparatuses as well as the cultural legacy they inherited from the Carolingians, who ultimately inherited these from the Late Roman Empire. He argues that the Ottonian empire was hardly an archaic kingdom of primitive Germans, maintained by personal relationships only and driven by the desire of the magnates to plunder and divide
9514-521: The Reich", which tied the great imperial churches and their representatives to imperial service, thus providing "a stable and long-lasting framework for Germany". During the Ottonian era, imperial women played a prominent role in political and ecclesiastic affairs, often combining their functions as religious leader and advisor, regent or co-ruler, notably Matilda of Ringelheim , Eadgyth , Adelaide of Italy , Theophanu , and Matilda of Quedlinburg . In 963, Otto deposed John XII and chose Leo VIII as
9656-424: The Sorbian intelligentsia was organized in the Domowina , though, and did not wish to split from Germany. Claims asserted by the Lusatian National movement were postulates of joining Lusatia to Poland or Czechoslovakia. Between 1945 and 1947 they produced about ten memorials to the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia; however, this did not bring any results. On 30 April 1946,
9798-520: The Sorbian languages was prohibited. During World War II, some Sorbian activists were arrested, executed, exiled or sent as political prisoners to concentration camps . From 1942 to 1944 the underground Lusatian National Committee was formed and was active in German-occupied Warsaw . During the war, the Germans established and operated several prisoner-of-war camps , including Oflag III-C , Oflag IV-D , Oflag 8, Stalag III-B, Stalag IV-A and Stalag VIII-A , with multiple forced labour subcamps in
9940-480: The South to the Lusatian Highlands near the Czech border, and then even higher to form the Zittau Hills , the small northern part of the Lusatian Mountains ( Lužické hory / Lausitzer Gebirge ) in the Czech Republic. Upper Lusatia is characterized by fertile soil and undulating hills as well as by historic towns and cities such as Bautzen , Görlitz , Zittau , Löbau , Kamenz , Lubań , Bischofswerda , Herrnhut , Hoyerswerda , and Bad Muskau . Many villages in
10082-676: The Upper Lusatian territories were attached to the Province of Silesia instead. One of the main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish November Uprising from partitioned Poland to the Great Emigration led through Lübben and Luckau . The 19th and early 20th centuries witnessed an era of cultural revival for Sorbs. The modern languages of Upper and Lower Lusatian (or Sorbian) emerged, national literature flourished, and many national organizations such as Maćica Serbska and Domowina were founded. There were also notable Polish communities in Lusatia, such as Klettwitz (Upper Sorbian: Klěśišća , Polish: Kletwice ), inhabited in
10224-607: The Welfs from their possessions, but after his death in 1152, his nephew Frederick Barbarossa succeeded him and made peace with the Welfs, restoring his cousin Henry the Lion to his – albeit diminished – possessions. The Hohenstaufen rulers increasingly lent land to " ministeriales ", formerly non-free servicemen, who Frederick hoped would be more reliable than dukes. Initially used mainly for war services, this new class of people would form
10366-457: The aid of Queen Adelaide of Italy , defeating her enemies, marrying her, and taking control over Italy. In 955, Otto won a decisive victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld . In 962, Otto was crowned emperor by Pope John XII , thus intertwining the affairs of the German kingdom with those of Italy and the Papacy. Otto's coronation as emperor marked the German kings as successors to
10508-613: The backing of the French Pope, Clement V (established at Avignon in 1309), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors. Although Charles of Valois had the backing of pro-French Henry, Archbishop of Cologne , many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Count Palatine Rudolf II . But
10650-474: The basis for the later knights , another basis of imperial power. A further important constitutional move at Roncaglia was the establishment of a new peace mechanism for the entire empire, the Landfrieden , with the first imperial one being issued in 1103 under Henry IV at Mainz . This was an attempt to abolish private feuds, between the many dukes and other people, and to tie the emperor's subordinates to
10792-410: The capital of Polish Lusatia. The Lusatian Lake District (German: Lausitzer Seenland , Lower Sorbian: Łužyska jazorina , Upper Sorbian: Łužiska jězorina ) is an artificially created lake area. By the end of the 2020s, Europe's largest artificial water landscape and Germany's fourth-largest lake area are to be created by flooding disused brown coal mines in the Lusatian brown coal mining area. Some of
