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WURTTEMBERG
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WURTTEMBERG , a See also:kingdom of See also:Germany, forming a tolerably compact See also:mass in the S.W. See also:angle of the See also:empire. In the See also:south it is cleft by the See also:long narrow territory of See also:Hohenzollern, belonging to See also:Prussia; and it encloses six small enclaves of See also:Baden and Hohenzollern, while it owns nine small exclaves within the limits of these two states. It lies between 470 34' 48" and 49° 35' 17" N., and between 8° 15' and 1o° 30' E. Its greatest length from N. to S. is 14o m.; its greatest breadth is too m.; its boundaries, almost entirely arbitrary, have a See also:circuit of 1116 m.; and its See also:total See also:area is 7534 sq. m., or about -h-th of the entire empire. It is bounded on the E. by See also:Bavaria, and on the other three sides by Baden, with the exception of a See also:short distance on the S., where it touches Hohenzollern and the See also:lake of See also:Constance. See also:Physical Features.—Wurttemberg forms See also:part of the South-See also:German tableland, and is hilly rather than mountainous. In fact the undulating fertile terraces of Upper and See also:Lower See also:Swabia may be taken as the characteristic parts of this agricultural See also:country. The usual estimates return one-See also:fourth of the entire See also:surface as " See also:plain," less than one-third as " mountainous," and nearly one-See also:half as " hilly." The See also:average See also:elevation above the See also:sea-level is 1640 ft.; the lowest point is at Bottingen (410 ft.), where the See also:Neckar quits the country; the highest is the Katzenkopf (3775 ft.), on the Hornisgrinde, on the western border. The See also:chief mountains are the See also:Black See also:Forest (q.v.) on the See also:west, the Swabian See also:Jura or Rauhe See also:Alb stretching across the See also:middle of the country from south-west to See also:north-See also:east, and the Adelegg Mountains in the extreme south-east, adjoining the See also:Algau See also:Alps in Bavaria. The Rauhe Alb or See also:Alp slopes gradually down into the See also:plateau on its south See also:side, but on the north it is sometimes rugged and steep, and has its See also:line broken by isolated projecting hills. The highest summits are in the south-west, viz, the See also:Lemberg (3326 ft.), Ober-Hohenberg (3312 ft.) and Plettenberg (3293 ft.). To the south of the Rauhe Alb the plateau of Upper Swabia stretches to the lake of Constance and eastwards across the See also:Iller into Bavaria. Between the Alb and the Black Forest in the north-west are the fertile terraces of Lower Swabia, continued on the north-east by those of See also:Franconia About 70% of Wurttemberg belongs to the See also:basin of the See also:Rhine, and about 30% to that of the See also:Danube. The See also:principal See also:river is the Neckar, which flows northward for 186 m. through the country to lain the Rhine, and with its tributaries the Rems, Kocher, Jagst, ns, &c., drains 57 % of the kingdom. The Danube flows from eastto west across the south half of Wurttemberg, a distance of 65 m., a small See also:section of which is in Hohenzollern. Just above See also:Ulm it is joined by the Iller, which forms the boundary between Bavaria and Wurttemberg for about 35 M. The Tauber in the north-east joins the See also:Main; the Argen and Schussen in the south enter the lake of Constance. The lakes of Wurttemberg, with the exception of those in the Black Forest, all See also:lie south of the Danube. The largest is the Federsee (1 sq. m.), near Buchau. About one-fifth of the lake of Constance is reckoned to belong to Wurttemberg. See also:Mineral springs are abundant; the most famous See also:spa is See also:Wildbad, in the Black Forest. The See also:climate is temperate, and colder among the mountains in the south than in the north. The mean temperature varies at different points from 430 to 50° F. The abundant forests induce much See also:rain, most of which falls in the summer. The See also:soil is on the whole fertile and well cultivated, and See also:agriculture is the main occupation of the inhabitants. See also:Population.—The population of the four departments (Kreise) into which the kingdom is divided is shown below: See also:District (Kreis). Area in Pop. Pop. See also:Density sq. m. 1900. 1905. 1905. Neckar. . . 1286 745,669 811,478 631 Black Forest (See also:Schwarz- wald) . . . . 1844 509,258 541,662 293 Jagst . 1985 400,126 407,059 205 Danube (Donau) . . 2419 514,427 541,980 223 Total . . 7534 2,169,480 2,302,179 306 The population is particularly dense in the Neckar valley from See also:Esslingen northward. The mean See also:annual increase from 1900 to 1905 amounted to 1.22%. 