Old Town Hall Horstmar

With Friedrich von Rietberg and Horstmar – he had married the Horstmar heiress Beatrix - the time as an independent county was lost, but at the same time the significance of the town began. In the knight's battle near Zülpich in 1267, he was captured by the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Gerhard, and could only raise the demanded ransom by "selling" the Horstmar estates to Prince-Bishop Gerhard in 1269.
Prince-Bishop Gerhard expanded the small settlement below the castle - the current layout of the old town dates from this time - fortified it with walls and a moat, and summoned castle men, whom he tasked with organizing the defense. He granted the fortified settlement extensive rights (town rights), including its own jurisdiction and a market right. The administration was in the hands of a magistrate composed of 8 councilors and 8 quartermen, who were elected by the entire citizenry. Particularly significant for the citizens was that they could not be summoned before any other court, but that both ecclesiastical and secular law were administered in Horstmar.
The respective pastor of the church was vested with ecclesiastical jurisdiction, thus leading the responsible court for Horstmar. A lifetime-elected judge presided over the newly established city court as the secular court. Unfortunately, the corresponding document, with which Prince-Bishop Gerhard (died 1272) granted the city the relevant rights, has not been preserved; however, confirmations of these rights by his successors, such as Prince-Bishop Otto III. from 1303, are available.

GPS Biker