Principality of Erfurt | |||||||||||||
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| 1807–1814 | |||||||||||||
 Principality of Erfurt highlighted in yellow within theFirst French Empire (coloured in blues), shown with 1812 borders | |||||||||||||
 The French Empire and sphere of influence in 1812. French Empire in 1804 French acquisitions after 1804 Frenchsatellite states French sphere of influence | |||||||||||||
| Status | Imperial state domain of theFirst French Empire | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Erfurt 50°59′0″N11°2′0″E / 50.98333°N 11.03333°E /50.98333; 11.03333 | ||||||||||||
| Government | Principality | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||||||
| 16 October 1806 | |||||||||||||
• Principality established byNapoleonic decree | 4 August 1807 | ||||||||||||
| 27 Sept – 14 Oct 1808 | |||||||||||||
| 16–19 October 1813 | |||||||||||||
• Siege of Erfurt | 28 October 1813 –5 May 1814 | ||||||||||||
| Sept 1814 – June 1815 | |||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Germany | ||||||||||||
ThePrincipality of Erfurt (German:Fürstentum Erfurt;French:Principauté d'Erfurt) was a small state in modernThuringia,Germany, that existed from 1807 to 1814, comprising the modern city ofErfurt and the surrounding land. It was subordinate directly toNapoleon, theEmperor of the French, rather than being a part of theConfederation of the Rhine. After nearly 3 months of siege, the city fell toPrussian,Austrian andRussian forces. Having mainly been Prussian territory before theNapoleonic Wars, most of the lands were restored to Prussia by theCongress of Vienna.
In the wake of theFrench Revolutionary Wars and theTreaty of Lunéville, theHoly Roman Empire underwent a process of substantial territorial reorganisation known as theGerman mediatization, under which Erfurt, since the 10th century a subject of theElectorate and Archbishopric of Mainz, was transferred to theKingdom of Prussia, to compensate for territories Prussia lost to France on theLeft Bank of the Rhine.[1][2]
Fearing the rise in the power ofNapoleon'sFirst French Empire after their defeat ofAustria and establishment of the French-sponsoredConfederation of the Rhine, Prussia andRussia mobilized for a fresh campaign, and Prussian troops massed inSaxony as a part of theWar of the Fourth Coalition. Thetwin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the riverSaale, between theGrande Armée and the forces ofFrederick William III of Prussia. The decisive defeat suffered by thePrussian Army subjugated Prussia to the French Empire until theSixth Coalition was formed in 1813.[3]
After Jena and Auerstedt, a large number of refugees appeared at the Prussian fortress of Erfurt. At first they were refused entrance, but later the gates were opened and soon the city thronged with at least 12,000 demoralized soldiers. Attempts were made by some officers to return the troops to their regiments, but the men refused to cooperate.Joachim Murat,Marshal of France, sent French ColonelClaude de Préval [fr] into Erfurt under aflag of truce.[4] The Frenchman demanded an immediate surrender, which the Prussian commandant initially refused.Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, waited near Erfurt in the hope that large numbers of troops would join the retreat; when few did so, he withdrew towardLangensalza.[4] Without support from PrussianGeneralfeldmarschallMöllendorf, collapsed from injuries suffered at Auerstedt, the fortress commandant signed articles of capitulation; included in the terms were the surrender of thePetersberg Citadel and large quantities of gunpowder and munitions. Altogether, about 12,000 Prussian and Saxon troops underWilliam VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, became prisoners and 65 artillery pieces were captured.[4] At the time of the capitulation, Murat had about 16,000 troops near Erfurt.[5] HistorianFrancis Loraine Petre remarked that Erfurt was the first of a series of "pusillanimous capitulations" by Prussian fortress commanders, writing that Napoleon's plans might have been delayed had the city held out for just a few days. Instead, the French emperor was able to immediately launch the entire army after his fleeing enemies.[4]
Erfurt was administered by a civilian and military Senate[6] (Finanz- und Domänenkammer Erfurt)[7] under a French governor, based in theKurmainzische Statthalterei, previously the seat of city's governor under the Electorate.[6] Napoleon first visited the principality on 23 July 1807, inspecting the citadels and fortifications.[6]
On 4 August 1807, Napoleon attached theSaxe-Weimar territory ofBlankenhain and declared the Principality of Erfurt to be directly subordinate to himself as an "imperial state domain", separate from theConfederation of the Rhine (which was nominally a Frenchprotectorate set up to replace the now-defunct Holy Roman Empire), which the surroundingThuringian states had joined.[7]
On 27 September 1808, Napoleon was ceremonially presented thekeys to the city at the Brühler-Tor before going to meetTsar Alexander I on the road toWeimar to re-enter the city with the tsar.[7] Between 27 September and 14 October 1808, Napoleon hosted theCongress of Erfurt in the principality, intended to reaffirm the alliance with the Tsar, which had been concluded the previous year with theTreaties of Tilsit at the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition. The meeting became a great conference involving an array of kings, princes, dukes, barons and notables from all over Europe, including the kings ofSaxony,Bavaria,Württemberg andWestphalia (the last being Napoleon's brotherJérôme).[8] The resulting convention recognised the Russian conquests ofFinland fromSweden and theDanubian Principalities from theOttoman Empire and stated that, should France go to war again withAustria, Russia shouldmake common cause,[9] though the tsar's support in theWar of the Fifth Coalition was minimal.[10]