8'5% of the births are illegitimate. Classified according to See also:religion, about 69% are Protestants, 30% See also:Roman Catholics, and See also:Jews amount to about z %. Protestants largely preponderate in the Neckar district, Roman Catholics in that of the Danube. The See also:people of the north-west belong to the Alamannic stock, those of the north-east to the Franconian, and those of the centre and south to the Swabian. According to the latest occupation See also:census, nearly half of the entire population is supported by agriculture, and a third by See also:industrial pursuits, See also:mining and See also:commerce. In 1910, 5o6,o61 persons were engaged in agriculture and kindred occupations, 432,114 in industrial occupations, and 100,109 in See also:trade and commerce. The largest towns in the kingdom are See also:Stuttgart (with Cannstadt), Ulm, See also:Heilbronn, Esslingen, See also:Reutlingen, See also:Ludwigsburg, See also:Goppingen, Gmtind, See also:Tubingen, See also:Tuttlingen and See also:Ravensburg. Agriculture.—Wurttemberg is essentially an agricultural See also:state, and of its 4,821,760 acres, 44.9 % are agricultural See also:land and gardens, 1.1 % vineyards, 17.9 % meadows and pastures, and 30.8 % forest. It possesses See also:rich meadowlands, cornfields, orchards, gardens, and hills covered with vines. The chief agricultural products are oats, spelt, See also:rye, See also:wheat, See also:barley, hops. To these must be added See also:wine (mostly of excellent quality) of an annual value of about one million See also:sterling, peas and beans, See also:maize, See also:fruit, chiefly cherries and apples, See also:beets and See also:tobacco, and See also:garden and See also:dairy produce. Of live stock, See also:cattle, See also:sheep and pigs are reared in considerable See also:numbers, and See also:great See also:attention is paid to the breeding of horses. Mining.—See also:Salt and See also:iron are the only minerals of great industrial importance found in Wurttemberg. The salt See also:industry only began to be of importance at the beginning of the 19th See also:century. The iron industry, on the other See also:hand, is of great antiquity, but it is hampered by the entire See also:absence of See also:coal mines in the country. Other minerals produced are See also:granite, See also:limestone, ironstone and fireclay. Manufactures.—The old-established manufactures embrace See also:linen, woollen and See also:cotton fabrics, particularly at Esslingen and Goppingen, and See also:paper-making, especially at Ravensburg, Heilbronn and other places in Lower Swabia. The manufacturing See also:industries assisted by the See also:government See also:developed rapidly during the later years of the 19th century, notably See also:metal-working, especially such branches of it as require exact and delicate workmanship. Of particular importance are iron and See also:steel goods, locomotives (for which Esslingen enjoys a great reputation), machinery, motor-cars, bicycles, small arms (in the Mauser factory at Oberndorf), all kinds of scientific and See also:artistic appliances, pianos (at Stuttgart), See also:organs and other musical See also:instruments, photographic apparatus, clocks (in the Black Forest), See also:electrical apparatus, and See also:gold and See also:silver goods. There are also extensive chemical See also:works, See also:potteries, See also:cabinet-making workshops, See also:sugar factories, breweries and distilleries. See also:Water-See also:power and petrol largely compensate for the lack of coal. Among other interesting developments is the manufacture of liquid carbonic See also:acid See also:gas procured from natural gas springs beside the Eyach, a tributary of the Neckar. Commerce.—The principal exports are cattle, cereals, See also:wood, pianos, salt, oil, See also:leather, cotton and linen fabrics, See also:beer, wine and See also:spirits. The chief commercial cities are Stuttgart, Ulm, Heilbronn and See also:Friedrichshafen. The See also:book trade of Stuttgart, called the See also:Leipzig of South Germany, is very extensive. Communications.—In 190'7 there were 1219 m. of See also:railways, of which all except 159 m. belonged to the state. The Neckar, the Schussen and the lake of Constance are all navigable for boats; the Danube begins to be navigable at Ulm. The roads of Wurttemberg are fairly See also:good; the See also:oldest of them are Roman. Wurttemberg, like Bavaria, retained the See also:control of its own postal and See also:telegraph service on the See also:foundation of the new German empire. Constitution.—Wurttemberg is a constitutional See also:monarchy and a member of the German empire, with four votes in the federal See also:council (Bundesrat), and seventeen in the imperial See also:diet. The constitution rests on a See also:law of 1819, amended in 1868, in 1874, and again in 1906. The See also:crown is hereditary, and conveys the See also:simple See also:title of See also: The country is divided into four governmental departments (Kreise) and subdivided into sixty-four divisions (Oberamtsbezirke), each of which is under a headman (Oberamtmann) assisted by a local council (Amtsversammlung). At the See also:head of each of the four departments is a government (Regierung).
