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East Frisia
East Frisia (in German Ostfriesland, in the local dialect Oostfreesland) is a German region belonging to the present-day state or Land of Lower Saxony. It is located in northwestern Germany, in the coastal area bordering the North Sea.
Cities of great importance are located in this region, such as Emden, Aurich, Leer, Norden and Wittmund. Thus, East Frisia is made up of the districts of Aurich, Leer and Wittmund, together with the independent city of Emden and the former districts of Norden and Weener.[1][2] Also to be included within the region are six of the seven East Frisian Islands: Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog and Spiekeroog, as well as the islets of Memmert, Lütje Hörn and Kachelotplate.
History
Protohistory
Data on the prehistory of East Frisia have been obtained partly thanks to the archaeological remains found. However, the main source of information comes from the hands of the Roman historians. Thus it may be said that the first to analyze the region were Pliny the Elder, Tacitus and Strabo, who recorded in their writings the size and distribution of human settlements, as well as the customs of the local inhabitants and the most important geographical features.
Pliny spoke of the Chauci people, describing them as a primitive community located on the shore of the North Sea, between the Elbe and Ems rivers. These first inhabitants of East Frisia were a people devoted to fishing in the salt marshes.
Later, the Saxons, who were migrating from the east, penetrated the region, as did the Frisians, whose migration came from the west. In this way, both peoples ended up occupying the area, taking control of the entire coastal zone of East Frisia.
Pre-Carolingian period
Before the empire of Charlemagne came into being there existed a Frisian Kingdom that stretched from present-day North Holland to the bank of the Weser river. After a series of nobles managed to control the region, the Crown of Frisia was established.
Of the monarchs of the Crown of Frisia, the best known is probably Redbad, who appears in numerous East Frisian popular tales, as well as in the myths and legends of the region. Today numerous places are named after him, and many streets have been dedicated to him.
Conquest by Charlemagne
The Kingdom of Frisia had a relatively fleeting existence, since Widukind fell before the invasion of Charlemagne in 785, the region thus passing into the hands of the Franks.
Under Charlemagne, East Frisia was divided into two counties. From this moment Christianization began with the missionaries Liudger and Willehad, and East Frisia was attached in one part to the Diocese of Bremen and in the other to the Diocese of Münster.
With the collapse of the Carolingian Empire, East Frisia broke with its earlier ties and a network of independent, self-administered districts arose, which each year elected the so-called "Redjeven" (judges, councillors) as their representatives, who exercised both jurisdiction and the administration and organization of their districts. Feudalism, which was widespread in Europe in the Middle Ages, remained unknown in East Frisia. Rather, the Frisians saw themselves as free people who were not bound to any government.
Every year, during this period of the so-called Frisian Freedom, which lasted from the 12th to the 14th century, the envoys of the 7 Frisian Sealands met at the Upstalsboom near Aurich to discuss laws and take political decisions of supra-regional importance.
County of East Frisia
Originally East Frisia was part of a larger Frisian kingdom, where there were respected families of local chieftains (Häuptling). In the 15th century the Cirksena dynasty managed to establish its authority over practically all of East Frisia. In 1464, Ulrich I of East Frisia was raised to the status of Count by the Emperor Frederick III of the Holy Roman Empire, and East Frisia became a county.
Origin of the county
In 1430, led by the local chieftain Edzard Cirksena of Greetsiel, a liberation alliance was formed against the ruler Focko Ukena. Together with his brother Ulrich, Edzard succeeded in removing Ukena's faction from power. After the marriage in 1455 of Ulrich Cirksena to Theda Ukena, a granddaughter of his enemy, most of East Frisia was unified. Only the lordships of Jever and Friedeburg were able to maintain their independence. Sibet Attena, a nephew and helper of Ulrich, received the Lordships of Esens, Stedesdorf and Wittmund, which together formed the Harlingerland. The Harlingerland did remain under the supreme authority of the Cirksena family. However, because Ocko I tom Brok had given the territory to the Count of Holland in 1381, the status of the rulers of East Frisia was unclear. The ruler of East Frisia decided to improve his situation by appealing directly to the Holy Roman Emperor. As a result, the Emperor Frederick III raised Ulrich in 1464 to Imperial Count. The Emperor gave Ulrich I the Imperial County in Norden, Emden, Emisgonien in East Frisia.
