Schleswig-Holstein Jurisdictions

Jurisdictions in Schleswig-Holstein
Historical overview

Sovereignty in Schleswig-Holstein was held by many simultaneously, in 1564 for instance, by three brothers of the House of Oldenburg.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Oldenburg These men ruled the territories above and below the river Eider, the territories above, the Duchy of Schleswig belonged to the Danish king, the territories below belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. (www.halloregion.com/historie/de_a17.htm) The Duchy of Lauenburg was its own sovereign state until 1815, when the Danish king became its ruler.

The rulers of Schleswig and Holstein were subordinate to the King of Denmark, who was elected by the nobles for the first time in 1460 to become the Duke of Schleswig and the Earl of Holstein. The Danish king’s sharing power in the duchies remained until 1864. Schleswig-Holstein was ruled from 1581 to 1773 by at least two sovereign lords simultaneously, the King of Denmark through the royal line in the royal territories http://www.hans-peter-voss.de/pic/history/1700-2.jpg and the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf through the Gottorf line with residence in Gottorf. Together with the sovereigns the nobility ruled in cities, councils, regions and manorial farms by common law and privilege. The sovereign lords had coinage and judicial privileges. Administrators were chosen from among noble ranks who executed their business as non-professionals. The manoral lords held the ordinary courts and where in charge of police matters. If a manor lord was in absentee, he called a subtitute, who was, however, not able to hold court. The administration of a community differed from place to place. In the 16th century the absolute form of administrative style was replaced by legally educated professionals not of noble rank. The sovereign models changed into a complex administration of Rat (council) Rentekammer (responsible central government agency), Hofgericht (administration responsible for legal matters) and Konsistorium (administration regarding church matters).

At the end of the Thirty Years War and the Northern Wars, Denmark lost supremacy. The ideas of the Enlightenment spread through all levels of society and accumulated in practical application. Reforms in agriculture lead in 1760 to the release of serfs. They received their liberty and became owners of house and farm. In 1814 school regulations were put into action. All this fostered a national consciousness and caused the old system of local cultural attitudes to fade. The population and economy grew and with it the idea whether Schleswig and Holstein should stay together, both joining Germany or Schleswig becoming part of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1848 the Schleswig-Holsteiners decided to establish a provisional government and oust the Danish king. The subsequent war (1848-1851) achieved a status quo until in 1920 a permanent solution between Denmark and Germany was reached.

In summary it can be said that what were essential components of administrative measures for centuries, was changing rapidly since 1830 and this trend of modernization was topped only by renewed efforts since 1945.

Source:

Historischer Atlas Schleswig-Holstein. Vom Mittelalter bis 1867. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 2004

Jurisdictions in the Duchy of Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig was partitioned into Harden (administrative districts) and Syssel (several Harden). A Harde was a cluster of settlements. A speaker of a Harde was the Hardesvogt. He was chosen by the sovereign to administer matters of equitable jurisdiction. The law was called Gewohnheitsrecht (common law). Syssels were later replaced by the Amt. An Amt had no influence in cities, manors (Adlige Güter), possessions of the Church, i.e., the Bischop of Schleswig and the monasteries (Klöster), the wetland districts in North Friesland (oktroyierte Köge) and the Kanzleigüter (newly formed manors), which all were endowed with their own laws and administrative powers.

In 1791 a reform in the Kingdom of Denmark organized the existing administrative borders of Harden. The Duchy of Schleswig was excluded from this reform. Here, in 1850 some borders of Amt, Harde and parish were re-arranged and in 1853 the manors, wetlands and remaining Church properties were attached to Harden and Ämter. After Schleswig-Holstein came under Prussian rule in 1867, a new judicial administration was set in place. The Harde and city courts were replaced by Amtsgerichte (lower courts). Then the Harden only functioned as police administrations and were known as Hardesvogteien. The manors (Adlige Güter)were separated from the Harde. Since January 1, 1889 the Hardesvogteien cam to be known as Amtsbezirke.

Interim Jurisdictions
During the time of the Schleswig-Holstein Revolt (1848-1851) a provisional government was set up in Rendsburg for the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. In October 1848 the government had its seat in Gottorf. In August 1849 the duchies were separated. The provisional government became responsible for Holstein only, Schleswig was ruled by a Danish-Prussian Commission (Landesverwaltung). In July 1852 the revolt in Schleswig-Holstein ended and the Danish king was again ruler over the duchies. In 1863 the Danish government established a constitution which included the Duchy of Schleswig. This action was in violation to the promise by the Danish king to establish a constitution in which both duchies would be equally considered. Another war broke out. This time Denmark was defeated and the resulting relenquishment of both duchies culminated in Austrian (Holstein) and Prussian (Schleswig) administrations. The Austria/Prussian rivalry for the prediominance in Germany led to the war in 1867 with the defeat of Austria. The Emperorer relenquished Holstein to the Prussian King who annexed Schleswig and Holstein as a Prussian province.

Jurisdictions under Prussia
In 1868 Schleswig and Holstein were combined into one Regierungsbezirk: Schleswig. The Regierungsbezirk Schleswig was divided into 20 Kreise and 29 Landkreise (jurisdictions). These again were subdivided into Gemeinden (parishes), Städte (cities), Flecken (market towns), Landgemeinden (villages) and Gutsbezirke (manorial districts).

The jurisprudence was overhauled, it became separated from the general administration.

Source:

Historischer Atlas Schleswig-Holstein 1867-1945. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 2001