Religion.—The right of direction over the churches resides in the king, who has also, so long as he belongs to the See also:Protestant See also: See also:Army.—By terms of the See also:convention of 1871 the troops of Wurttemberg See also:form the XIII. army See also:corps of the imperial German army. Finances.—The state See also:revenue for 1909–1910 was estimated at £4,840,520, which is nearly balanced by the See also:expenditure. About one-third of the revenue is derived from railways, forests and mines; about £1,400,000 from See also:direct See also:taxation; and the See also:remainder from in-direct taxes, the See also:post-See also:office and sundry items. In 1909 the public See also:debt amounted to £29,285,335, of which more than £27,000,000 was incurred for railway construction. Of the expenditure over £900,000 is spent upon public worship and education, and over £1,200,000 goes in See also:interest and repayment of the See also:national debt. To the See also:treasury of the German empire the kingdom contributed £66o,000. See also:History.—The origin of the name Wurttemberg is uncertain, but the once popular derivation from Wirth am See also:Berg is now universally rejected. Some authorities derive it from a proper name, Wiruto or Wirtino; others from a See also:Celtic See also:place-name, Virolunum or Verdunum. At all events from being the name of a See also:castle near the See also:village of Rothenberg, not far from Stuttgart, it was extended over the surrounding country, and as the lords of this district increased their possessions so the name covered an ever-widening area, until it reached its See also:present See also:denotation. See also:Early forms of it are Wirtenberg, Wirtembenc and Wirtenberc. Wirtemberg was long current, and in the latter part of the 16th century WUrtemberg and Wurttemberg appeared. In 18o6 Wurttemberg was adopted as the official spelling, though Wurtemberg is also See also:common and occurs sometimes in official documents and even on coins issued after that date. As far as we know, the first inhabitants of the country were the Celts, and then the See also:Suebi. In the 1st century A.D. the See also:Romans conquered the land and defended their position there by a See also:ram-part (limes). Early in the 3rd century the See also:Alamanni drove the Romans beyond the Rhine and the Danube, but in their turn they were conquered by the See also:Franks under See also:Clovis, the decisive See also:battle being fought in 496. For about four See also:hundred years the district was part of the Frankish empire, being administered by See also:counts, but in the 9th century it was incorporated with the German duchy of Swabia. The duchy of Swabia was ruled by the See also:Hohenstaufen See also:family until the See also:death of See also:Conradin in 1268, when a considerable part of it See also:fell to the count of Wurttemberg, the representative of a family first mentioned about ,o8o, a certain See also:Conrad von Beutelsbach, having called himself after his ancestral castle of Wurttemberg. The earliest count about whom anything is known is one See also:Ulrich, who ruled from 1241 to 1265. He was See also:marshal of Swabia and See also:advocate of the See also:town of Ulm, and had large possessions in the valleys of the Neckar and the Rems. Under his sons, Ulrich II. and See also:Eberhard I., and their successors the power of the family See also:grew steadily. Eberhard (d. 1325) was the opponent, and not always the unsuccessful one, of three German See also:kings; he doubled the area of his See also:county and transferred his .See also:residence from Wurttemberg to Stuttgart. His successors were not perhaps equally important, but all added something to the area of Wurttemberg. The lands of the family were several times divided, but in 1482 they were declared indivisible and were See also:united under Count Eberhard V., called See also:im See also:Bart. This arrangement was confirmed by the German king, See also:Maximilian I., and the imperial diet in 1495.