10934-608: The course of the Ostsiedlung , settling in the forested areas yet not inhabited by the Slavs. For centuries, from as early as the Middle Ages, trade flourished, and several important trade routes ran through Lusatia, connecting German states in the west, Poland in the east and Bohemia in the south. In 1319, the region was divided between the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Duchy of Jawor , the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented Piast -ruled Poland, while northernmost parts also passed to
11076-534: The crown was not in question, rather its practical allocation in such a wide region which lacked a general administrative apparatus. Far from a broad diminution of royal power, the Mainz Landfriede was a constitutional recalibration based on the culmination of multi-decade political realities and a testament to Frederick II's considerable political strength, his increased prestige during the early 1230s, and sheer overpowering might that he succeeded in securing
11218-551: The death of Charles the Fat in 888, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, and was never restored. According to Regino of Prüm , the parts of the realm "spewed forth kinglets", and each part elected a kinglet "from its own bowels". The last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy , who died in 924. Around 900, East Francia's autonomous stem duchies ( Franconia , Bavaria , Swabia , Saxony , and Lotharingia ) reemerged. After
11360-583: The death of Emperor Otto III in 1002, Margrave Gero II lost Lusatia to the Polish Duke Boleslaw I the Brave, who took the region in his conquests, acknowledged by Henry II first in the same year in Merseburg and later in the 1018 Peace of Bautzen , Lusatia became part of his territory; however, Germans and Poles continued to struggle over the administration of the region. It was regained in
11502-808: The dissolution of the Empire. At the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, most of the Holy Roman Empire was included in the German Confederation , with the main exceptions being the Italian states. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control. In the late 5th and early 6th centuries, the Merovingians , under Clovis I and his successors, consolidated Frankish tribes and extended hegemony over others to gain control of northern Gaul and
11644-503: The dual election of Frederick Barbarossa's youngest son Philip of Swabia and Henry the Lion's son Otto of Brunswick , who competed for the crown. After Philip was murdered in a private squabble in 1208, Otto prevailed for a while, until he began to also claim Sicily. Pope Innocent III , who feared the threat posed by a union of the empire and Sicily, was now supported by Frederick II, who marched to Germany and defeated Otto. After his victory, Frederick did not act upon his promise to keep
11786-402: The electors, the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolf. Instead Count Henry of Luxembourg , with the aid of his brother, Archbishop Baldwin of Trier , was elected as Henry VII with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. Though a vassal of King Philip, Henry was bound by few national ties, and thus suitable as
11928-420: The emperor had repeatedly protected Henry the Lion against complaints by rival princes or cities (especially in the cases of Munich and Lübeck ). Henry gave only lackluster support to Frederick's policies, and, in a critical situation during the Italian wars, Henry refused the emperor's plea for military support. After returning to Germany, an embittered Frederick opened proceedings against the duke, resulting in
12070-492: The empire after the Imperial Reform was a political body of remarkable longevity and stability, and "resembled in some respects the monarchical polities of Europe's western tier, and in others the loosely integrated, elective polities of East Central Europe." The new corporate German Nation, instead of simply obeying the emperor, negotiated with him. On 6 August 1806, Emperor Francis II abdicated and formally dissolved
12212-653: The empire following the creation – the month before, by French emperor Napoleon – of the Confederation of the Rhine , a confederation of German client states loyal not to the Holy Roman emperor but to France. Since Charlemagne , the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire . The term sacrum ("holy", in the sense of "consecrated") in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was used beginning in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa ("Holy Empire"):
12354-586: The empire of Charlemagne, which through the concept of translatio imperii , also made them consider themselves as successors to Ancient Rome. The flowering of arts beginning with Otto the Great's reign is known as the Ottonian Renaissance , centered in Germany but also happening in Northern Italy and France. Otto created the imperial church system, often called "Ottonian church system of
