Vogtland

Infobox Former Country
native_name = "Vögte von Weida, Gera und Plauen"
→ "terra advocatorum" (lat)
→ "Voigtland" (de)
"Královský Rychtář" (cs)
conventional_long_name = County of Vogtland, County of Greiz
common_name = Vogtland|
continent = Europe
region = Central Europe
country = Germany
era = Middle Ages
status = Vassal
empire = Holy Roman Empire
government_type = Principality|
year_start = 11th century
year_end = 1563|
event_start =
date_start =
event1 = Bohemian protectorate
date_event1 = 1327
event2 = Land exchange with
Margraviate of Meissen
date_event2 =
1357
event3 = Power struggles with
Electorate of Saxony
date_event3 =
14th–16th centuries
event4 = Restored to "Vögte"
after Battle of Mühlberg
date_event4 =
1547
event_end = Annexed to Saxony
date_end = |
p1 =
flag_p1 =
image_p1 = |



|

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image_map_caption = The location of the Vogtland, against modern German "Land" boundaries|
capital = Weida (Osterburg), Gera, Plauen
common_languages = "Vogtländisch"
(East Franconian German)|
footnotes =

The term Vogtland refers to a region reaching across the German free states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and into the Czech Republic (north-western Bohemia). The name of the region contains a reference to the former leadership by the Vögte of Weida, Gera and Plauen, which translates approximately to "advocates" or "lord protectors". It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis.

Nowadays "Vogtland" also serves as a common colloquial abbreviation for "Vogtlandkreis".

Geography

Natural Geography

The landscape of the Vogtland is sometimes referred to as idyllic, bearing in mind its fields, meadows and arboreous hilltops. In its south and southeast, the Vogtland elevates to a low or mid-high mountain range also called "Oberes Vogtland", or Upper Vogtland. Here, monocultural coniferous forest is the predominant form of vegetation. The Vogtland's highest mountain is Schneehübel, reaching 974 metres, another remarkable landmark is the Schneckenstein, 883m above sea level, which gained some reknown for his (falsly alleged) unique plenitude in topaz crystals. Its mountains spread from Erzgebirge in the south-east to Fichtelgebirge in the south-west, some elevations also belonging to Elstergebirge.

Neighboring regions are Frankenwald, Erzgebirge, Thüringer Schiefergebirge and Fichtelgebirge. The south-eastern part of the Vogtland belongs to "Naturpark Erzgebirge/Vogtland", protected area comparable to a national park.

Its northern part, which averages around 250m above sea level, the landscape is marked by several river valleys, as Weiße Elster, Zwickauer Mulde and the Göltzsch have their spring in the Vogtland, while the Saale flows through the Bavaria and Thuringia in the west of the Vogtland.

Cultural Geography

The river valley geography in Vogtlands north made it necessary to build comparatively big bridges to channel railroad and automobile traffic streams. Especially famous is the "Göltzschtalbrücke" for being the world's largest bridge built of bricks and her "little sister", the "Elstertalbrücke". Both of them are in use as railroad bridges closing the gap between Dresden and Nürnberg. As road bridges are concerned, most important seem to be the major bridges heaving A 72 over the ground near Hof, Pirk and Weißensand, while one urban bridge poses as a further rarity: The "Syratalviadukt" is Europe's biggest mono-arch bridge made of chunked natural stone - to be found in Plauen, it is commonlöy referred to as "Friedensbrücke".

Integral part of the Vogtland landscape are its reservoirs, the shores of which mostly are popular holiday and camping destinations.

Plauen, the largest town, is known as the "capital of the Vogtland" or, with a proud note, as "Vogtlandmetropolis". This does neither entirely come up to actual bureaucratic and political hierarchies as Plauen is a "Kreisfreie Stadt" in its own right, nor to the actual size of the town.

Other towns of regional significance are:In Saxony:
*Reichenbach
*Auerbach

In Thuringia:
*Greiz

In Bavaria:
*Hof

In the Czech Republic:
*Cheb

History

The larger settlemental region surrounding Gera has been recorded in documents as early as the year 1000. It is thought to have been inhabited since late 7th or early 8th century by Slavic Settlers who tribally belonged to the Sorbs. Large portions of the Vogtland, however, still were covered with pristine forests and were not settled before the High_Middle_Ages, especially until the period called "Deutsche Ostsiedlung". Those settlers arrived mainly in 11th and 12th centuries, ethnically being Slavic or German, coming from areas of traditionally older settlement like Franconia, Thuringia and Saxony. Even today this can be traced along lines dividing dialect areas, providing linguistic differences at close distances of settlement while demonstrating peculiar commonalities with varieties spoken in more distant regions of Germany. For instance, in a number of villages of the upper Vogtland even nowadays a dialect is spoken similar to that in "Oberpfalz" (/ou/ sounds instead of /u:/ as in "Kou" (en. "cow") etc.).