Eberhard was one of the most energetic rulers that Wurttemberg ever had, and in 1495 his county was raised to the rank of duchy. Dying in 1496, he was succeeded by his See also:cousin, See also:Duke Eberhard II., who, however, was deposed after a short reign of two years. The long reign (1498-155o) of Ulrich I., who succeeded to the duchy while still a See also:child, was a most eventful See also:period for the country, and many traditions cluster See also:round the name of this gifted, unscrupulous and ambitious See also:man. The extortions by
which he sought to raise See also:money for his extravagant pleasures excited a rising known as that of the arme Konrad (poor Conrad), not unlike the See also:rebellion in See also:England led by Wat See also:Tyler; See also:order was soon restored, and in 1514 by the treaty of Tubingen the people undertook to pay the duke's debts in return for various See also:political privileges, which in effect laid the foundation of the constitutional liberties of the country. A few years later Ulrich quarrelled with the Swabian See also:League, and its forces, helped by See also: He introduced a See also:system of church government, the See also:Grosse Kirchenordnung, which has endured in part to the present See also:day. In this reign a See also:standing See also:commission was established to superintend the finances, and the members of this See also:body, all of whom belonged to the upper classes, gained considerable power in the state, mainly at the expense of the towns. Christopher's son See also: (1676-1733), who was only one See also:year old when his See also:father Duke William Louis died in 1677, Wurttemberg made the acquaintance of another destructive enemy. In 1688, 1703 and 1707' the See also:French entered the duchy and inflicted brutalities and sufferings upon the inhabitants. The sparsely populated country afforded a welcome to the fugitive Waldenses, who did something to restore it to prosperity, but this benefit was partly neutralized by the extravagance of the duke, anxious to provide for the expensive tastes of his See also:mistress, Christiana See also:Wilhelmina von Gravenitz. Charles See also: 1795), and then by another, Frederick Eugene (d. 1797). This latter prince, who had served in the army of Frederick the Great, to whom he was related by See also:marriage, educated his See also:children in the Protestant faith. Thus, when his son Frederick II. became duke in 1797, the ruler of Wurttemberg was again a Protestant, and the royal house has adhered to this faith since that date. During Frederick Eugene's short reign the French invaded Wurttemberg, compelled the duke to withdraw his troops from the imperial army and to pay a sum of money. Frederick II. (1754-1816), a prince whose See also:model was Frederick the Great, took part in the war against France in See also:defiance of the wishes of his people, and when the French again invaded and devastated the country he retired to See also:Erlangen, where he remained until after the conclusion of the peace of See also:Luneville in 18oi. By a private treaty with France, signed in March 1802, the ceded his possessions on the See also:left See also:bank of the Rhine, receiving in return nine imperial towns, among them Reutlingen and Heilbronn, and some other territories, amounting altogether to about 85o sq. m. and containing about 124,000 inhabitants. He also accepted from See also:Napoleon the title of elector. These new districts were not incorporated with the duchy, but remained See also:separate; they were known as New Wurttemberg and were ruled without a diet. In 1805 Wurttemberg took up arms on the side of France? and by the peace of See also:Pressburg in See also:December 1805 the elector was rewarded with various Austrian possessions in Swabia and with other lands in the neighbourhood. On the 1st of See also:January 1806 Frederick assumed the title of king, abrogated the constitution and united old and new Wurttemberg. Subsequently he placed the See also:property of the church under the control of the state. In 1806 he joined the See also:Confederation of the Rhine and received further additions of territory containing 160,000 inhabitants; a little later, by the peace of See also:Vienna in See also:October 1809, about iro,000 more persons were placed under his rule. In return for these favours Frederick joined Napoleon in his See also:campaigns against Prussia, Austria and See also:Russia, and of 16,000 of his subjects who marched to See also:Moscow only a few hundreds re-turned. Then after the battle of Leipzig he deserted the waning fortunes of the French emperor, and by a treaty made with Metternich at See also:Fulda in See also:November 1813 he secured the See also:confirmation of his royal title and of his See also:recent acquisitions of territory, while his troops marched with those of the See also:allies into France. In 1815 the king joined the Germanic Confederation, but the See also:congress of Vienna made no See also:change in the extent of his lands. In the same year he laid before the representatives of his people the See also:sketch of a new constitution, but this was rejected, and in the midst of the commotion Frederick died on the 3oth of October 1816. At once the new king, William I.. took up the See also:consideration of this question and after much discussion a new constitution was granted in See also:September 1819. This is the constitution which, with subsequent modifications, is still in force, and it is described in an earlier section of this See also:article. A period of quietness now set in, and the See also:condition of the kingdom, its education, its agriculture and its trade and manufactures, began to receive See also:earnest attention, while by frugality, both in public and in private matters, King William helped to repair the shattered finances of the country. But the See also:desire for greater political freedom had not been entirely satisfied by the