12496-494: The end of the German Empire , it was often called "the old Empire" ( das alte Reich ). Beginning in 1923, early twentieth-century German nationalists and Nazi Party propaganda would identify the Holy Roman Empire as the "First" Reich ( Erstes Reich , Reich meaning empire), with the German Empire as the "Second" Reich and what would eventually become Nazi Germany as the "Third" Reich. David S. Bachrach opines that
12638-483: The end of the 18th century, the term "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" fell out of official use. Contradicting the traditional view concerning that designation, Hermann Weisert has argued in a study on imperial titulature that, despite the claims of many textbooks, the name "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" never had an official status and points out that documents were thirty times as likely to omit
12780-516: The estate of Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf became the starting point of the organized Protestant missionary movement in 1732 and missionaries went out from the Moravian Church in Herrnhut to all corners of the world to share the Gospel. The newly established Kingdom of Saxony , however, sided with Napoleon ; therefore, at the 1815 Congress of Vienna , Lusatia was divided, with Lower Lusatia and
12922-466: The expected invasion. Henry also had plans for turning the Empire into a hereditary monarchy, although this met with opposition from some of the princes and the pope. The emperor suddenly died in 1197, leading to the partial collapse of his empire. As his son, Frederick II , though already elected king, was still a small child and living in Sicily, German princes chose to elect an adult king, resulting in
13064-591: The extinction of their ruling noble houses causing these territories to often fall under the dominions of the Habsburgs and their cadet branches . Barring the loss of Franche-Comté in 1678 , the external borders of the Empire did not change noticeably from the Peace of Westphalia – which acknowledged the exclusion of Switzerland and the Northern Netherlands, and the French protectorate over Alsace – to
13206-581: The fall of the ancient Western Roman Empire in 476. The title lapsed in 924, but was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor by Pope John XII , fashioning himself as Charlemagne's and the Carolingian Empire 's successor, and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. From 962 until the 12th century, the empire was one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe. The functioning of government depended on
13348-575: The fields of Roncaglia in 1158 reclaimed imperial rights in reference to Justinian I 's Corpus Juris Civilis . Imperial rights had been referred to as regalia since the Investiture Controversy but were enumerated for the first time at Roncaglia. This comprehensive list included public roads, tariffs, coining , collecting punitive fees, and the seating and unseating of office-holders. These rights were now explicitly rooted in Roman law ,
13490-483: The fierce opposition of the noble state countries . In 1469 the region passed to Hungary , and in 1490 it returned to the Bohemian Crown, then under the rule of Polish Prince Vladislaus II . Following the Lutheran Reformation, the greater part of Lusatia became Protestant except for the area between Bautzen, Kamenz and Hoyerswerda. The Lusatias remained under Bohemian rule – from 1526 onwards under
13632-408: The form of old Roman foundations or older bishoprics . Cities that were founded in the 12th century include Freiburg , possibly the economic model for many later cities, and Munich . Frederick Barbarossa was crowned emperor in 1155. He emphasized the "Romanness" of the empire, partly in an attempt to justify the power of the emperor independent of the (now strengthened) pope. An imperial assembly at
13774-452: The harmonious cooperation between emperor and vassals; this harmony was disturbed during the Salian period. The empire reached the apex of territorial expansion and power under the House of Hohenstaufen in the mid-13th century, but overextension of its power led to a partial collapse. Scholars generally describe an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, and
13916-585: The horseshoe was filled with clays. Ice advances in the following cold periods eroded the higher parts of the terminal moraine. Due to oxidation and the associated loss of volume in the areas near the surface of the brown coal seams, furrows of 3 m to 5 m, a maximum of 20 m deep, 10 m to 30 m wide and up to several kilometers long were formed. Known as "Gieser" (from the Sorbian "jězor" for "lake"), they form long stretches of drainless ditches that are either filled with standing water or often peat-covered. After already centuries of extraction of clay and sand, brown coal
