The Particiate () was the group of noble families which controlled in Frankfurt am Main from the High Middle Ages until the end of the Free City of Frankfurt in 1806. It consisted of a set of families who belonged to one of two , called and .
History In 1220, Emperor Frederick II abolished the advocatus of Frankfurt. From that point, the citizen community began to aggregate rights of self-government and privileges. From 1266, a council () represented the Frankfurt citizenry. It consisted of three "benches" of fourteen men each. The first bench consisted of "lay judges" , who represented the patrician families and were coopted onto the council based on seniority. The second bench were also patricians, drawn from the "community", while the third bench were artisans drawn from the "council-status guilds." The emperor could appoint a Schultheiß ("right-speaker") who was to protect the emperor's prerogatives and was initially the supreme authority in the city.
From 1311, the Council elected two mayors by secret ballot: the "senior mayor" () from the first bench and the "junior mayor" () from the second bench. In May 1372, Frankfurt purchased the office of the Schultheiß from Emperor Charles IV and finally became a free imperial city.
Most of the old Frankfurt families banded together in the patrician society of Alten Limpurg, which went back the Zum Römer drinking society, founded in 1357. There were other noble families who did not belong to Alten Limpurg. They were mostly members of the Zum Frauenstein society, which derived from another drinking club, Zum Salzhaus, which was founded in 1382. Zum Frauenstein was slightly more liberal and admitted foreigners. As a result, the "nouveau riche" only had a chance at rising to political power through the Zum Frauenstein society.
Until the end of the free city in 1806, Alten Limpurg and Zum Frauenstein had great influence over the city council, while the guild masters lost most of their power over time. Initially, most seats on the council were reserved for members of Alten Limpurg, but, during the Fettmilch uprising in 1613, it was agreed that members of Zum Frauenstein and legal graduates would also be taken into account in the selection of members of the first two benches of the council, after which there was a kind of equality in the civic government between Alten Limburg and Zum Frauenstein.
The historian Andrea Hansert divides the patriciate in the 17th century into three clearly delineated groups, which he calls the "first" (Alten Limpurg), "second" (Zum Frauenstein") and "third" patriciates. Hansert's third group contained the citizen families outside the two societies who tended to dominate the "non-patriciate" council seats. This last category included the Textor family, the maternal ancestors of Goethe. Abolition The patriciate was abolished with the end of the free city in 1806, when Frankfurt became part of the and then, in 1806, the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt. After French rule ended in 1813, Frankfurt became a free city once more, passing a constitution in 1816. The patriciate was not revived. After that, the families in Alten Limpurg and Zum Frauenstein lost almost all the rights of nobility, which were once connected with an augmentation of honour.
The Zum Frauenstein society still exists.Website der Patriziergesellschaft Zum Frauenstein, accessed on 22 October 2021. It administrates the , among other things. Frauensteinplatz and Frauensteinstrasse in Nordend are named after it. Alten Limpurg survives as a legal entity called the "noble inheritance of the house" ().
Families Alten Limpurg families A genealogical database of the Frankfurt patriciate names around 198 families of Alten Limpurg, Das Frankfurter Patriziat – Alten Limpurg of which the following were in existence before the end of the free city in 1806: Adlerflycht, admitted to the patriciate in 1755, died out in 1835 Altzey, admitted to the patriciate in 1453, died out in 1524 Appenheimer, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1450 Baur von Eysseneck (Bauer), admitted to Alten Limpurg 1622 with Johann Martin Baur von Eysseneck, died out in 1945 Becker, admitted to the patriciate in 1440, died out in 1476 named Stürzelsheim, admitted to the patriciate in 1801, died out in 1984 Blanckenberger, admitted to the patriciate in 1415, died out in 1450 Blum, admitted to the patriciate in 1476, died out in 1515 Boltog, admitted to the patriciate in 1795, died out in 1955 Börlin, admitted to the patriciate in 1467, died out in 1485 Botzheim, admitted to the patriciate in 1566, died out in 1573 Breidenbach, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1493 Bromm, admitted to the patriciate in 1477, died out in 1680 Brun zum Brunfels, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1589 Burckhard, admitted to the patriciate in 1555, died out in 1573 Burggrafen, admitted to the patriciate in 1408, died out in 1453 Caldenburg, admitted to the patriciate in 1425, died out in 1489 Cämmerer von Fulda, admitted to the patriciate in 1466, died out in 1497 Dähn, admitted to the patriciate in 1568, died out in 1572 Damm, admitted to the patriciate in 1661, died out in 1735 Degenhard, admitted to the patriciate in 1575, died out in 1652 Diermayer (Tiermayer), admitted to the patriciate in 1478, died out in 1480 Diether, admitted to the patriciate in 1641, died out in 1656 Dörnberg, admitted to the patriciate in 1801, died out in 1897 Eck I, admitted to the patriciate in 1471, died out in 1492 Eckel, admitted to the patriciate in 1514, died out in 1525 Eisenberger (Eyssenberg), admitted to the patriciate in 1485, died out in 1599 Engelbrecht, admitted to the patriciate in 1561, died out in 1577 Ergersheim, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1494 Faust von Aschaffenburg, admitted to the patriciate in 1561, died out in 1724 Faut von Monsperg (Fauthen von Monsperg), admitted to the patriciate in 1490, died out in 