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Reichstag (institution)

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The '''Reichstag''' (German language German for "Imperial/National Diet (assembly) Diet") was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945. The main chamber of the German parliament is now called Bundestag, but the building in which it meets is still called "Reichstag" (see Reichstag (building)). The term "Reichstag" ({{Audio|De-Reichstag-pronunciation.ogg|listen}}) [ˈʀaɪçstaːk] is a compound (linguistics) compound of German language German ''Reich'' ("empire", "country") and ''Tag'' ("assembly"; does not mean "day" here, but is derived from the verb ''tagen'' "to assemble"). The Latin term, a direct translation, was ''curia imperialis.'' (Still today, the parliaments on the various federal levels in Germany are called ''Bundestag'', ''Landtag'' etc.)

The ''Reichstag'' in the Holy Roman Empire
While the Holy Roman Empire lasted (formally until 1806), the ''Reichstag'' never was a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was the assembly of the various estates that the Empire was comprised of. More precisely, it was the convention of the ''Imperial State Reichsstände'' ("imperial states"), those legal entities that, according to feudal law, had no authority above them besides the king himself (see Holy Roman Empire for details). The precise role and function changed over the centuries, as did the Empire itself, while the states gained more and more control at the expense of the imperial power. Initially, there was neither a fixed time nor location for the ''Reichstag''. It started as a convention of the dukes of the old Germanic peoples Germanic tribes that formed the Frankish people#Foundation of the Frankish kingdom Frankish kingdom when important decisions had to be made, probably based on the old Germanic law that each leader relied on the support of his leading men. For example, already under Charlemagne, the ''Reichstag'' in Aachen in 802/803 officially declared the laws of the Saxons and other tribes. The Reichstag of 919 in Fritzlar elected the first king of the Germans who was a Saxon, Henry the Fowler, thus overcoming the longstanding rivalry between Franks and Saxons and laying the foundation for the German Empire. In 1158, the ''Reichstag'' in Roncaglia finalized four laws that would significantly alter the (never formally written) constitution of the Empire, marking the beginning of the steady decline of the central power in favor of the local dukes. In 1356, the Golden Bull of 1356 Golden Bull cemented the concept of ''Landesherrschaft'' ("territorial rule"), the largely independent rule of the dukes over their respective territories. However, until the late 15th century, the ''Reichstag'' was not actually formalized as an institution. Instead, the dukes and other princes would irregularly convene at the court of the king; these assemblies were usually referred to as ''Hoftage'' (from German ''Hof'' "court"). Only beginning in 1489 was the ''Reichstag'' called as such, and was formally divided into several ''collegia'' ("colleges"). Initially, the two colleges were that of the ''prince-elector Kurfürsten'' ("prince-electors") and that of the other dukes and princes. Later, the imperial city imperial cities, that is, cities that were ''reichsunmittelbar'' and were oligarchic republics independent of a local ruler that were formally only responsible to the king himself, managed to be accepted as a third party. Several attempts to reform the Empire to end its slow disintegration, starting with the ''Reichstag'' in 1495, did not have much effect. In contrast, this process was quite concluded with 1648's Peace of Westphalia, which formally bound the Emperor to all decisions made by the ''Reichstag'', in effect depriving him of his few remaining powers. From then to its end in 1806, the ''Reich'' was not much more than a collection of largely independent states. Probably most well known are the ''Reichstage'' in Worms, Germany Worms of 1495, where the Imperial Reform was concluded, another in 1521, where Martin Luther was banned (see Edict of Worms), and several in Nuremberg; see Diet of Worms and Diet of Nuremberg for details. Only with the induction of the ''Immerwährender Reichstag'' ("permanent Imperial Diet") in 1663 did the ''Reichstag'' permanently convene in a fixed location, the city of Regensburg. A [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_%28HRR%29#Tagungsorte_von_Hof-_und_Reichstagen list of the meeting places] of various sessions of the ''Reichstag'' is in the German . For a list of members of the ''Reichstag'' as of 1792, near the end of the Empire, refer to List of Reichstag participants (1792).

