Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

County seat
(638 words)

The urban typology of the county seat (German: Amtsstadt) is defined primarily by its central administrative functions. Such cities are characterized by their significance as the seat of an administrative office; such offices appeared in all central European territorial states at the lower and middle administrative levels from the 14th century on. Although non-urban seats of office (fortresses) are still encountered in areas with few cities in the early modern period, it was the rule in broad stretches of Central and East…

Cite this page
Keller, Katrin, “County seat”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_016805>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



▲   Back to top   ▲