Rechtliche Aspekte der Flussschifffahrt im Deutschordenstaat in Preußen

Abstract

By the time the first cities were founded on the Lower Vistula, shipping in that region already looked back on a long tradition. For centuries, the inhabitants of Pomeralia had been using simple dugouts and, later, plank boats for fishing and goods transport. The Teutonic Order founded towns in the hope that they would lead to a tangible increase in trade with measurable profits, which the young state could use in turn to build a permanent economic basis for itself. This development is mirrored in permits for the construction of harbour settlements, revenues from trade, and merchants’ houses. The right of salvage which applied to the riverbanks and the river were an integral element of the more comprehensive code of water law. Public transport routes - including navigable rivers - were subject to the regalian rights of the ruler. The latter also held the jurisdiction over offences committed on the river. The Teutonic Order’s attitude towards the right of salvage found expression for the first time in the "Kulmer Handfeste" (found ing charters) for Kulm and Thorn, issued in 1233. The order’s initially liberal policies were soon replaced by restrictions on the utilization of the rivers and their banks; like other regalian rights, these restrictions were designed to guarantee the sovereigns the greatest profits. One manifestation of this state of affairs was the reservation of a zone of one "Seil" (approximately forty-three metres) along the riverbank in each town for the creation of a harbour infrastructure by the order. Landing stages and ferries were also located within this zone. In these areas, the Vistula vessels, shipping agents and harbour personnel - i.e. those groups of society which used the rivers and its banks most frequently - were excluded from municipal jurisdiction. The order’s jurisdiction extended to offences committed on river vessels and barges, and even on ferries, no matter how small.