Concordats with individual states of Germany

Last updated

Concordats between the Holy See and individual German states were concluded both before and after the unification of Germany in the 1870s.

Contents

Pre-Unification

Early examples include:

Post-Unification

In addition to the Reichskonkordat at the federal level, there are concordats between the Holy See and thirteen German states (Länder). This is because the individual states of the German federation have competencies in legislation with respect to education, culture and, to some extent, finance.

In 1929 Prussia and the Holy See signed the Prussian Concordat (German : Preußenkonkordat ), which remains still valid for formerly Prussian territory within some of its successor states. Baden signed its concordat in 1932. The Reich's Concordat, later affirmed as valid by West Germany in 1957, applied some features of Baden's concordat to Hesse, Württemberg and the Diocese of Meissen, which then comprised all of Saxony and parts of Thuringia.

Other German states with concordats are Baden-Württemberg (1932), Bavaria (1817–1924), Brandenburg (2003), Bremen (2003), Hamburg (2005), Lower Saxony (1965-1973-1989-1993), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1997), North Rhine-Westphalia (1929-1956-1984), Rhineland-Palatinate (1929-1969-1973), Saarland (1929-1975-1985), Saxony (1996), Saxony-Anhalt (1998), Schleswig-Holstein (2009) and Thuringia (1997). Three states, Berlin (1970), Hesse (1963–1974), and Rhineland-Palatinate (1975), have agreements with Catholic bishoprics. [1]

There have been three separate waves of concordats. [2] The last one was set off by the dissolution of East Germany, when its five German states that had exited before World War II were reconstituted, joined the Federal Republic of Germany, and entered agreements with the Holy See. Since then three of the northernmost German states, which have small Catholic minorities, have also concluded concordats.

Some of the educational provisions of the Bavarian concordat have aroused controversy. In 2008, the Catholic Church's veto of an academically well-regarded nominee for president of Germany's only Catholic University sparked protests. [3] This veto was permitted by Article 5 of the Bavarian concordat. [4] Another part of the same concordat, Article 3 on "concordat chairs", was unsuccessfully challenged in court in 2009. [5] This provision establishes Church-controlled professorships in theology, philosophy, pedagogy, and the social sciences at state universities. [6]

Notes

Related Research Articles

<i>Regierungsbezirk</i> Type of administrative division in Germany

A Regierungsbezirk means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen Bundesländer are split into Regierungsbezirke. Beneath these are rural and urban districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestant Church in Germany</span> Group of churches in Germany

The Protestant Church in Germany, formerly known in English as the Evangelical Church in Germany, is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed, and United Protestant regional Churches in Germany, collectively encompassing the vast majority of the country's Protestants. In 2022, the EKD had a membership of 19,153,000 members, or 22.7% of the German population. It constitutes one of the largest Protestant bodies in the world. Church offices managing the federation are located in Herrenhausen, Hanover, Lower Saxony. Many of its members consider themselves Lutherans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">States of Germany</span> First-level administrative subdivisions of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany, as a federal state, consists of sixteen states. Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen are called Stadtstaaten ("city-states"), while the other thirteen states are called Flächenländer and include Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia, which describe themselves as Freistaaten.

<i>Zollverein</i> Economic union of German states (1834–1919)

The Zollverein, or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 Zollverein treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had been in development from 1818 with the creation of a variety of custom unions among the German states. By 1866, the Zollverein included most of the German states. The Zollverein was not part of the German Confederation (1815-1866).

Falkenstein or Falckenstein may refer to:

<i>Regionalliga</i> Football league

A Regionalliga is a regional league in numerous sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper tier of the sports leagues.

Southern Germany is a region of Germany that included the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, which includes the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia.

The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 season consisted of 2,235 leagues in up to 13 levels having 31,645 teams, in which all divisions are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. The top three professional levels contain one division each. Below this, the semi-professional and amateur levels have progressively more parallel divisions, which each cover progressively smaller geographic areas. Teams that finish at the top of their division at the end of each season can rise higher in the pyramid, while those that finish at the bottom find themselves sinking further down. Therefore, in theory, it is possible for even the lowest local amateur club to rise to the top of the system and become German football champions one day. The number of teams promoted and relegated between the divisions varies, and promotion to the upper levels of the pyramid is usually contingent on meeting additional criteria, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances.

These are lists of political office-holders in Germany.

The Landesliga is a tier of football in some states of the German football league system.

This is a list of coats of arms of Germany.

Germany's federal system comprises 16 state parliaments, each including directly elected representatives.

The Rugby Regionalliga is the third-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. It is set below the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga and is organised in eight regional divisions.

The Länderpokal is the oldest cup competition of the German Football Association. It came into existence as the Kronprinzenpokal but has changed its name various times since. The cup is held annually at the Sportschule Duisburg-Wedau. Contestants in the cup are teams of the 21 regional football associations, composed of youth players from that area. Also guest teams are invited each year since 2005, which play in the competition but will not be awarded a place in the final standings.

<i>Naturschutzgebiet</i> Category of protected area within Germanys Federal Nature Conservation Act

A Naturschutzgebiet is a category of protected area within Germany's Federal Nature Conservation Act . Although often translated as 'Nature Reserve' in English, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) refers to them as 'Nature Conservation Areas'. It meets the criteria of an IUCN Category IV Habitat and Species Management Area.

In the London Protocol signed on 12 September 1944, the Allies of World War II agreed on dividing Germany into three occupation zones after the war.

The abolition of Prussia took place on 25 February 1947 through a decree of the Allied Control Council, the governing body of post-World War II occupied Germany and Austria. The rationale was that by doing away with the state that had been at the center of German militarism and reaction, it would be easier to preserve the peace and for Germany to develop democratically.

Alte Burg, Alteburg or Burgstall Alte Burg refers to the name or nickname of various castles, castle ruins, castle sites and hillforts or ringworks:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of German municipal flags</span>

The list of German municipal flags lists the flags of municipalities of Germany. Most municipalities of Germany have unique flags. Like state flags, most of them are with either a bicolor or tricolor stipes with or without the emblem ("wappen"). Therefore, the list will also discuss the emblems. Please note that some of the flags listed are either de facto flags, flags that are flown for local purposes or flags that are not yet approved by state interior ministries.

References