City history as a role-playing game: The founding of Munich

Sources:

Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Hochstift Freising Documents 32 (First mention of Munich in the arbitration award Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossas dated 14th. June 1158).

Points of attachment:

How does a city develop? Does every city have a founding certificate? Why is Munich celebrating a city foundation?

When confronting the history of one's own community or city, it is necessary to find out for many places that there is no real “foundation certificate”. As a rule, this is an initial mention, i.e. a document in which the name of a particular settlement occurs for the first time. Munich (Munichen) is mentioned for the first time in a document by Emperor Friedrich Barbarossas from 1158. Duke Heinrich der Löwe and Bishop Otto von Freising are fighting for market, bridge customs and coin in Föhring and Munich as well as income from the Freisinger coin. Emperor Frederick simples the dispute with an arbitration award. The document issued above is now in the Bavarian Main State Archive. In the secularization of the Freising high pin at the beginning of the 19th century Important documents of the archive of the Hochstifts Freising were taken from the Kingdom of Bavaria to the General Reichsarchiv, the later main state archive.

The employment of the “city-based education” in a role-playing game is particularly suitable for primary students and the sub-levels of secondary schools.

The roles "Kaiser", "Bischof", "Herzog" are distributed. “Bishof” and “Duke” presume the proposed texts or their own interpretations, the “Kaiser” simulates the dispute. Subsequently, the group will jointly consider how the dispute could be suspended and whether there are other possibilities than those proposed by the Emperor. With the help of the questions, the document is considered more closely.

Text Rolling game

Bishop Otto von Freising

I'm Otto, the Bishop of Freising. I am the most important church prince in the country. Through my area leads the salt trading road. I earned it because the only bridge over the Isar has heard me wide and wide, the bridge at Föhring. Who had to use them had to pay me customs.

Heinrich der Löwe

I am Heinrich the Lion, the Duke of Bavaria. I'm the most powerful man in Bavaria and, if there's money to make here, I want to have some of it. I had no bridge, but a few well-armed knights. With them I burned down the bridge of Bishop Otto at Föhring and built a separate bridge. None of us want to let this happen. Who's going to make our fight?

Questions about the document:

Find the word “Munichen” in the fourth line!

Where did the Emperor sign?

What is the seal made of?

Do you find an annual number?

What is the document written on?

Transcription

In the name of the holy and indivisible Trinity!

We Friedrich, emperor of God's graces and all the time exalted ruler, to our beloved uncle Otto, Bishop of Freising, and to all his followers:

We want peace in our kingdom and not discord between mighty princes.

That's why we decided the dispute that is about the market at Föhring between you, the most expensive uncle, and between our high-level cousin Heinrich, Duke of Bavaria, together with our princes so that both can be satisfied for now and also in the future.

All my subjects and all the afterworld should know the agreement that was solemnly made with your both consent and will:

The market, which until now was at Föhring, the customs bridge and the coin will no longer be there. For this purpose, Duke Heinrich transfers one third of the income from his market customs to the Church of Freising, which the merchants in Munich have to pay for salt and other goods.

Each of you may have its own tax collector. When coins are coined, the bishop gets one third of the income and the Duke gets two thirds.In order not to lose the memory of this agreement, we have made it written in this document, our seal has pressed on it, and we have reaffirmed it, as you can see, with our own hands and have the witnesses present at the end.

Given to Augsburg, on 14 June in 1158. Year after Christ's birth under the government of Friedrich, the exalted emperor of the Romans, in the 7th Year of his reign as king, in the third as emperor.Amen.

(Text shortened and somewhat modernized)

Further information:

City Archive Munich
www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtverwaltung/Directory/Stadtarchiv

Forum Munichen. The imperial confirmation of the Munich market creation -– 14 June 1158 (Staatliche Archive Bayerns – Kleine Exhibitions Nr. 31), Munich 2008. – Download: Catalog 31 “Forum Munichen” The imperial confirmation of the founding of the Munich market – June 14, 1158

Course description

primary school, secondary school