The ''Reichstag'' as the German Parliament
Image:Reichstagopening.jpg thumb|300px|right|The opening of the German parliament in 1894 After the implosion of the Empire in 1806, the term was subsequently used for the Parliament of the 1849 Frankfurt constitution draft that never came into effect, the Parliament of the North German Confederation from 1867-1871 and finally that of the 1871 German Empire. In all three cases, it was a parliament elected by the people, albeit with varying degrees of power. In the 1919 Weimar Republic, the ''Chancellor of Germany Reichskanzler'' (chancellor, head of government) was responsible to the ''Reichstag'', which was directly elected by the people, and was a true democratic parliament. From 1930 on, however, the ''Reichstag'' was practically circumvented with the use of the extensive powers that the constitution granted to the president of Germany president. After Adolf Hitler was appointed ''Reichskanzler'' on January 30, 1933 the process of ''Gleichschaltung'' ("marching in step", "synthesis") commenced with the Reichstag Fire Decree ''(Reichstagsbrandverordnung)'' and the Enabling Act ''(Ermächtigungsgesetz)'', in which the ''Reichstag'' formally dispensed of its legislative powers. From then on it only functioned as a body of acclamation for the actions of the dictatorship. Even with this purpose, it had its last session in 1942. The Reichstag (building) ''Reichstag'' building in Berlin was constructed as the seat of the ''Reichstag'' in the German Empire in 1894 and, after a major reconstruction, has been the seat of today's German parliament, the ''Bundestag'', since 1999.

Collection of ''Reichstag'' Records
After the 1871 formation of the German Empire the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences started to collect imperial records (''Reichsakten'') and imperial diet records (''Reichstagsakten''). In 1893 the commission published the first volume. At present the years 1524 - 1527 and years up to 1544 are being collected and researched. A volume dealing with the 1532 Reichstag in Regensburg, including the peace negotiations with the Protestants in Schweinfurt and Nuremberg, by Rosemarie Aulinger of Vienna was published in 1992. The enormous amount of records in numerous archives and libraries in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, England and Poland needs to be made available, gathered and worked through. A [http://resikom.adw-goettingen.gwdg.de/projekt.php list on the Internet] identifies the thousands of different localities. It gives an indication of the monumental task of locating and working on these official records, spread over large areas by the many different rulers, who all had the choice of their preferred seat of residence and government.

