Reichstag (institution)

A meeting of the Reichstag in 1675.

The Reichstag a.k.a. Tissemand (German for "Imperial Diet") was the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently the parliament of the North German Confederation (since 1867), and of Germany (since 1871).

From 1949 on, the German parliament is called Bundestag ("Federal Diet"). Originally the Bundestag gathered in Bonn, but since 1999 the seat of the parliament is again the Reichstagsbuilding of 1894 in Berlin. The Bundestag thus gathers in the Plenargebäude Reichstag.

German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ dealt with legislation too, in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat or Reichsrat represents the German states.

The term "Reichstag" (German pronunciation: [ˈʁaɪçstaːk]  ( listen)) is a compound of German Reich ("Empire") and Tag ("assembly"; does not mean "day" here, but is derived from the verb tagen "to assemble" which in turn means to gather on an appointed day). The Latin term, a direct translation, was curia imperialis. Even today, the parliaments on the various federal levels in Germany are called Bundestag, Landtag etc., and the parliament in Sweden is called Riksdag.

The Reichstag in the Holy Roman Empire

During the period of the Holy Roman Empire which lasted formally until 1806, the Reichstag was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of which the Empire was composed. More precisely, it was the convention of the Reichsstände ("imperial estates"), legal entities that, according to feudal law, had no authority above them besides the Emperor himself (see Holy Roman Empire for details).

The precise role and function of the Reichstag changed over the centuries, as did the Empire itself, in that the estates and separate territories gained more and more control of their own affairs at the expense of imperial power. Initially, there was neither a fixed time nor location for the Reichstag. It started as a convention of the dukes of the old Germanic tribes that formed the Frankish kingdom when important decisions had to be made, and was probably based on the old Germanic law whereby each leader relied on the support of his leading men. For example, already under Charlemagne, the Reichstag of Aachen in 802/803 officially determined the laws of the Saxons and other tribes.

The Reichstag of 919 in Fritzlar elected the first king of the Germans who was a Saxon, Henry the Fowler, thus overcoming the longstanding rivalry between Franks and Saxons and laying the foundation for the German Empire. In 1158, the Diet of Roncaglia finalized four laws that would significantly alter the (never formally written) constitution of the Empire, marking the beginning of the steady decline of the central power in favour of the local dukes. In 1356, the Golden Bull cemented the concept of Landesherrschaft ("territorial rule"), the largely independent rule of the dukes over their respective territories, and also limited the number of electors to seven. The Pope, contrary to modern myth, was never involved in the electoral process but only in the process of ratification and coronation of whomever the Prince-Electors chose.

However, until the late 15th century, the Reichstag was not actually formalized as an institution. Instead, the dukes and other princes would irregularly convene at the court of the Emperor; these assemblies were usually referred to as Hoftage (from German Hof "court"). Only beginning in 1489 was the Reichstag called as such, and was formally divided into several collegia ("colleges"). Initially, the two colleges were that of the Kurfürsten ("prince-electors") and that of the other dukes and princes. Later, the imperial cities, that is, cities that were reichsunmittelbar and were oligarchic republics independent of a local ruler that were subject only to the Emperor himself, managed to be accepted as a third party.

Diet of Augsburg, 1530

Several attempts to reform the Empire and end its slow disintegration, notably starting with the Reichstag in 1495, did not have much effect. In contrast, this process was only hastened with the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, which formally bound the Emperor to accept all decisions made by the Reichstag, in effect depriving him of his few remaining powers. From then to its end in 1806, the Reich was not much more than a collection of largely independent states.

Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, 1521

Probably the most famous Reichstage were those held in Worms 1495, where the Imperial Reform was enacted, and 1521, where Martin Luther was banned (see Edict of Worms), 1526 and 1529 in Speyer (see Protestation at Speyer), and several in Nuremberg (Diet of Nuremberg).

Only with the introduction of the Immerwährender Reichstag ("permanent Imperial Diet") in 1663 did the Reichstag permanently convene in a fixed location, the city of Regensburg.

For a list of members of the Reichstag from 1792, near the end of the Empire, refer to List of Reichstag participants (1792).

The Reichstag as the German Parliament

The opening of the German parliament in 1894

Reichstag in 1889

Adolf Hitler in the Reichstag during his speech against Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 11, 1941

After the collapse of the Empire in 1806, the term was subsequently used for the Parliament of the 1849 Frankfurt constitution draft that never came into effect, the Parliament of the North German Confederation from 1867–1871 and finally that of the 1871 German Empire. Eligible to vote were all male Germans over 25 years. According to contemporary standards this was considered a modern and progressive parliament.^[1] Although, the Reichstag had no formal right to install or dismiss the government.

In the 1919 Weimar Republic, the members of government were responsible to the Reichstag. In 1920–1923 and from 1930 on, however, the Reichstag was practically circumvented with the use of the extensive powers that were granted to the president under the Emergency Decree in Article 48 of the constitution. After Adolf Hitler was appointed Reichskanzler on January 30, 1933 the process of Gleichschaltung ("marching in step", "synchronization") commenced with the Reichstag Fire Decree (Reichstagsbrandverordnung) and the Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz), in which the Reichstag formally dispensed from itself exclusive responsibility for the exercise of the legislative power. From then on it only functioned as a body of ratification by acclamation, for the action(s); legislative; minsterial; and executive, of the dictatorship. Even in its purely ceremonial role, the Third Reich's Reichstag held its last session on April 26, 1942.

Seat

See also: Reichstag (building)

The Reichstag gathered first in the houses of the Prussian Parliament in Berlin, then, in 1871, it decided to have a new building built. For the time until it had its seat in the former porcelain manufactory at Leipziger Straße 4. Only 23 years later the new building was ready. This building is today known as the Reichstagsgebäude or short Reichstag. It was opened in 1894.

After the building was severely damaged in the Reichstag fire of February 1933, the national socialist Reichstag met in the Kroll Opera House. After the war the remaining, but heavily damaged building was prepared as a exposition hall. From 1999 on the Bundestag uses the Reichstag as its permanent building.

Collection of Reichstag records

After the 1871 formation of the German Empire the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences started to collect imperial records (Reichsakten) and imperial diet records (Reichstagsakten). In 1893 the commission published the first volume. At present the years 1524–1527 and years up to 1544 are being collected and researched. A volume dealing with the 1532 Reichstag in Regensburg, including the peace negotiations with the Protestants in Schweinfurt and Nuremberg, by Rosemarie Aulinger of Vienna was published in 1992.

Reichstag places

Note: this list is incomplete

See also

• President of the Reichstag

References

External links

• Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich. Ein Handbuch (in German)
• list of the records of several European countries.
• „Verhandlungen des Reichstags des Norddeutschen Bundes und des Deutschen Reiches – Stenographische Berichte“, 1867–1895
• Complete collection of records of the Reichstag from 1919- 1942 at the Bavarian State Library. In German.