During their administration, the French introducedstreet lighting and a tax on foreign horses to pay for maintaining theroad surface.[7] ThePeterskirche suffered under the French occupation, with its inventory being auctioned off to other local churches — including theorgan,bells and even thetower of theCorpus Christi chapel (Fronleichnamskapelle) — and the former monastery's library being donated to theUniversity of Erfurt (and then to the Boineburg Library when the university closed in 1816).[7] Similarly theCyriaksburg Citadel (Zitadelle Cyriaksburg) was damaged by the French with the city-side walls being partially dismantled in the hunt for imagined treasures from the convent, with workers being paid from the sale of the building materials.[11]
In 1811, to commemorate the birth of the Prince Imperial (laterNapoleon II), a 70-foot (21-metre) ceremonialcolumn (Die Napoleonsäule) of wood and plaster was erected on thecommon, on the instigation of the French administration and funded by the city treasury.[7][12] Inaugurated on 20 March 1811; it was burned and destroyed by the citizenry on 6 January 1814 when theSixth Coalition finally entered the city after over 2 months of siege.[7][12][13] Similarly, theNapoleonshöhe — aGreek-styletemple topped by awinged victory with shield, sword and lance and containing abust of Napoleon sculpted byFriedrich Döll[7][12][14] — was erected in theStiegerwald woods on the direction of the senate-presidentvon Resch; the design included a grotto with fountain and flower beds, using a large water basin removed from thePeterskirche.[12] Inaugurated with ceremony on 14 August 1811 after extravagant celebrations for Napoleon's birthday,[7] with a eulogy on Napoleon being given by Resch to little celebration from the citizenry, the French administration commissioned a painting of the temple fromNikolaus Dornheim [de] in 1812, but it was burned on 1 November 1813 and completely destroyed by Erfurters and their besiegers in 1814.[7][12] The celebrations of Napoleon's birthday were repeated in 1812, with a concert in thePredigerkirche, conducted byLouis Spohr.[7]
After his disastrousinvasion of Russia, Napoleon briefly rested the remnants of theGrande Armée in Erfurt on 15 December 1812, on their way back to France proper.[7]
With theSixth Coalition forming after French defeat in Russia, on 24 February 1813 Napoleon ordered thePetersberg Citadel to prepare forsiege, visiting the city on 25 April to inspect the fortifications, in particular both Citadels.[7] The French authorities banned all burials in city cemeteries from 26 June 1813, setting up a single central cemetery inJohannesplatz, an arrangement that continued until 9 December 1816 after the city had been restored to Prussia.[7] After the imposition of martial law on the Petersberg Citadel in 1813, thePeterskirche was used as a warehouse and thecounts of Gleichen [de] were reburied inErfurt Cathedral.[15]
On 10 July 1813, Napoleon put in charge of the defences of Erfurt Brigadier GeneralAlexandre d'Alton [fr],baron of the Empire. However, when the French decreed that 1000 men would be conscripted into theGrande Armée, the recruits were joined by other citizens in rioting on 19 July that led to 20 arrests, of whom 2 weresentenced to death by Frenchcourt-martial;[7] as a result, the French ordered the closure of all inns and alehouses.[16]
With the Sixth Coalition's decisivevictory at Leipzig (16–19 October 1813), French troops head to Erfurt; Napoleon visited on 23 October, Erfurt being his only major weapons and storage depot east of the Rhine.[17] Within a week of Leipzig, however, Erfurt was besieged by Prussian, Austrian and Russian troops under the command of Prussian Lt Genvon Kleist.[7][18] Coalition shelling of the Petersberg Citadel on 6 November caused substantial damage to districts to the north of the cathedral and the destruction of much of the monastery buildings and thePeterskirche.[7]
After a capitulation signed by d'Alton on 20 December 1813 the French troops withdrew to the two fortresses of Petersberg and Cyriaksburg,[18] allowing for the Coalition forces to march into Erfurt on 6 January 1814 through theSchmidtstedter Gate, to jubilant greetings;[19][20] theNapoleonsäule ceremonial column was burned and destroyed as a symbol of the citizens' oppression under the French.[19] After a call for volunteers 3 days later, 300 Erfurters joined the Coalition armies in France.[19]
Finally, in May 1814, the French capitulated, with 1,700 French troops vacating the Petersberg and Cyriaksburg fortresses.[19] During the two and a half months of siege, the mortality rate rose in the city greatly; 1,564 Erfurt citizens died in 1813, around a thousand more than the previous year.[20]
After theCongress of Vienna, Erfurt was restored toPrussia on 21 June 1815, becoming the capital of one of the three districts (Regierungsbezirke) of the newProvince of Saxony, but some southern and eastern parts of Erfurter lands joined Blankenhain in being transferred to theGrand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach the following September.[19] Although enclosed byThuringian territory in the west, south and east, the city remained part of the Prussian Province of Saxony until 1944.
