A Freihaus (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "free house") was a house that, although physically within the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

or early modern

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, was legally outside it. That is, the residents of a Freihaus legally lived in the surrounding countryside and were outside the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

of the town

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

(they had the right to be tried before the regional court or ''Landgericht'') and were exempt from municipal taxes. In addition to the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

, religious institutions often had such privileged houses in urban areas. A freihaus was often awarded as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

; rarely they were

allodial Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defense ...

property of their owner. They were often part of a Burglehn quarter, in which the nobility among the defenders of a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

were housed. However, it was also possible that the Prince privileged individual house sites in a city, and exempted them from the city's

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

. There were often controversies between the owners of the freihaus and the city where they were located over the question if urban crafts could legally be practised in these houses, and if so, whether they were subject to the rules of the city

guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

References

Frey-Haus
in: Johann Georg Krünitz: Oekonomisch-technologische Encyklopädie oder allgemeines System der Stats-, Stadt-, Haus- und Land-Wirthschaft, und der Kunst-Geschichte in alphabetischer Ordnung, Bd. 15: Frech-Gampferkraut, Berlin 1778. {{Authority control Medieval law

See also

References