Burgrave

 ( German Noble Titles ) 

In the mid-12th century, King Conrad III of Germany created a new quality for the title of burgrave during the Ostsiedlung. They became protectors and administrators of extensive royal territories near major imperial castles, such as Meissen, Altenburg and Leisnig, and received "judicial lordship" (German: Gerichtsherrschaft). They also acted as colonizers and created their own dominions.

Under the reign of King Rudolf I of Germany, their dignity was considerably advanced. Before his time, burgraves were ranked only as counts ( Graf), below the princes ( Fürst), but during his reign, they began to receive the same esteem as princes.

By the 18th century, the office of a Burgrave had become a purely administerative role, often held by the superintendents of castles or estates charged with the day-to-day management of affairs.

This trend continued into the 19th century, in which the role of the superintendent Burgraves began to be split between a number of people in order to better manage specific tasks. These positions were sometimes held by high ranking commoners who would assume, or be granted, the title of Burgrave.

Many of the original Burgriviate families, descended from its more prominent times, had progressed to the higher rank of Graf or the princely ranks of Margrave/Landgrave, Fürst and Herzog by this point (such as the Burgraves of Nuremberg and Meissen).

Like other officials of the Feudalism, some burgraves became hereditary rulers. There were four Inheritance burgraviates ranking as Principality within the Holy Roman Empire, plus the burgraviate of Meissen:

• The Burgraviate of Antwerp (in present-day Belgium): this was a title inherited from the Margraviate of Antwerp by the Counts of Nassau, lords of Breda, who later became the title Prince of Orange. The most famous holder was William the Silent, who used his influence over the city to control its local government and use it as a base for the Dutch Revolt. Subsequently in the Low Countries, the rank of burggraaf evolved into the nobility synonymous with viscount. The title "Viscount of Antwerp" is still claimed by the reigning monarch of the Netherlands as one of its subsidiary titles.
• The Burgraviate of Magdeburg,
• The Burgraviate of Friedberg,
• The Burgraviate of Meissen,
• The Burgraviate of Nuremberg: established by King Conrad III of Germany, the first burgraves were from the Austrian counts of Raabs, and then passed to the count's surviving son-in-law from the House of Hohenzollern, which, since Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, continued to hold it until 1801. It was still included among the subsidiary titles of several German semi-sovereign princes; the king of Prussia, whose ancestors were burgraves of Nuremberg for over 200 years, maintaining the additional style of Burggraf von Nürnberg.