Imperial immediacy

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Imperial immediacy (German: Reichsfreiheit or Reichsunmittelbarkeit) was a privileged feudal and political status, a form of statehood, which a city, religious entity or feudal principality of minor lordship could attain within the Holy Roman Empire.

A reichsfrei city, abbey or territory was under the direct authority of the Holy Roman Emperor and the Imperial Diet, without any intermediary liege lord(s). Advantages were that reichsfrei regions had the right to collect taxes and tolls themselves, and held juridical rights (including the Blutgericht, 'high' justice including capital punishment) themselves. De facto imperial immediacy corresponded to a semi-independence with a far-reaching autonomy.

[edit] See also

• Imperial Abbey
• Imperial Estate
• Free Imperial City
• List of states of the Holy Roman Empire
• Mediatization

[edit] References

• Braun, B.: Reichsunmittelbarkeit in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. Version of 2005-05-03. URL last accessed 2006-11-29.

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