Sejm of the Estates

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Sejm of the Estates
Postulate Sejm

Sejm stanowy
Stany galicyjskie
Sejm postulatowy
Type
Type
Unicameral
Seatsvaried between 41 (1834) and 289 (1782)
Elections
Last election
1845
Meeting place
Lemberg (Lviv, Lwów)

The Sejm of the Estates

Sejm of the Land (Polish
: sejm krajowy).

The estates in question were primarily clergy and szlachta (nobility), with a token townsfolk representation. Peasantry was not represented.

History

Postulate Sejm

Leon Sapieha, the first speaker of the Sejm of the Estates of Galicia.[5]
Count Agenor Romuald Gołuchowski.[6]

Parts of the

Polish–Austrian War in 1806, and the populace represented at the Sejm of the Duchy of Warsaw, but this was short lived, as the territories in question were restored to Austria following the Duchy's occupation and the terms of the Congress of Vienna in 1815.[1]

Estates of Galicia

Soon afterward, in 1817,

Austrian Emperor decreed that the members have to wear a special uniform; this made it the only Polish parliament-like body in the history of Polish politics with a dress code requirement.[9]

Excepting the establishment of the

Country Sejm (Polish: sejm krajowy).[13][14]

Composition and organization

The number of the members was not fixed; it varied from over 200 (with 289 in 1782 and 213 in 1817) to as low as 41 (in 1834); in most years the Sejm had averaged 60 to 80 deputies.

University of Lwów.[1][9] The members were not elective, holding the mandates due to their offices, titles or wealth.[9] This made the Sejm not representative, and rather conservative.[9]

The Estates met for a few days each year, with some exceptions: they were not convened in the years 1831 and 1832 (time of the

Congress Kingdom).[9][10]

The Estates had no dedicated location to meet.[13] To evade Emperor's limitation on the proceedings duration and topics to be discussed, the members met before each session at various locations.[14] While in session, they met at the former monastery buildings, owned by the University of Lwów.[14]

Competences

Just like the preceding Postulate Sejm, the Estates had very limited competences: they met to hear the Emperor decrees, distribute tax assessments, grant Galician titles of nobility to individuals who already held similar titles elsewhere in the Austrian Empire, prepare petitions and appeals to be heard by the Emperor.[9] Polish 19th-century historian, Henryk Schmitt, wrote that the role of the Estates was to listen to the government decisions, and file petitions, which often waited for the royal reply for several years; he thus notes that the Estates were powerless, a "comedy", their only purpose being to fulfill the Congress of Vienna requirement of having some form of "national representation" on the lands of the Austrian partition.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  2. ^ Bronisław Łoziński (1905). Galicyjski sejm stanowy, 1817–1845. Ksiȩg. H. Altenberga. p. 20. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  3. ^ Kwartalnik architektury i urbanistyki. Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 1973. p. 209. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  4. ^ Walerian Kalinka (1898). Galicya i Kraków pod panowaniem austryackiem. Spółka Wydawnicza Polska. p. 268. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  5. ^ Lewinski-Corwin, Edward H. (1917). The political history of Poland. New York: Polish Book Importing Co. pp. 531.
  6. ^ Lewinski-Corwin, Edward H. (1917). The political history of Poland. New York: Polish Book Importing Co. pp. 529.
  7. ^ a b c Władysław Smoleński (1919). Dzieje narodu polskiego. Gebethner i Wolff. pp. 408–409. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  8. ISBN 978-83-7059-052-9
    . Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  10. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  11. ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  13. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  14. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7818-0637-4
    . Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  15. ^ Henryk Schmitt (1894). Dzieje porozbiorowe Polski. Nakładem Towarzystwa óswiaty ludowej. p. 340. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
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