Benutzer:Maria von Stern/Golden Road

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The Golden Road or Goldene Straße (ger.) or Zlatá Cesta (cz.) was the name given to a medieval trade route between the German city of Nuremberg and the Czech capital Prague.

History

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The Golden Road was the most important trade route between Nuremberg] in Germany and the Czech capital Prague beginning in the 13th Century and remained so for several hundred years. The road follows a path used for many centuries previously, but its heyday began under the reign of Kaiser Charles IV and his wish to improve the connection between the kingdom of Bohemia and the westernmost reaches of his realm. The Kaiser began buying the land that makes up the region of the Upper Palatinate during the 1450’s and 60’s. Previous to this it had been a territory torn apart by feuds and owned and ruled by many different lords. He managed to completely reunite the region through diplomacy, inheritance and marriage, but also by simple ‘repossession’. The Kaiser was therefore able to travel between Nuremberg and Prague without paying any tolls or taxes within his own kingdom. This improved his standing in the eyes of his people and gave him the opportunity to appear among them. Additionally the route offered the Kaiser, at least partially, a cheaper and more comfortable passage to his family seat in Luxembourg, the original concept of the route being between for the entire distance between Luxembourg and Prague.

The importance of the road was also reinforced by the military presence along it. The route is literally dotted with fortresses and castles and fortified settlements where ‘caretakers’ were quartered who ensured the safe passage of the toll-paying travellers. Despite this there were enough reports of raids and robberies along the route, including a group from Strasbourg who were kidnapped near Tachov or another being robbed near Bärnau in 1395. The route followed though, as most roads in the late Middle Ages, the ancient path of old roads worn by the tracks of the wagons that had used them for centuries.

Charles IV declared the road a Reichsstraße (Road of the Empire) and he laid down that Bohemian Kings should use it and no other route when travelling to their courts or to coronations. He himself travelled the route 52 times, which of course gave him and his family the opportunity to appear in public and present themselves to their people.

The Golden Road was not only politically important, but also as far as trade was concerned. Bohemia itself produced hides, wax, spices, copper, tin, iron, chain links, talcum powder, ham, salt, wool and oxen. Bohemia imported cloth from Flanders, seeds, corn, wine, wool and ironware. Even the members of the German Hansa group, the most important of the Middle Aged and early Modern Aged trade signatories, used the ancient route to distribute their wares.

Not only representatives from the world of politics and commerce were witness to the happenings on the Golden Road but also a religious reformer used the route. Jan Hus travelled the road in 1414 from his home in Bohemia to Constance, where he met his brutal end when he was burned at the stake. His followers used the route for quite a different purpose, as they then took their revenge for the death of their leader. On their bloody tour of the region, which they ironically named the ‘liebliche Reisen’ or lovely trips! They repeatedly raided and pillaged the entire region of the Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) and generally caused havoc. The German legions that marched along the route three times between 1422 and 1430 to stand against them gathered in Weiden in der Oberpfalz, but were beaten convincingly each time. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain the Golden Road has at least partially been able to win back some of its importance in the region, at least as far as trade is concerned. The historically fascinating route can be explored at a leisurely pace on bicycle or on foot, on one of the paths kept by the Oberpfälzer Waldverein (Upper Palatinate Forest Club) for instance between Sulzbach-Rosenberg] and the border to the Czech Republic (93 km), or the path kept by the Fränkische Alpverein (Franconian Mountain Club) between Nuremberg and Sulzbach-Rosenberg (58 km).

The Origin of the Name

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It is taken as read that this ancient trade route was named ‘Die Goldene Straße’ (The Golden Road) to Charles IV time although the possible explanations as to why it was so-called are numerous. It might have referred to the blooming trade along its route, or might be a reference to the experiments of the alchemists in their search for gold at Rudolf II court in Prague. The most likely explanation is that the golden is a reference to the City of Gold, Prague, which constitutes the end of, or as one might see it the starting point of the Golden Road.

Route

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According to Charles IV concept the Golden Road should pass from Nuremberg to Prague passing through only Bohemian territory. For this reason the route was laid down exactly.


During the 15th Century this version of the route was the most widely used, but in 1490 the towns of Tachov, Bärnau and Weiden in der Oberpfalz repeatedly complained of the increased use of a more southerly alternative road between Hirschau and Stříbro through

The use of this route was indeed forbidden during the reign of Charles IV] as it passed through a region largely ruled by the Dukes of Leuchtenberg. This alternative route was thus referred to as ‘The Forbidden Road’. On the first map of Germany produced by Erhard Etzlaub in 150 the route through Weiden in der Oberpfalz and Bärnau was still the only route recorded between Nuremberg and Prague. Etzlaub probably charted the region using information provided by the tradesmen of Nuremberg. Then in the 16th Century the Golden Road was finally toppled as the most popular regional trade route in favour of the shorter and more easily navigable ‘forbidden road’ as it had once been known.

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ger:Goldene Straße

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