Rhineland (Rheinland) Land and Property

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Old maps of surveying land were often not very reliable. Cadastral maps were created in order to levy taxes. To be just with the revenue from taxation the Prussian administration ordered new guidelines. Each parcel of land in its territory had to be measured exactly. Revenues, land values and property owners all had to be known and recorded. Thus, the Preussische Urkataster became the most exact book of maps and therefore is most meaningful in the historical aspect of city building and land settlement as it is for genealogical research.

The Preussische Urkataster was established in the 1820s. There were cadastres in other German regions, for instance, in the territories left of the Rhine, which belonged to France since 1801. There, land surveys originated in 1810. For an example of what such maps looked like click on http://www.f05.fh-koeln.de/denkmalpflege/forschung/f03.htm

Cadastral maps are available through Kataster- und Vermessungsämter (surveying offices) of cities or they can be found in archives. Few Urkataster have been evaluated and are available for further analysis. Such a record is the Preussisches Urkataster 1828/30 in Leverkusen by Helmut Lehmler. The book was published in Köln in 1998 through the Westdeutsche Gesellschaft für Familienkunde e.V., Band 96. The book is available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its call number is 943.42/B17 R2h

The role of the Church in the manorial system

The Church and the monasteries were also manor lords during the German feudal period. Since the 10th century the monasteries were regarded as a special entity and were given worldly business and servitude privileges. They received land from wealthy land owners, usually the nobility. The sons and daughters of the nobility would join the monasteries or cloisters when there was no land to inherit. Through them the ecclesiastical entities grew larger and richer, but also Christianity was spread. This gave the Church powers and influence over the emperor. To judge was in the hands of the Church. During medieval times God was the only recognized authority. Therefore, the population adhered to divine law and hoped for leadership from the Church in order to receive grace and eternal salvation. The Church demanded more and more say in all matters worldly, however, never fully gained it. The monastery relied on its own economic strength. The acquired lands were leased to farmers who had to take care of the land and pay tributes, often fairer than they would have to perform under a non-ecclesiastical landowner. In the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries the Church saw the diminishing of its power. Following the Reformation many monasteries were closed or used as schools or as sanctuaries for daughters of the nobility. In 1875 Prussia ordered all ecclesiastical orders be closed.

Source: Meyers Konversationslexikon 1887.

http://www.einsteinfreun.de/unterricht_projekte/geschichte/gundherrs

The Landesverband Rheinland has published Urkunden und Akten des Klosters Merten, edited by Theodor Sukopp and published in 1961 through the Verlag Fredebeul & Koenen KG. Essen.

The book is available through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. The call number is 943.42 A3i v. 7