The full text ofHauptschluß der außerordentlichen Reichsdeputation vom 25. Februar 1803 at WikisourceNach der unglücklichen Schlacht bei Jena und dem Rückzuge der Preußen, wurde sie durch Kapitulation den Franzosen übergeben, und erhielt anfangs eine ziemlich starke Besatzung; doch wurde sie in der Folge so von ihnen vernachläßigt, daß in einer gewissen Epoche der Marketender Sturm mit seiner Familie und ein alter Unteroffizier ihre ganze Garnison ausmachten. Damals war es, wo der Intendant Devismes und der Domainen-Direktor Gentil in der nach der Stadt zugekehrten Seite der Mauer einen Schatz suchen ließ, der noch aus den Zeiten des ehemaligen Benedektiner-Nonnenklosters hier versteckt seyn sollte, ohne zu bedenken, daß zufolge der oben angeführten, an der Mauer befindlichen Inschrift, kein Schatz von 1478 her in einer Mauer versteckt seyn konnte, die über 100 Jahre darnach erst erbaut worden war; aber die Habsucht eilte hier jeder nähern Untersuchung vor. Bei dieser Gelegenheit wurde auch die alte Burgkapelle demoliert und aus den verkauften Baumaterialien die Arbeiter bezahlt, die beim Schatzgraben hilfreiche Hand geleistet hatten. [After the unfortunate battle of Jena and the retreat of the Prussians, it was handed over by capitulation to the French, and was initially fairly strongly garrisoned; but was subsequently so neglected that at one time the whole garrison consisted of thesutler Sturm with his family and an old sergeant. At that time, Intendantde Vismes [fr] and Domain-Director Gentil searched in the city-side walls for treasure hidden since the times of the former Benedictine nunnery — without considering that an inscription located on the wall above showed that it had been built just over 100 years later, so no treasure could have been hidden there in 1478, but greed hastened this before any closer investigation. On that occasion the old chapel was demolished, and the workers who had helped dig for treasure were paid from the sale of the building materials.]
Preußische Truppen marschieren in der Stadt ein. Auf dem Anger kommt es zu Jubelszenen. Der Napoleon-Obelisk wird zerstört. [Prussian troops march into the city. On thevillage green this leads to scenes of jubilation. The Napoleon obelisk is destroyed.]
... Gruft der Grafen von Gleichen in der Peterskirche öffnete man am 19. August 1813 und überführte den Grabstein zum Dom. [... Tomb of the Counts von Gleichen in thePeterskirche to be opened on 19 August 1813 and transferred the gravestone to the Cathedral.]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Cited withinBelagerung von Erfurt (1813) on theGerman Wikipedia.Le général Kleist assiégeait Erfurt. Par suite d'une capitulation signée le 20 décembre, le générale français d'Alton se retira dans les deux forts de Petersberg et Cyriacsbourg, et la ville fut remise aux Prussiens le 6 janvier 1814. [General Kleist laid siege to Erfurt. As a result of a capitulation signed on 20 December, the French general d'Alton withdrew to the two forts of Petersberg and Cyriaksburg, and the town was handed over to the Prussians on 6 January 1814.]
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|  Europe at the height of Napoleon's Empire | |||||||||||
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