Burgrave

In the Kingdom of Germany, owing to the distinct conditions of the Holy Roman Empire, the title, borne by feudal nobles having the status of Reichsfürst (princes of the Empire), obtained a quasi-royal significance.[10]

Like other officials of the feudal state, some burgraves became hereditary rulers. There were four hereditary burgraviates ranking as principalities within the Holy Roman Empire, plus the burgraviate of Meissen:

• The Burgraviate of Antwerp (in present-day Belgium): this was a title inherited from the Margraviate of Antwerp by the Counts of Nassau, lords of Breda, who later became the title Prince of Orange. The most famous holder was William the Silent, who used his influence over the city to control its local government and use it as a base for the Dutch Revolt. Subsequently in the Low countries, the rank of burggraaf evolved into the nobility synonymous with viscount.[11][12][13][14][15] The title "Viscount of Antwerp" is still claimed by the reigning monarch of the Netherlands as one of its subsidiary titles.[16]
• The Burgraviate of Magdeburg,
• The Burgraviate of Friedberg,
• The Burgraviate of Meissen,
• The Burgraviate of Nuremberg: established by King Conrad III of Germany, the first burgraves were from the Austrian Count's of Raabs, and then passed to the count's surviving son-in-law from the House of Hohenzollern, which, since Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, continued to hold it until 1801. It was still included among the subsidiary titles of several German semi-sovereign princes; the king of Prussia, whose ancestors were burgraves of Nuremberg for over 200 years, maintaining the additional style of Burggraf von Nürnberg.[10]

In the Crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia, the title of burgrave was given by the King of Bohemia to the chief officer, or the regal official whose command is equivalent to a viceroy's.[2] From the 14th century, the burgrave of Prague—the highest-ranking of all burgraves, seated at Prague castle, gradually became the state's highest-ranking official, who also acted as the king's deputy;[17] the office became known as the high or supreme burgrave of the Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech: Nejvyšší purkrabí); the appointment was usually for life. After the reforms of Maria Theresa (reign 1740–1780) and her son Joseph II (reign 1780–1790), the title of highest burgrave gradually lost its de facto power. The title of highest burgrave was still granted, however, and its holder remained the first officer of the kingdom. It was abolished in 1848.

In the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, the burgrave (Polish: burgrabia, earlier also murgrabia) was also of senatorial rank (i.e. held a seat in the upper chamber of the Senate of Poland). Ranking first among them was the "Burgrave of Kraków" (Polish: Burgrabia krakowski) of the former capital of Poland and Wawel Castle, who was appointed directly by the King of Poland. The royal office was originally created during the reign of Casimir III the Great. At that time, Kraków's burgrave was also chief judge of the supreme court of Magdeburg law (Polish: Sąd wyższy prawa niemieckiego) erected in Kraków in lieu of Magdeburg.[18] The burgrave of Kraków also collected an income from the royal Wieliczka Salt Mine, run by the Royal Salt Mines company Żupy krakowskie since the 13th century.

In the Kingdom of Prussia, the burgrave was one of the four chief officers of a province, delegated by the King of Prussia.[2]

In Sweden, the burgrave (Swedish: burggreve, earlier spelling burggrefve) was the highest official in the cities of Gothenburg and Malmö during periods in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The title was first introduced by the king Gustavus Adolphus in the 1621 charter for Gothenburg, though it was not actually used until 1625. The burgrave of Gothenburg was to protect the "highness, reputation and regalia" of the monarch and was appointed by him or her from a group of six candidates proposed by the city board. In Gothenburg, the title ceased to be used in 1683 but was briefly reintroduced by Charles XII between 1716 and 1719. Now appointed among three candidates, the burgrave was the executive of the city, keeping the city keys and supervising the board. Following the Gothenburg model, the title was introduced in Malmö by Charles X Gustav after the city was ceded to Sweden in 1658, but was abolished 19 years later in 1677.[19]

In Anglo-French parlance, a burgrave was considered analogous to a viscount.[1][20]