14058-432: The imperial office was traditionally elective by the mostly German prince-electors . In theory and diplomacy, the emperors were considered the first among equals of all Europe's Catholic monarchs. A process of Imperial Reform in the late 15th and early 16th centuries transformed the empire, creating a set of institutions which endured until its final demise in the 19th century. According to historian Thomas Brady Jr.,
14200-399: The inland ice that was up to 500 m thick compressed the sand and brown coal layers in front of and below it over a length of more than 40 km to form a small-scale fold arch with a compression terminal moraine up to 180 m high and 700 m wide. The structure is currently preserved as a flat, undulating hill range and is almost unique in the world. The meltwater lake that subsequently emerged within
14342-457: The interests of order and local peace. The inevitable result was the territorial particularism of churchmen, lay princes, and interstitial cities. However, Frederick was a ruler of vast territories and "could not be everywhere at once". The transference of jurisdiction was a practical solution to secure the further support of the German princes and, moreover, was a process which had already been underway even under Henry VI and Frederick Barbarossa. It
14484-526: The king eventually led to the emergence of a fixed college of prince-electors ( Kurfürsten ), whose composition and procedures were set forth in the Golden Bull of 1356 , issued by Charles IV (reigned 1355–1378, King of the Romans since 1346), which remained valid until 1806. This development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality between emperor and realm ( Kaiser und Reich ), which were no longer considered identical. The Golden Bull also set forth
14626-414: The king of the sacral status he had previously enjoyed. The pope and the German princes had surfaced as major players in the political system of the Holy Roman Empire. As the result of Ostsiedlung, less populated regions of Central Europe (i.e. sparsely populated border areas in present-day Poland and Czechia) received a significant number of German speakers. Silesia became part of the Holy Roman Empire as
14768-399: The king, declared him deposed, and dissolved the oaths of loyalty made to Henry. The king found himself with almost no political support and was forced to make the famous Walk to Canossa in 1077, by which he achieved a lifting of the excommunication at the price of humiliation. Meanwhile, the German princes had elected another king, Rudolf of Swabia . Henry managed to defeat Rudolf, but
14910-411: The land had jurisdiction, from which other powers derived. Jurisdiction at the time did not include legislation, which was virtually nonexistent until well into the 15th century. Court practice heavily relied on traditional customs or rules described as customary. During this time, territories began to transform into the predecessors of modern states. The process varied greatly among the various lands and
15052-408: The largest lakes are connected to each other as a chain of lakes by navigable canals. The new lakeland is largely created from remaining holes from former brown coal opencast mines. These are flooded and converted into lakes. Some of the resulting lakes have already reached their final water level, others will not be completely flooded for a few years. Other lakes are artificially dammed lakes. While
15194-569: The loss of the Sorbian language in most of Lusatia, there are some Sorbian traditions and habits that still live on to this day. In February, many people (mostly people from villages, regardless of German or Sorbian ancestry) will still engage in the Sorbian tradition of Zampern (a festive procession) . Some Sorbian dishes like boiled potatoes with linseed oil and curd (German: Quark mit Leineöl ) are still prevalent and, today, are eaten in other parts of Germany (like Berlin or western Saxony) too. Spreewälder Gurken (pickled cucumbers potted by using
15336-643: The middle Rhine river valley region. By the middle of the 8th century, the Merovingians were reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians , led by Charles Martel , became the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel's son Pepin became King of the Franks, and later gained the sanction of the Pope. The Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768, Pepin's son Charlemagne became King of
15478-630: The middle section controlled the German indigo ( Isatis tinctoria ) of the Thuringian Basin as well as the mining products of the Saxon Ore Mountains . The High Road also provided the direct route between the largest German trade fairs of Frankfurt and Leipzig . Pilgrims who took part in the Aachen Cathedral shrine pilgrimage used the road in large numbers. Thereto they turned off the trunk road at Eisenach along
