The digital version of the minutes of the Bavarian parliament
The Maximilianeum, seat of the Bavarian Parliament since 1949
The edition of the negotiations of the Bavarian "Landstände" (regional estates) of the late middle ages and early modern times ("Baierische Landtags-Handlungen") and of the debates of the Bavarian "Landtag" (regional parliament) of the 19th and 20th century comprises extensive source material, which is of great importance for numerous fields of the political, economic, social and cultural history of Bavaria. In addition to the discussions of important political issues and of individual problems treated in the committees of the Landstände or of the Landtag, the minutes contain numerous indications on the history of members of Bavaria's political and social elites, and also on the history of individual locations in Bavaria.
The digitisation project originally focused on two areas. The older "Landtagshandlungen" from 1429 to 1669 in the form of the edition by Franz Krenner, and of the Bavarian Landstände (1803 onward) still represent the essential basis of the historical research of this period. Even if the edition no longer fulfils modern scholarly requirements, it is still irreplaceable as a source offering an insight into the policy of the Landstände and their negotiations with the Wittelsbach rulers. The Landstände were formed by representatives of the nobility, of the cities and of the prelate monasteries. They had taxing sovereignty and their own tax administrations, so that the ruler always depended on their cooperation and their granting of funds.
The newly constituted Landtag, which convened for the first time in 1819, documents the development of the modern parliamentary system up to the present. The second focus of the project is the period between 1918 and 1933. The shorthand reports were issued by the contemporary President's Office of the Bavarian Landtag. This dramatic epoch in Bavaria's history - the revolution, the soviet republic, the establishment of the Free State of Bavaria, the rise and dispute over National Socialism, etc. - is of interest far beyond Bavaria and Germany. Consequently the Internet version of the debates of this era also represents a service for international research.
The preliminary selection of the above-mentioned periods for the digitisation project is not only intended as a service for academic historical research and teaching. The minutes of the years from 1919 to 1933 in particular are suitable e.g. for work in school and for example form an ideal basis for coursework and research papers. The new offer of the minutes of the old and the new Landtag on the Internet also brings two crucial eras of Bavaria's history to life for the interested public in general.
The digital version furthermore supports the current project by the Kommission für bayerische Landesgeschichte (Committee for Bavarian Regional History) of editing the minutes of the Bavarian Council of Ministers from 1919 to 1933.
- Documents on the genesis of the Bavarian Constitution (1946)
- Minutes of the Bavarian Constitution (1946-1947)
Additional information (in german) can be found in the contributions to the colloquium "Der Bayerische Landtag vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Probleme und Desiderate der Forschung." (The Bavarian Parliament from the late Middle Ages to the Present. Problems and desiderata of the historical research).
In a joint project of the Bavarian State Parliament, the "Konferenz der Landeshistoriker an den bayerischen Universitäten" (Conference of regional historians at the Bavarian universities) and of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek more than 60,000 pages of minutes of the Bavarian parliament are being digitised and made available on the Internet free of charge. The venture defines itself as the historical counterpart of the current online publication of the current parliamentary documents by the Bavarian Landtag itself. The contributions by the colloquium "Der Bayerische Landtag vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. Probleme und Desiderate der Forschung." (The Bavarian Landtag from the late middle ages up to the present. Problems and desiderata of academic research.) furthermore point out the status of research of the history of the Bavarian Landtag and offer a critical assessment of the available sources.
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 18. Mai 2009