Décapole
The Ten Cities and Towns ( Decapolis or double Décapole ) was an alliance of ten free imperial cities in Alsace. It was founded in 1354 with the aim of helping each other in the defense of their rights and freedoms. The designation as a ten Städtebund or Décapole, however, was not used until much later in history. The medieval documents speak rather of Richestette gemeinlich in Alsace or later villes d' Empire associées en Alsace, especially as their numbers fluctuated between nine and eleven.
Members
The founding members were the following ten cities:
- Colmar
- Haguenau (French Haguenau )
- Kaiserberg (French Kaysersberg )
- Mulhouse ( Mulhouse French )
- Muenster ( Munster French )
- Obernai (French Obernai)
- Rosheim
- Schlettstadt (French Sélestat )
- Untertürkheim (French Turckheim )
- White Castle (French Wissembourg)
Four years later came Selz (French Seltz ) added as eleventh city, which retired from the federal government back in 1418. After leaving Mulhouse ( 1515) added in 1521 Landau in der Pfalz Décapole and also extended it over the Alsace addition to the north.
At the time of inception in the mid-14th century Haguenau, Colmar and Schlettstadt had ever 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants, White Castle about 4000, Mulhouse 1800 and the other members 1000-1500.
Development
After repeated combinations of the ten imperial cities in 1342, 1346 and 1349 in order to safeguard their freedoms and to enforce a country peacetime order, Emperor Charles IV in 1354 on the initiative, the Ten Cities and Towns. His reservations were however, is that the federal government apply only for the duration of his own reign, and he should at any time be entitled to terminate him have. After the emperor's death in 1378, the federal government was also disbanded, but in 1379 re-established; he was able to consolidate in the following decades and achieve a secure its rich urban status to the Emperor for its members. This was at a time when the imperial was seen by the Crown under increasing financial aspect of Verpfändbarkeit, of particular importance.
The Ten Cities and Towns had the task of mutual secure the rights and freedoms of its members and was so far a collective union on a cooperative basis ( Confederation ). In addition, members were mutually militarily in internal and external conflicts, at. This military aspect was the time of Charles IV, under the direction of the Imperial Vicar, after the re- establishment of the Federal Bailiff in 1379 the kingdom was turned off.
According to the cooperative nature of the union members were equal. The meetings took place regularly, the meeting was initially Schlettstadt ( Sélestat ), Strasbourg later that did not belong to the federal government itself. Suburb of the Federal was Haguenau ( Haguenau ), upon whom the task to invite to meetings, to conduct the correspondence and send deputations to the Emperor and King.
1515 entered Mulhouse ( Mulhouse ) from the federal government and at as " the city facing " the Swiss Confederation, in 1521 joined the Decapolis in Landau. In the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 Alsace fell to France, while the left bank of free cities still send their representatives to the everlasting Reichstag in Regensburg. With its Reunionspolitik Louis XIV in 1673 and 1674, ten cities to conquer, grind their fortifications and placed it under the French provincial administration. The Peace of Nijmegen in 1679 confirmed the loss of direct imperial status of the ten cities and marked the end of the Decapolis.