15620-558: The mining of soil raw materials such as sand, clay and coal even before industrialization. In general, these ponds are not created intentionally by humans, but are filled with water due to a lack of drainage. The Muskau Morainic Arch is a terminal moraine formed during the Elster glaciation , which together with its immediate surroundings forms the " UNESCO Global Geopark Muskau Morainic Arch" (German: Muskauer Faltenbogen , Sorbian: Mužakowski Zahork , Polish: Łuk Mużakowa ). A glacier on
15762-583: The moderately powerful but already old duke of Saxony. When he died in 1137, the princes again aimed to check royal power; accordingly they did not elect Lothair's favoured heir, his son-in-law, Henry the Proud of the Welf family, but Conrad III of the Hohenstaufen family, the grandson of Emperor Henry IV and nephew of Emperor Henry V. This led to over a century of strife between the two houses. Conrad ousted
15904-454: The national suffix as include it. In a famous assessment of the name, the political philosopher Voltaire remarked sardonically: "This body which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire." In the modern period, the Empire was often informally called the German Empire ( Deutsches Reich ) or Roman-German Empire ( Römisch-Deutsches Reich ). After its dissolution through
16046-458: The new pope (although John XII and Leo VIII both claimed the papacy until 964, when John XII died). This also renewed the conflict with the Byzantine emperor, especially after Otto's son Otto II ( r. 967–983 ) adopted the designation imperator Romanorum . Still, Otto II formed marital ties with the east when he married the Byzantine princess Theophanu . Their son, Otto III , came to
16188-544: The new power of Carolingian Francia . Charlemagne adopted the formula Renovatio imperii Romanorum ("renewal of the Roman Empire"). In 802, Irene was overthrown and exiled by Nikephoros I and henceforth there were two Roman emperors. After Charlemagne died in 814, the imperial crown passed to his son, Louis the Pious . Upon Louis' death in 840, it passed to his son Lothair , who had been his co-ruler. By this point
16330-527: The northeastern part of Upper Lusatia around Hoyerswerda , Rothenburg , Görlitz , and Lauban awarded to Prussia . Only the southwestern part of Upper Lusatia, which included Löbau , Kamenz , Bautzen , and Zittau , remained part of Saxony. The Lusatians in Prussia demanded that their land become a distinct administrative unit, but Lower Lusatia was incorporated into the Province of Brandenburg , while
16472-455: The princes to consolidate their holdings and become even more independent as rulers. After 1257, the crown was contested between Richard of Cornwall , who was supported by the Guelph party , and Alfonso X of Castile , who was recognized by the Hohenstaufen party but never set foot on German soil. After Richard's death in 1273, Rudolf I of Germany , a minor pro-Hohenstaufen count, was elected. He
16614-510: The princes' support and rebound them to Hohenstaufen power. The Kingdom of Bohemia was a significant regional power during the Middle Ages . In 1212, King Ottokar I (bearing the title "king" since 1198) extracted a Golden Bull of Sicily (a formal edict) from Emperor Frederick II, confirming the royal title for Ottokar and his descendants, and the Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a kingdom. Bohemia's political and financial obligations to
16756-515: The prisoners of which were mostly Jews, Poles and Russians, but also Frenchmen, Italians, Yugoslavs, Czechs, Belgians, etc. During the war, the Poles postulated that after the defeat of Germany, the Sorbs should be allowed free national development either within the borders of Poland or Czechoslovakia , or as an independent Sorbian state in alliance with Poland. The Eastern Front reached Lusatia in early 1945, with Soviet and Polish troops defeating
16898-553: The region's ties to Poland are the 18th-century mileposts decorated with the coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth located in various towns in the region. Polish-Sorbian contacts increased in that period. With the Age of Enlightenment , the Sorbian national revival began and resistance to Germanization emerged. Herrnhut , between Löbau and Zittau , founded in 1722 by religious refugees from Moravia on
17040-403: The region, and though it is recognized as the cultural capital of Lower Lusatia, it was a Brandenburg exclave since 1445. Historically, the administrative centres of Lower Lusatia were at Luckau and Lübben , while the historical capital of Upper Lusatia is Bautzen . Since 1945, when a small part of Lusatia east of the Oder–Neisse line was incorporated into Poland , Żary has been touted as
