Winfried Schich, "Die Entstehung von mittelalterlichen Doppelstädten in der Mark Brandenburg", in: Ines Beilke-Voigt and Oliver Nakoinz (Eds.), Enge Nachbarn. Das Problem von Doppelburgen und Mehrfachburgen in der Bronzezeit und im Mittelalter, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2017, 309–331

Abstract

Twin cities chiefly arose in the thirteenth century, during the time when cities were proliferating and had particular rights; their economically active inhabitants comprised a local urban community and at the same time were in a contractual relationship with a ruler. A twin city could arise in places where this particularity could not be realized in a singlelegal and settlement entity. One frequent reason was local competition for dominance, but a larger group of new settlers could also play a role, by settling in a complementary new city to strengthen the place economically after having trouble integrating into the existingcity, and so could a location on both sides of a river crossing.

Published In

Ines Beilke-Voigt and Oliver Nakoinz (Eds.), Enge Nachbarn. Das Problem von Doppelburgen und Mehrfachburgen in der Bronzezeit und im Mittelalter, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2017