1516 (v.) Fichard, admitted to the patriciate in 1539, died out in 1945 Fladt, admitted to the patriciate in 1549, died out in 1605 Fleckhammer v. Aystetten, admitted to the patriciate in 1636, died out in 1727 Fleischbein (Fleischbein von Kleeberg), admitted to Alten Limpurg 1755, died out in 1774 Freitag, admitted to the patriciate in 1407, died out in 1440 Freund, admitted to the patriciate in 1513, died out in 1515 Frosch, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1584 Fürstenberg, admitted to the patriciate in 1474, died out in 1540 Gantz, admitted to the patriciate in 1463, died out in 1485 Gerolstein, admitted to the patriciate in 1538, died out in 1549 Geuch, admitted to the patriciate in 1464, died out in 1522 , admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1830 Goldstein, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1428 Grünberger (Grünberg), admitted to the patriciate in 1517, died out in 1530 , admitted to the patriciate in 1588, died out in 1980 Harheim, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1434 Hartmuth v. Birkenbach, admitted to the patriciate in 1544, died out in 1554 Hartrad (auch Hartrad von Dieburg), admitted to the patriciate in 1357, died out in 1432 Hayne (Haane), admitted to the patriciate in 1433, died out in 1504 Hell gen. Pfeffer, admitted to the patriciate in 1495, died out in 1536 Heller, admitted to the patriciate in 1486, died out in 1502 Hengsperg, admitted to the patriciate in 1443, died out in 1487 Heringen, admitted to the patriciate in 1439, died out in 1492 Heusenstamm, admitted to the patriciate in 1495, died out in 1525 Hohenhaus (zum Hohenhaus), admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1420 Hohenstein, admitted to the patriciate in 1747, died out in 1792 Holtzheimer, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1510 , admitted to the patriciate in 1406; the Frankfurt branch of the family ended with the death of Adolph von Holzhausen in 1923. , admitted to the patriciate in 1427, died out in 1896 with the death of Hermann von Humbracht (from 1883 Freiherr von Humbracht) Humbrecht (zum Humbrecht), admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1477 Hynsperg, admitted to the patriciate in 1430, died out in 1727 Imhof, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1431 Inckus zu Schwanau, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1473 Jeckel, admitted to the patriciate in 1531, died out in 1639 Joham von Mündolsheim, admitted to the patriciate in 1566, died out in 1588 (zum Jungen), admitted to the patriciate in 1430, died out with Austrian field marshal Johann Hieronymus zum Jungen in 1746 Katzmann, admitted to the patriciate in 1435, died out in 1483 Katzmann II, admitted to the patriciate in 1553, died out in 1566 Kayb, admitted to the patriciate in 1636, died out in 1760 Kellner (Keller), admitted to the patriciate in 1518, died out in 1777 Kellner gen. Kaldofen, admitted to the patriciate in 1495, died out in 1510 Kempe, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1430 Kessling von Bergen, admitted to the patriciate in 1804, died out in 1808 Ketelhodt, admitted to the patriciate in 1798, died out in 1887 Knoblauch, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1599 Kranche (zum Kranche), admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1418 Kühorn, admitted to the patriciate in 1501, died out in 1599 Lamb (zum Lamb), admitted to the patriciate in 1543, died out in 1559 Landeck, admitted to the patriciate in 1430, died out in 1500 Leneck (Linung), admitted to the patriciate in 1482, died out in 1572 , admitted to the patriciate in 1566, blühend, seit 1881 Freiherren von Lersner Lichtenstein, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1498 Marburg (zum Paradies), admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1502 Martorff, admitted to the patriciate in 1467, died out in 1614 Melem, admitted to Alten Limperg 1522, died out in 1654 Mengershausen, admitted to the patriciate in 1548, died out in 1632 Molsberg, admitted to the patriciate in 1513, died out in 1541 Monis, admitted to the patriciate in 1441, died out in 1504 Mühlen, admitted to the patriciate in 1733, still extant Mynner, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1463 Nebenzayl, admitted to the patriciate in 1471, died out in 1480 Neuhaus, admitted to the patriciate in 1459, died out in 1666 Nygebur, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1452 Ockstadt, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1443 Oede (von der Oede), admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1450 Ovenbach, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1478 Palmstorfer, admitted to the patriciate in 1430, died out in 1484 Pistorius v. Nidda, admitted to the patriciate in 1619, died out in 1639 Preme, admitted to the patriciate in 1590, died out in 1622 Preuß (Prüsse, Prusse), admitted to the patriciate in 1421, died out in 1468 Raiss (Rais), admitted to the patriciate in 1459, 1473 and 1477, died out in 1589 Rauscher, admitted to the patriciate in 1543, died out in 1596 Reiffenstein, admitted to the patriciate in 1518, died out in 1551 Rhein (vom Rhein), admitted to the patriciate in 1411, died out in 1577 Römer (zum Römer gen. Cöllner), admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1436 Rorbach (Rohrbach), admitted to the patriciate in 1466, died out in 1570 Rotzmaul, admitted to the patriciate in 1406, died out in 1418 Rücker, admitted to the patriciate in 1517, died out in 1659 Rückersfeld, admitted to the patriciate in 1575, died out in 1591 Rückingen, admitted to the patriciate in 1473, died out in 1521 Ruenner, admitted to the patriciate in 1440, died out in 1514 Ruland, admitted to the patriciate in 1675, died out in 1743 Rumpenheim, admitted to the patriciate in 1489, died out in 1557 Sachs (Sassen), admitted to the patriciate in 1471, died out in 1510 Sack, admitted to the patriciate in 1802, died out in 1816