17182-600: The region. Prisoners included Polish POWs and civilians, and French , Belgian, British, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, South African, Dutch, Italian, Soviet, Serbian, Slovak and American POWs. There were also several Nazi prisons with multiple forced labour subcamps, including in Görlitz , Luckau , Zittau , and a prison solely for women in Cottbus , and multiple subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp ,
17324-576: The result of the local Piast dukes' push for autonomy from the Polish Crown. From the late 12th century, the Duchy of Pomerania was under the suzerainty of the Holy Roman Empire and the conquests of the Teutonic Order made that region German-speaking. When the Salian dynasty ended with Henry V's death in 1125, the princes chose not to elect the next of kin, but rather Lothair III ,
17466-411: The rewards among themselves but instead, notable for their abilities to amass sophisticated economic, administrative, educational and cultural resources that they used to serve their enormous war machine. Until the end of the 15th century, the empire was in theory composed of three major blocs – Italy , Germany and Burgundy . Later territorially only the Kingdom of Germany and Bohemia remained, with
17608-516: The right to build fortification. The 1232 Statutum in favorem principum mostly extended these privileges to secular territories. Although many of these privileges had existed earlier, they were now granted globally, and once and for all, to allow the German princes to maintain order north of the Alps while Frederick concentrated on Italy. The 1232 document marked the first time that the German dukes were called domini terrae , owners of their lands,
17750-570: The rule of the House of Habsburg – until the Thirty Years' War . According to the 1635 Peace of Prague , most of Lusatia became a province of the Electorate of Saxony , except for the region around Cottbus possessed by Brandenburg. After the Saxon elector Augustus the Strong was elected king of Poland in 1697, Lusatia became strategically important as the elector-kings sought to create
17892-580: The state was divided into three administrative areas ( Bezirke ), the Upper Lusatian region became part of the Dresden administrative region. After the East German Revolution of 1989 , the state of Saxony was reestablished in 1990. Lower Lusatia remained with Brandenburg , from 1952 until 1990 in the Bezirk of Cottbus . In 1950, the Sorbs obtained language and cultural autonomy within
18034-475: The style of village houses. The coal industry in the region (like the Schwarze Pumpe power station needing vast areas of land) destroyed dozens of Lusatian villages in the past and threatens some of them even now. The Sorbian language is taught at many primary and some secondary schools and at two universities (Leipzig and Prague). Project "Witaj" ("welcome!") is a project of eight preschools where Sorbian
18176-476: The suzerainty over Tunis and Tripolitania and paid tribute. Fearing the power of Henry, the most powerful monarch in Europe since Charlemagne, the other European kings formed an alliance. But Henry broke this coalition by blackmailing English king Richard the Lionheart . The Byzantine emperor worried that Henry would turn his Crusade plan against his empire, and began to collect the alamanikon to prepare against
18318-472: The system for election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The emperor now was to be elected by a majority rather than by consent of all seven electors. For electors the title became hereditary, and they were given the right to mint coins and to exercise jurisdiction. Also it was recommended that their sons learn the imperial languages – German , Latin , Italian , and Czech . The decision by Charles IV
18460-495: The term was added to reflect Frederick's ambition to dominate Italy and the Papacy . The form "Holy Roman Empire" is attested from 1254 onward. The exact term "Holy Roman Empire" was not used until the 13th century, before which the empire was referred to variously as universum regnum ("the whole kingdom", as opposed to the regional kingdoms), imperium christianum ("Christian empire"), or Romanum imperium ("Roman empire"), but
18602-617: The territory of Charlemagne was divided into several territories ( cf . Treaty of Verdun , Treaty of Prüm , Treaty of Meerssen and Treaty of Ribemont ), and over the course of the later 9th century the title of emperor was disputed by the Carolingian rulers of the Western Frankish Kingdom or West Francia and the Eastern Frankish Kingdom or East Francia , with first the western king ( Charles