Consolidation of the county
After the death of Ulrich I, his widow Theda ruled on behalf of their sons, who were still minors. Theda managed to withstand the threats of Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy and Count Gerd of Oldenburg. In 1481 she added the lordship of Fredeburg to the county. Under her son Edzard I, there were disputes with the chieftains of the Harlingerland and Jeverland and with the Prince-Bishop of Münster and the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. Jeverland and Harlingerland remained independent, but Butjadingen became subject to the authority of East Frisia.
The struggle for the Frisian lands
A new situation was created with the election of George of Saxony as imperial stadtholder of Frisia by the Emperor Maximilian I. This election was the last attempt to unify all of Frisia under a single ruler. Count Edzard recognized George as his feudal lord. Rebellions broke out, however, in Frisia and in the Groninger Ommelanden. In 1506 Edzard broke his allegiance to George, forming instead an alliance with Groningen. Edzard was now recognized by the governor of the Groninger Ommelanden. In 1512, primogeniture was introduced to preserve the unity achieved. In 1515 the successors of George of Saxony renounced their rights over Frisia in favor of Duke Charles of Burgundy, later Emperor Charles V. The conflict ended in 1517 in a treaty between Edzard and Charles, in which Charles recognized Edzard's possessions as an imperial county.
The Reformation
After 1519 the Protestant Reformation penetrated East Frisia, initially with a very tolerant view of Catholicism. After Edzard I was succeeded by his son Enno II in 1528, the suppression of Catholicism began. Most East Frisian monasteries and abbeys were secularized. Apart from this, a great gulf arose between Lutherans and Calvinists.
Political marriages
In 1517 an agreement was signed in which the marriage between Enno II and Maria of Jever was planned. However, Enno II broke the agreement and instead married Anna of Oldenburg in 1529. In this marriage, Butjadingen was handed over to Oldenburg, and in return Oldenburg renounced its claims to Jever. In response, Maria of Jever expelled the East Frisian occupiers from Jever in 1531, and in 1532 recognized the Duke of Burgundy, Charles V, as her feudal lord. The Harlingerland was leased to the Duke of Guelders.
Dutch intervention
The Count's power came under pressure in the 16th century, partly because of the Dutch Revolt. The city of Emden became a popular destination for Dutch Calvinists fleeing religious persecution in the Netherlands. Count Edzard II, however, was a Lutheran. In 1595 the Dutch Republic interfered in the dispute between the city and the Count, with the Treaty of Delft, in which the Lutheran Count recognized Dutch influence and also the Reformed Church (Calvinist). Dutch troops were stationed in Emden and Leer.
In 1602, Count Enno tried to expel the Dutch with the support of the Emperor and the King of Spain, but he was repulsed. In a new treaty in 1603 he was forced to accept the Dutch occupation for an indefinite time. In the Thirty Years' War, imperial troops entered the city in 1628. Although they did not clash with the Dutch troops present in the county, the States General of the Netherlands stopped supplying the valley of the Eems.
Status after 1744
The territory fell into the hands of Prussia in 1744. Following the Convention of Emden concluded on March 14, 1744 between the city of Emden and Frederick II of Prussia, the latter was able to march without resistance into East Frisia when the last count, Charles Edzard, died on May 25 without heirs.
In 1807 it was annexed by France and added to the Kingdom of Holland as the Department of East Frisia. After France directly annexed the Kingdom of Holland in 1810, the territory became part of the French department of Ems-Oriental. In 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, it was added to the Kingdom of Hanover. Today it is part of the German state of Lower Saxony.
Geography
The landscape of East Frisia is strongly influenced by its proximity to the North Sea. The East Frisian Islands stretch for 90 kilometers along the coast. They offer dunes and sandy beaches, although in their center they also have pastures and woods. The area between the islands and the coast is unique in the world: the tide leaves a wide strip of mudflats with creeks that attract an extraordinary number of species, of crabs, birds and seals. For this reason, the UNESCO World Heritage Fund declared the Wadden Sea, which had already been a national park, a World Heritage Site.[3]
References
- ↑ Schwarting, Gunnar (1985). Handbuch der kommunalen Wissenschaft und Praxis (in Deutsch). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 621–634. ISBN 9783642648984. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Das gelehrte Ost Friesland". Reformed Protestantism - East Friesland and North West Germany Online (in Deutsch). Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ↑ "Nationalpark Wattenmeer" (in Deutsch). Archived from the original on 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
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