Elector’s Court
300 years ago we we’d be standing here in smoking heap of ruins.
Because the courtyard had been completely destroyed during the 30 Years’ War. The Spanish troops left no stone upon the other – like almost everywhere here in Rheinhessen.
In 1722 the Elector Karl Philip von der Pfalz had the courtyard rebuilt as a baroque three-wing complex. And so to this day the court bears the name “Kurfürstenhof”, meaning “Elecotor’s Court”.
Though the elector Karl Philip was neither the first nor the only ruler who came up with the idea of establishing a building here. There is documentary evidence that 2000 years before him the Romans had already settled here on the “Fronhof Square”. And about 800 A.D. Franks and with them many emperors and kings came here to Nierstein’s Frankish Royal Court. Yes, that’s right: a royal court – here right in the middle of Nierstein. Unfortunately we don’t know yet what it looked like and who resided here – this still needs to be researched more closely.
SFX Medieval Music
But what we know for sure is that the court of knights met here during the middle ages – in plain open air, so that everyone could see and hear how they spoke their judgments. That sounds rather transparent, democratic and modern at first – but it wasn’t like that at all. Because in Nierstein, unlike in other places, only noblemen could be elected as members of the court! And they soon used their power to rise and become the actual masters of Nierstein. And with the nobility’s good correlations with emperors and kings, the court was awarded more and more exceptional privileges – such as levying imperial taxes. Which of course only the common people had to pay. The nobility and clergy were exempt from tax liability. Well, only a fool would get that wrong…
The map at the end of this website shows you how to get to our next stop.
Route to the next station:
Sternfelser Court
Arrived?
Elector’s Court
300 years ago we we’d be standing here in smoking heap of ruins.
Because the courtyard had been completely destroyed during the 30 Years’ War. The Spanish troops left no stone upon the other – like almost everywhere here in Rheinhessen.
In 1722 the Elector Karl Philip von der Pfalz had the courtyard rebuilt as a baroque three-wing complex. And so to this day the court bears the name “Kurfürstenhof”, meaning “Elecotor’s Court”.
Though the elector Karl Philip was neither the first nor the only ruler who came up with the idea of establishing a building here. There is documentary evidence that 2000 years before him the Romans had already settled here on the “Fronhof Square”. And about 800 A.D. Franks and with them many emperors and kings came here to Nierstein’s Frankish Royal Court. Yes, that’s right: a royal court – here right in the middle of Nierstein. Unfortunately we don’t know yet what it looked like and who resided here – this still needs to be researched more closely.
SFX Medieval Music
But what we know for sure is that the court of knights met here during the middle ages – in plain open air, so that everyone could see and hear how they spoke their judgments. That sounds rather transparent, democratic and modern at first – but it wasn’t like that at all. Because in Nierstein, unlike in other places, only noblemen could be elected as members of the court! And they soon used their power to rise and become the actual masters of Nierstein. And with the nobility’s good correlations with emperors and kings, the court was awarded more and more exceptional privileges – such as levying imperial taxes. Which of course only the common people had to pay. The nobility and clergy were exempt from tax liability. Well, only a fool would get that wrong…
The map at the end of this website shows you how to get to our next stop.
Route to the next station:
Sternenfelser Court
Arrived?