The place name Vogtland (formerly also known as "Voigtland", "terra advocatorum") originates in the rule of the Vogts in this region from the 11th to the 16th century A.D., specifically in reference to the Vogts of Weida, Gera and Plauen. In 12th century, Kaiser Barbarossa appointed the first Vogts as administrators of his eastern imperial forest areas to facilitate his rule. Their headquarters was the Osterburg at Weida, thus making it what is sometimes called the cradle of the Vogtland. Among the privileges of the Vogts were the endowment over minerals still unretrieved from the ground "(Bergregal)" and the entitlement to regulating mint and coinage affairs "(Münzregal)", which were both handed down to them by Kaiser Frederick II in 1232.

As in the 14th century claims to power by the Markgraves of Meißen emerged, Heinrich von Plauen submitted to the tenure-based regnancy of the Bohemian Crown, excepting only the dominion of Voigtsberg, that stayed tenured to the Reich. In 1349, his equinomic son Heinrich also handed Voigtsberg over to Bohemian tenure; thus the whole Vogtland had become a Reichsafterlehn (a specific status of tenure). In 1357 an exchange of territories was agreed with by the Margraviate of Meißen, effectually making Wiedersberg, Liebau, Adorf, Pausa, Neuenkirchen and Hirschberg (among others) Meißenian while Borna, Geithein and Kohren were handed to the Vogt. The exchange was heavily disputed by branch line cousins of Heinrichs. The Lords of Plauen, as they called themselves, retrieved Auerbach, Pausa and Liebau as Meißenian tenure in 1379. Since 1426 the Lords of Plauen were Burggrafs of Meißen and found themselves in constant power struggles with the Saxonian Kurfürsts.

King George of Podiebrad took the burning of the royal castle of Graslitz due to fights between Heinrich II of Plauen and his enemies to be an occassion to withdraw his tenure and have the Vogtland occupied by Ernest in 1466. Heinrich II von Plauen had fallen into disgrace with him for his open opposition against nobility. Thus, Ernest received tenure over the Vogtland which, at the occasion of the Leipziger Teilung in 1485, was transferred to the House of Ernest while keeping the "Bergregal" under joint control. In 1547, after the Battle of Mühlberg, the Ernestines forfeited the tenure over the Vogtland and Kaiser Ferdinand I handed it down to his Chancellor Heinrich IV von Plauen, making Maurice,_Elector_of_Saxony co-tenant to the Vogtland tenure. Heinrich V and Heinrich VI could not settle up their debts towards Augustus,_Elector_of_Saxony. Due to arrears in Tithe and other liabilities the Brothers impawned the Vogtland to Kursachsen in 1559.

With Heinrich VI the rule of the Vogts of Plauen over the Vogtland ended, as he could not redeem the pawn any more. In 1566, Augustus acquired the office and towns of Voigtsberg, Oelsnitz, Plauen and Pausa. Matters were furtherly resettled in 1657, among other transactions assigning office over Plauen, Voigtsberg and Pausa to the Duchy of Sachsen-Zeitz while "schriftsässige Rittergüter" and the town of Schöneck remained in Kursaxon posession. In 1718, after the Sachsen-Zeitz line had vanquished, the areas in concern reverted to Kursachsen. Asides from the Kursaxonian share, the forests around Auerbach and Schöneck remained an exceptional area being both Kursaxonian and ducal at the same time.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Two major motorways (A 72 and A 9) serve the Vogtland with connection to the surrounding regions and cities. Providing connections locally within the region and beyond state and national borders, Vogtlandbahn is a public railway company of note - service includes direct connections to Leipzig, Regensburg and Berlin independently from Deutsche_Bahn and cooperates with Bohemian (Czech) railway company Viamont as well as with Bavaria-based Alex train services to provide further connections to Munich, Prague and further destinations of note in Euregio Egrensis and beyond.

Simultaneously to the European Union developing into a Europe of Regions, Euregio Egrensis could experience an increase of significance equivalently impacting upon the region of the Vogtland, while not entirely depending on the political meaning of Vogtlandkreis.

ee also

* Vogtlandkreis (a district in Saxony covering a part of the Vogtland)
* Euregio Egrensis (the EU-based structure of a regions-based Europe as rough equivalent of the Vogtland beyond current nationality-based structuring)

External Links

* [http://www.vogtlandkreis.de/| Official Website] of Vogtlandkreis providing insights into anything relevant in this part of the region (in German and Czech)
* [http://www.euregioegrensis.de/| One site] concerned with developing Euregio Egrensis (in German and Czech)