The Imperial villages (, singular ''Reichsdorf'') were the smallest component entities of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. They possessed

imperial immediacy In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...

, having no lord but the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

, but were not estates. They were unencircled and did not have representation in the Imperial Diet. In all these respects they were similar to the

Imperial Knights The Free Imperial Knights (, ) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility ('' edelfrei'') and the ministeriales. What distinguished them from other kn ...

; the inhabitants of imperial villages were free men (being not

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

s or similar

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

status).

Imperial villages

The imperial villages—relics of the royal demesne during the era of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

—were all located in southern and western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. Originally there were 120 villages, but this number was greatly reduced during the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

. At the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

in 1648, forty imperial villages in Alsace passed to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In this Alsatian group were several even smaller entities known as imperial hamlets (''Reichsweiler''). At the time of the ''

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

'', the final Imperial reform in 1803, only five imperial villages remained: Gochsheim,

Sennfeld Sennfeld is a municipality in the district of Schweinfurt in Bavaria, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps ...

, Holzhausen, Soden and Sulzbach. Holzhausen was a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

village, two thirds of which was immediate to the Emperor and the remaining third subject to various landlords. In addition, the Free Men of the Leutkircher Heath in the

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard ) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the Alps. The main rivers flo ...

constituted a free peasant republic often counted among the imperial villages. Although constitutionally the smallest entities of the Empire, the size of an imperial village varied. Territory of the Free Men of the Leutkircher Heath surrounded the Imperial City of Leutkirch on three sides and its area was nearly four times as large. These villages had preserved their rights of justice and their free status for centuries without force of arms, a "testimony to the progressive 'juridification' of the Reich".

Imperial valleys

The imperial valley (''Reichstal'') of the

Harmersbach Harmersbach (; below its confluence with the ''Nordrach'': ''Erlenbach'') is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It passes through Zell am Harmersbach, and flows into the Kinzig in Biberach. Until 1806, the Harmersbach valley held the uniqu ...

was an immediate territory in the Harmersbach river valley of the Black Forest near the Kinzig, which existed in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Politically, it possessed a similar structure to the Free Men of the Leutkircher Heath, yet was the only officially designated ''Reichstal'' in the Empire. The ''Reichstal'' was approached from the Free Imperial City of

Zell am Harmersbach Zell am Harmersbach (, ) is a small town and a historic “ Reichsstadt” in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies in the Ortenaukreis, between the Black Forest and the Rhine. History Zell was settled on territory owned by Gengenbach Abbey. The ...

at the mouth of the valley. Although medieval leases placed the ''Reichstal'' under the legal power of Zell, disputes finally led the

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

to dissolve the contract in 1689, and the valley's complete immediacy to the Emperor was recognized in 1718. The ''Reichstal'' was annexed by

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

in 1806.

Imperial hamlets

Imperial hamlets (''Reichsweiler'') included Gebolsheim.

Imperial farmsteads

Imperial farmsteads (''Reichshöfe'') included

Lustenau Lustenau (; ) is a town in the westernmost Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg in the district of Dornbirn (district), Dornbirn. It lies on the river Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlberg's fourth larg ...

Notes

Sources