constitution of 1819, and after 183o there was a certain amount of unrest. This, eowever, soon passed away, while trade was fostered by the inclusion of Wurttemberg in the German See also:Zollverein and by the construction of railways. The revolutionary See also:movement of 1848 did not leave Wurttemberg untouched, although no actual violence took place within the kingdom. The king was compelled to dismiss Johannes Schlayer (1792–186o) and his other ministers, and to See also:call to power men with more liberal ideas, the exponents of the See also:idea of a united Germany. A democratic constitution was See also:pro-claimed, but as soon as the movement had spent its force the liberal ministers were dismissed, and in October 1849 Schlayer and his associates were again in power. By interfering with popular electoral rights the king and his ministers succeeded in assembling a servile diet in 1851, and this surrendered all the privileges gained since 1848. In this way the constitution of 1819 was restored, and power passed into the hands of a bureaucracy. Al-most the last See also:act of William's long reign was to conclude a See also:concordat with the Papacy, but this was repudiated by the diet, which preferred to regulate the relations between church and state in its own way. In July 1864 Charles I. (1823–1891) succeeded his father William as king and had almost at once to See also:face considerable difficulties. In the See also:duel between Austria and Prussia for supremacy in Germany, William I. had consistently taken the part of the former power, and this policy was equally acceptable to the new king and his advisers. In 1866 Wurttemberg took up arms on behalf of Austria, but three See also:weeks after the battle of See also:Koniggratz her troops were decisively beaten at Tauberbischofsheim, and the country was at the See also:mercy of Prussia. The Prussians occupied the See also:northern part of Wurttemberg and peace was made in See also:August 1866; by this Wurttemberg paid an See also:indemnity of 8,000,000 gulden, but at once concluded a See also:secret offensive and defensive treaty with her conqueror. The end of the struggle was followed by a renewal of the democratic agitation in Wurttemberg, but this had achieved no tangible results when the great war between France and Prussia See also:broke out in 187o. Although the policy of Wurttemberg had continued antagonistic to Prussia, the country shared in the national See also:enthusiasm which swept over Germany, and its troops took a creditable part in the battle of See also:Worth and in other operations of the war. In 1871 Wurttemberg became a member of the new German empire, but retained control of her own post office, telegraphs and railways. She had also certain special privileges with regard to taxation and the army, and for the next ten years the policy of Wurttemberg was one of enthusiastic See also:loyalty to the new order. Many important reforms, especially in the See also:realm of finance, were introduced, but a proposal for a See also:union of the railway system with that of the See also:rest of Germany was rejected. Certain reductions in taxation having been made in 1889, the reform of the constitution became the question of the See also:hour. The king and his ministers wished to strengthen the conservative See also:element in the chambers, but only slight reforms were effected by the See also:laws of 1874, 1876 and 1879, a more thorough See also:settlement being postponed. On the 6th of October 1891 King Charles died suddenly, and was succeeded by his cousin William II. (b. 1848), who continued the policy of his predecessor. The reform of the constitution continued to be discussed, and the See also:election of 1895 was memorable because of the return of a powerful party of democrats. King William had no sons, nor had his only Protestant kinsman, Duke See also:Nicholas (1833-1903); consequently the See also:succession would ultimately pass to a Roman Catholic See also:branch of the family, and this prospect raised up certain difficulties about the relations between church and state. The See also:heir to the See also:throne in 1910 was the Roman Catholic Duke See also:Albert (b. 1865). Between 1900 and 1910 the political history of Wurttemberg centred round the settlement of the constitutional and the educational questions. The constitution was revised in 1906 on the lines already indicated, and a settlement of the education difficulty was brought about in 1909. In 1904 the railway system was united with that of the rest of Germany. For the history of Wurttemberg see the Wirttembergisches Urkundenbuch (Stuttgart, 1849–1907) ; and the Darstellungen aus der859 wurttembergischen Geschichte (Stuttgart, 1904 fol.). Histories are those of P. F. Stalin, Geschichte Wurttembergs (See also:Gotha, 1882—1887); E. See also:Schneider, Wurttembergische Geschichte (Stuttgart, 1896) ; Belschner, Geschichte von Wurttemberg in Wort and Bud (Stuttgart; 1902); Weller, Wurttemberg in der deutschen Geschichte (Stuttgart, 1900) ; K. V. Fricker and Th. von Gessler, Geschichte der Verfassung TViirttembergs (Stuttgart, 1869) ; Hieber, See also:Die wurttembergische Verfassungsreform von zgod (Stuttgart, 1906); and R. Schmid, Reformationsgeschichte Wurttembergs (Heilbronn, 1904). See also Golther, Der Staat and die katholische Kirche im Konigreich Wurttemberg (Stuttgart, 1874) ; B. Kaisser, Geschichte See also:des Volksschulwesens in Wurttemberg (Stuttgart, 1895—1897) ; Bartens, Die wirtschaftliche Entwickelung des Konigreichs Wurttemberg (See also:Frankfort, 1901); W. von Heyd, Bibliographie der wurttembergischen Geschichte (1895-1896), See also:Band iii. by Th. Schon (19o7); D. Schafer, Wurttembergische Geschichtsquellen (Stuttgart, 18U4 fol.); and A. Pfister, See also:Konig See also:Friedrich von Wurttemberg and See also:seine Zeit (Stuttgart, 1888). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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