18744-480: The then–East German state of Saxony. Lusatian schools and magazines were launched and the Domowina association was revived, although under increasing political control of the ruling Communist Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). At the same time, the large German-speaking majority of the Upper Lusatian population kept up a considerable degree of local, 'Upper Lusatian' patriotism of its own. An attempt to establish
18886-596: The throne only three years old, and was subjected to a power struggle and series of regencies until his age of majority in 994. Up to that time, he remained in Germany, while a deposed duke, Crescentius II , ruled over Rome and part of Italy, ostensibly in his stead. In 996 Otto III appointed his cousin Gregory V the first German pope. A foreign pope and foreign papal officers were seen with suspicion by Roman nobles, who were led by Crescentius II to revolt. Otto III's former mentor Antipope John XVI briefly held Rome, until
19028-569: The title of Major Cultural Route of the "Council of Europe” in 2005. According to the Council of Europe, it "is the name of the oldest and longest road link between the East and the West of Europe. The route has existed for more than 2,000 years and connects 8 European countries through a length of 4,500 km." Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire , also known as the Holy Roman Empire of
19170-492: The two realms separate. Though he had made his son Henry king of Sicily before marching on Germany, he still reserved real political power for himself. This continued after Frederick was crowned emperor in 1220. Fearing Frederick's concentration of power, the pope finally excommunicated him. Another point of contention was the Crusade, which Frederick had promised but repeatedly postponed. Now, although excommunicated, Frederick led
19312-426: The very south of Upper Lusatia contain a typical attraction of the region, the so-called Umgebindehäuser , half-timbered-houses representing a combination of Franconian and Slavic style. Among those villages are Niedercunnersdorf , Obercunnersdorf , Wehrsdorf , Jonsdorf , Sohland an der Spree with Taubenheim, Oppach , Varnsdorf or Ebersbach . Most of the area belonging to the German state of Brandenburg today
19454-594: The wake of the Cluniac Reforms , this involvement was increasingly seen as inappropriate by the Papacy. The reform-minded Pope Gregory VII was determined to oppose such practices, which led to the Investiture Controversy with King Henry IV ( r. 1056–1106 , crowned emperor in 1084). Henry IV repudiated the pope's interference and persuaded his bishops to excommunicate the pope, whom he famously addressed by his birth name "Hildebrand" rather than his papal name "Gregory". The pope, in turn, excommunicated
19596-441: Was a major turning point toward the partitioning of central rule in the Empire. Since his political focus was south of the Alps, he was mostly absent from Germany and issued far-reaching privileges to Germany's secular and ecclesiastical princes to ensure their cooperation. In the 1220 Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis , Frederick gave up a number of regalia in favour of the bishops, among them tariffs, coining , and
19738-474: Was mined in the area of the Muskau Arch in the 19th and 20th centuries, partly in pillar mining and partly in opencast mining. Due to the location of the mined seams, noticeably elongated lakes formed in the remaining holes north and east of Weißwasser after the end of mining. The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape (German: Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft , Upper Sorbian: Hornjołužiska hola
19880-514: Was most advanced in those territories that were almost identical to the lands of the old Germanic tribes, e.g. , Bavaria. It was slower in those scattered territories that were founded through imperial privileges. In the 12th century the Hanseatic League established itself as a commercial and defensive alliance of the merchant guilds of towns and cities in the empire and all over northern and central Europe. It dominated marine trade in
20022-459: Was subsequently confronted with more uprisings, renewed excommunication, and even the rebellion of his sons. After his death, his second son, Henry V , reached an agreement with the Pope and the bishops in the 1122 Concordat of Worms . The political power of the Empire was maintained, but the conflict had demonstrated the limits of the ruler's power, especially in regard to the Church, and it robbed
20164-420: Was the first of the Habsburgs to hold a royal title, but he was never crowned emperor. After Rudolf's death in 1291, Adolf and Albert were two further weak kings who were never crowned emperor. Albert was assassinated in 1308. Almost immediately, King Philip IV of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, Charles of Valois , to be elected the next king of the Romans. Philip thought he had
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