Free City (English spelling) Freistadt German

In medieval Europe, cities that gained independence from the rule of kings and princes and acquired a large degree of autonomy. Strictly speaking, it refers to cities in Germany from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period that were granted the privilege of being directly under the empire, and are divided into free cities in the narrow sense and imperial cities. The former were originally cities with bishoprics, but in the 13th and 14th centuries, they fought for autonomy while eliminating the bishop's control over the cities, and include Cologne, Mainz, Worms, Basel, Strassburg, Speyer, and others, as well as the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. The latter were cities that were established on royal or imperial land, and at one time numbered more than 100. This type of city differed from the former in that the emperor still retained a certain degree of actual control over them, and a clear example of this is the phenomenon of the emperor pawning the city itself for financial reasons (imperial pledge). Some imperial cities lost their direct status as an empire without their pledges being dissolved, while some cities regained their direct status as an empire by assuming their own pledges, taking the opportunity to obtain complete autonomy on par with that of free cities. From the end of the Middle Ages, the practice of imperial cities, including free cities, attending imperial conferences was established, and the eligibility for attendance was established in the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), and they were granted judicial power, the right to mint coins, and the right to declare war and make peace, alongside the feudal states. In the early modern period, imperial pledges were prohibited, but on the other hand, due to the hollowing out of imperial power and the expansion of the power of the feudal states, imperial cities gradually lost their independence, and after the establishment of the German Confederation (1815), only the four free cities of Frankfurt (am Main), Hamburg, Bremen, and Lübeck became members of the federation alongside the feudal states. Frankfurt later became part of Prussia, and Hamburg and Bremen also temporarily lost their independence during the Nazi era, but regained their status after the war, and these three free cities, along with Lübeck, are still members of the Federal Republic of Germany today.

[Shosuke Hirajo]

"Cities" by Masuda Shiro (1968, Chikuma Shobo) ▽ "Feudal Cities" by Sabata Toyoki (1957, Sogensha) ▽ "Cities and Civic Culture in Medieval Europe" by F. Roerich, translated by Uozumi Masayoshi and Ogura Kinichi (1978, Sobunsha) ▽ "Autonomous Cities in Medieval Germany" by H. Planitz, translated by Hayashi Tsuyoshi (1983, Sobunsha) ▽ "Medieval Rule and Cities in Europe" by Heijō Shosuke (included in Medieval History Lectures 3, 1982, Gakuseisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中世ヨーロッパにおいて、国王や諸侯の支配から独立し、大幅な自治権を獲得した都市。厳密には中世末から近世初頭にかけてのドイツで、帝国直属の特権を認められた都市をさし、狭義の自由都市と帝国都市とに区別される。前者はもともと司教座所在地の都市であったが、13～14世紀に司教の都市支配権を排除しながら、自治権を闘い取った都市で、ケルン、マインツ、ウォルムス、バーゼル、シュトラスブルク、シュパイエルその他と、ハンザ都市リューベックとが含まれる。後者は、王領地、帝国領に成立した都市で、一時は100以上を数えた。このタイプの都市には、皇帝の実質的支配権がある程度残っていた点で前者と異なっていたが、それを端的に示すのが、財政上の理由で皇帝が都市そのものを質入れする（帝国担保）という現象である。いくつかの帝国都市は担保が解消されないまま帝国直属性を失い、またいくつかの都市は都市自らが担保を肩代りして帝国直属性を回復し、その機会に自由都市なみの完全自治権を獲得した。中世末より、自由都市を含めた帝国都市が帝国会議に出席する慣行がつくられ、ウェストファリア条約（1648）でこの出席資格が確立し、領邦国家と並んで、裁判権、貨幣鋳造権、宣戦・講和の権利が認められた。近世初頭、帝国担保は禁止されたが、他方帝国権力の空洞化、領邦国家権力の拡張により、帝国都市はしだいに自立性を失い、ドイツ連邦の成立（1815）後はフランクフルト（・アム・マイン）、ハンブルク、ブレーメン、リューベックの4自由都市のみが、領邦国家と並んで連邦構成員となった。その後フランクフルトはプロイセン領となり、ハンブルク、ブレーメンもナチス時代に一時自立性を失ったが、戦後その地位を回復し、リューベックとともにこの3自由都市が現在でもドイツ連邦共和国の構成員となっている。

［平城照介］

『増田四郎著『都市』（1968・筑摩書房）』▽『鯖田豊之著『封建都市』（1957・創元社）』▽『F・レーリッヒ著、魚住昌良・小倉欣一訳『中世ヨーロッパ都市と市民文化』（1978・創文社）』▽『H・プラーニッツ著、林毅訳『中世ドイツの自治都市』（1983・創文社）』▽『平城照介「ヨーロッパにおける中世的支配と都市」（『中世史講座3』所収・1982・学生社）』

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