Reichstagplaces
{| {{Prettytable}} !bgcolor="#F8F8FF"|Year !bgcolor="#F8F8FF"|Place !bgcolor="#F8F8FF"|President !bgcolor="#F8F8FF"|Theme |- |754 |Quierzy | | |- |777 |Paderborn | | |- |782 |Lippspringe | |Ingroupment of Saxony |- |788 |Ingelheim am Rhein | |Absetzung Tassilo III. Tassilos III. |- |799 |Paderborn | |Karl der Große clears with Leo III. (Papst) Papst Leo III. the enreignment as Emperor |- |806 |Diedenhofen | |Division of the Reich |- |817 |Aix-La-Chapelle | | |- |826 |? | |Inviting of the Sorben Sorbenhäuptlings; |- |829 |Worms | | |- |831 |Aix-La-Chapelle | | |- |835 |Diedenhofen | | |- |872 |Forchheim |Ludwig der Deutsche | |- |874 |Forchheim |Ludwig der Deutsche |Erbfrage und Nachfolgeregelung |- |887 |Tivoli, Italy Tibur | | |- |889 |Forchheim |Arnulf von Kärnten | |- |892 |Forchheim |Arnulf von Kärnten |Preparing a War against the Slawen |- |896 |Forchheim |Arnulf von Kärnten | |- |903 |Forchheim |Ludwig das Kind |Execution of the Babenberger Rebells Adalhard (Babenberger) Adalhard |- |907 |Forchheim |Ludwig das Kind |Council about the hungrian attacs |- |911 |Forchheim | |Wahl Konrad_I._(Ostfrankenreich) Konrad I. King |- |914 |Forchheim |Konrad_I._(Ostfrankenreich) Konrad I. |War against Bayernherzog Arnulf_I._(Bayern) Arnulf |- |919 |Fritzlar | | |- |926 |Worms |Heinrich I. (Ostfrankenreich) Heinrich I. | |- |952 |auf dem Lechfeld bei Augsburg |Otto I. (HRR) Otto I. der Große |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#952 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |961 |Forchheim |Otto I. (HRR) Otto I. der Große | |- |967 |Ravenna |Otto II. (HRR) Otto II. | |- |972 |Quedlinburg | | |- |976 |Ratisbonne | | |- |978 |Dortmund |Otto II. (HRR) Otto II. |War against France in the Autumn |- |983 |Verona | |Wahl Otto III. (HRR) Ottos III. |- |985 | | |End of the Usurpation of Heinrich der Zänker Heinrich des Zänkers |- |993 |Dortmund |Otto III. (HRR) Otto III. | |- |1066 |Tivoli, Italy) Tibur | | |- |1076 |Worms |Heinrich IV. (HRR) Heinrich IV. | |- |1077 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1077(?) Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1098 |Mayence |Heinrich IV. | |- |1105 |Ingelheim am Rhein Ingelheim |Heinrich IV. | |- |1119 |Tivoli, Italy) Tibur |Heinrich IV. | |- |1122 |Worms |Heinrich V. (HRR) Heinrich V. | |- |1147 |Francfort |Konrad III. (HRR) Konrad III. |During the Councils Heinrich der Löwe demanded his Dukekity back. |- |1152 |Dortmund/Merseburg |Friedrich I. (HRR) Friedrich I. Barbarossa | |- |1154 |Goslar | | |- |1157 |Besançon |Friedrich I. Barbarossa | |- |1158 |auf den Roncaglia Ronkalischen Feldern |Friedrich I. (HRR) Friedrich I. Barbarossa | |- |1165 |Würzburg |Friedrich I. (HRR) Friedrich I. Barbarossa | |- |1168 |Bamberg |Friedrich I. (HRR) Friedrich I. Barbarossa
und Heinrich VI. (HRR) Heinrich VI. | |- |1180 |Gelnhausen ||Friedrich I. (HRR) Friedrich I. Barbarossa;Heinrich VI. (HRR) Heinrich VI. |Belehnung des Kölner Erzbischofs mit dem Westfalen Herzogtum Westfalen-Engern |- |1181 |Erfurt |Heinrich VI. | |- |1188 |Mayence |Heinrich VI. (HRR) Heinrich VI. | |- |1196 |Francfort |Heinrich VI. (HRR) Heinrich VI. | |- |1235 |Mayence |Friedrich II. (HRR) Friedrich II. | |- |1287 |Würzburg |Adolf von Nassau | |- |1338 |Francfort | | |- |1379 |Francfort | | |- |1356 |Nuremberg |Karl IV. (HRR) Karl IV. |Goldene Bulle |- |1389 |Eger (Böhmen) |Wenzel von Luxemburg |Landfrieden von Eger |- |1487 |Nuremberg |Friedrich III. (HRR) Friedrich III. | |- |1488 |Esslingen |Friedrich III. (HRR) Friedrich III. |''14. Februar 1488 Verkündung des'' Schwäbischer Bund Schwäbischen Bundes |- |1495 |Worms |Maximilian I. (HRR) Maximilian I. |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Worms (1495) Reichstag zu Worms; Ewiger Landfriede; Reichskammergericht; Gemeiner Pfennig
In der Folge: Schwabenkrieg |- |1496/1497 97 |Lindau (Bodensee) | | |- |1497/1498 98 |Fribourg | | |- |1500 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1500 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1505 |Cologne | |Schiedsspruch im Landshuter Erbfolgekrieg |- |1507 |Konstanz | | |- |1512 |Trier Treve/Cologne | |10 Reichskreise |- |1518 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1518 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1521 |Worms |Karl V. (HRR) Karl V. |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Worms (1521) Reichstag zu Worms; Befragung Martin Luthers, Wormser Edikt |- |1522 |Nuremberg I | | |- |1522/1523 23 |Nuremberg II | | |- |1524 |Nuremberg III | | |- |1526 |Spire I | |Das Wormser Edikt wird ausgesetzt |- |1529 |Spire II | |Wiedereinsetzung des Wormser Edikts, Protestation zu Speyer sowie Wiedertäufermandat |- |1530 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1530 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1532 |Ratisbone |Ferdinand I. (HRR) König Ferdinand I. |Constitutio Criminalis Carolina |- |1541 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1542 |Spire | | |- |1542 |Nuremberg | | |- |1543 |Nuremberg | | |- |1544 |Spire | | |- |1548 |Augsburg | |Augsburger Interim |- |1550/1551 51 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1550/1551 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1555 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1555 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1557 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1559 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1558/1559 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1566 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1566 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1567 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1570 |Spire | | |- |1576 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1582 |Augsburg | |''siehe'' Reichstag zu Augsburg#1582 Reichstag zu Augsburg |- |1594 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1597/1598 98 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1603 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1608 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1613 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1640/1641 41 |Ratisbonne | | |- |1653/1654 54 |Ratisbonne | Ferdinand III. (HRR) Ferdinand III. |Jüngster Reichsabschied |- |1663-1806 |im Reichstagssaal des Ratisbonneer Rathauses
als Immerwährender Reichstag | | |}

External links

- Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich. Ein Handbuch (in German) Category:Historical legislatures category:history of Germany Category:German loanwords de:Reichstag fr:Reichstag (institution) es:Reichstag (institución) lt:Reichstagas nl:Rijksdag ja:帝国議会

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