Jug "Wappen der sieben deutschen Kurfürsten"

Merkelbach & Wick

From the collection of Paulo Vik Falcon

1. Coat of arms of the Electorate of Cologne

2. Coat of arms of the Electorate of Trier

3. Coat of arms of the Electorate of Mainz

4. Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia "Böhmen", which existed as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire

5. Coat of arms of the Electorate of the Palatinate

6. Coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony

7. Coat of arms of the Electorate of Brandenburg

The Seven Electors by a Medieval Artist

A jug with the coats of arms of the seven German electorates of the Holy Roman Empire.
This rare jug was made in 1906 and was dedicated to a very significant historical event in Germany. 550 years earlier, in 1356, the Golden Bull (Latin: Bulla Aurea, German: Goldene Bulle) was issued by Emperor Charles IV of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Bohemia. This document regulated the procedure for electing an emperor. This supreme legislative act of the empire established a college of 7 members of the Electors, which included the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, Trier, the King of Bohemia himself, the Elector of the Palatinate, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg. The members of the college of the Electors were granted the exclusive right to elect the emperor and to determine the direction of the empire's policies. The Electors were also recognized as having the right to internal sovereignty. This consolidated the fragmentation of the German states for the next 550 years. It was not until the Napoleonic Wars in 1806 that the empire was dissolved. The German states were then able to unite, which occurred in 1871 after the victory in the Franco-Prussian War. Thus, in 1906, there were two anniversaries. The 550th anniversary of the Golden Bull and the 100th anniversary of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
When this jug was made, the craftsmen of the Merkelbach & Wick factory applied the coats of arms of the seven electorates with portraits of their heads on the surface of the jug at the time of the Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV.
Here is a brief description of each of them:

1.
The Electorate of Cologne ( German: Kurfürstentum Köln , German: Kurköln ) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th centuries. It occupied the territory owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne ( German: Erzbistum Köln ) and was governed by an archbishop who held the rights of an Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. Until 1289, the capital of the electorate was Cologne , and after that year, Bonn . The ecclesiastical principality was secularized by a decree of 1803, on the eve of the dissolution of the empire .

2.
The Electorate of Trier ( German: Kurfürstentum Trier ), also known as Kurtrier , was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th century until 1803. It occupied the territory owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trier ( German: Erzbistum Trier ) and was governed by an archbishop who acted as an elector (one of the emperor's electors). The capital of the principality was Trier ; from 1629, the Elector's main residence was at Philippsburg Castle in Ehrenbreitstein near Koblenz , and from 1786, at the Electoral Palace in Koblenz itself. From 1797 to 1801, the territories of the Electorate on the left bank of the Rhine became part of France , while those on the right bank became part of the Duchy of Nassau in 1802. The spiritual principality was secularized in 1803.

3.
The Electorate of Mainz ( German: Kurfürstentum Mainz , abbreviated Kurmainz ) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire , which arose on the territory of the Archdiocese of Mainz and existed from 1356 to 1803. It included the territories around Mainz (on both banks of the Rhine ), the lands on the Main River above Frankfurt (including Aschaffenburg ), and Erfurt . It was governed by an archbishop, who acted as an elector (one of the emperor's electors). The Elector of Mainz was the second most powerful person in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation: from 870 to 1806 he served as Imperial Chancellor; first among the clerical electors; he presided over the Imperial Diets and the College of Electors. The capital of the principality was Mainz . The spiritual principality was secularized in 1803.

4.
Electorates as a form of government, where a prince-elector elected the Holy Roman Emperor, did not exist in Bohemia. Bohemia was a kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire, not an electorate. The Kingdom of Bohemia had its own king, who had the right to participate in the election of the Emperor, but his title did not carry the status of an electorate.
The Kingdom of Bohemia was formally established in 1212 by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II after signing the Golden Bull of Sicily . Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, when it became part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary . The kingdom was dissolved in 1918 with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary .

5.
The Electorate of the Palatinate , or (abbreviated) Kurpfalz ( German: Kurpfalz , in older sources "Churpfalz" or "Wahlpfalz" ), was the name of a territorial entity within the Holy Roman Empire that existed until 1803, with its capital first in Heidelberg , then in Mannheim . From 1214, the Palatinate was ruled by the Wittelsbachs of the senior line.

6.
The Electorate of Saxony was a state entity that existed as part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806. It was one of the seven electorates (electoral principalities) of the Holy Roman Empire, which gave its rulers the right to participate in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1806, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate of Saxony was transformed into the Kingdom of Saxony. The administrative center of the Electorate was the city of Dresden. The rulers of the Electorate of Saxony belonged to the Wettin dynasty.

7.
The Electorate of Brandenburg was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that officially existed from 1356 until 1806, when it was transformed into a province of the Kingdom of Prussia. Its rulers, the Margraves of Brandenburg, were granted the title of Elector by the Golden Bull of 1356 and were responsible for electing the Holy Roman Emperors. Brandenburg became the cradle of the Prussian state and was one of the most significant principalities in Germany. Since 1415, Brandenburg has been ruled by the Hohenzollern dynasty. The Hohenzollern residence was located in Berlin. The Electorate of Brandenburg became an important cradle of the Prussian state, which later united many other lands under its rule.


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