Grand Burgher

[1][2] A member class within the patrician ruling elite,[1][3] the Grand Burgher was a type of urban citizen and social order of highest rank.

[1][2] They existed as a formally defined upper social class, made up of affluent individuals and elite burgher families in medieval German-speaking city-states and towns under the Holy Roman Empire.

The petty-burghers were largely artisans, tradesman, small business owners, merchants, shopkeepers, and others who were required by city or town constitutions to acquire the petty-burghership.

[1][3][4] Non-burghers, on the other hand, were merely "inhabitants" or resident aliens without specific legal rights in the territorial jurisdiction of a city or town.

This group largely consisted of the working class, foreign or migrant workers, and other civil employees who were neither able nor eligible to acquire the petty-burghership.

The names of these individuals and families were generally known in the city or town where they lived, and in many cases, their ancestors had contributed to regional history.

Under this constitution, all Germans were made equal before the law, and the legal rights and privileges of the Großbürger (Grand Burgher) and all ranks of nobility ceased.

Despite this, the Grand Burghers continued to retain their powerful economic significance, political authority, and influence, as well as their personal status and importance in society, beyond the Weimar Constitution.

Photo: Grand Burgher Carl Jauch of Hamburg (German: Großbürger Carl Jauch zu Hamburg ), 1828-1888, Lord of Wellingsbüttel and Cavalry Lieutenant in the Hamburg Citizen Militia , was a descendant of the distinguished Hanseaten Jauch family .
Portrait of Grand Burghers Jakob Fugger von der Lilie and his wife Sibylle Artzt (ca. 1500). Jakob Fugger von der Lilie (1459-1525), Großbürger zu Augsburg , was known as one of Europe's most significant merchants, mining entrepreneur, and banker. He elevated to Grand Burgher of Augsburg through his marriage to Sibylle Artzt, Großbürgerin zu Augsburg , the daughter of an eminent Augsburg Grand Burgher (Großbürger).
16th-century oil painting portrait of Grand Burgheress Katharina Völker of Frankfurt (German: Großbürgerin Katharina Völker zu Frankfurt ) displayed at the Historical Museum Frankfurt. This painting, valued at more than 100,000 euros, was stolen from the museum in 2008 but was subsequently recovered by the German police.