Editing History of Germany (section)

===Towns and cities===
{{Multiple image
|header= Towns and cities of the Medieval and Early Modern Holy Roman Empire
|align=right
|total_width=400
|perrow=2
|image1=Cologn1411.jpg|caption1=[[Cologne]], around 1411
|image2=Nuremberg chronicles - MONACUM.png|caption2=[[Munich]] 1493 ([[Nuremberg Chronicle]])
|image3=Nuremberg_chronicles_-_Nuremberga.png|caption3=[[Nuremberg]], in 1493
|image4=Nuremberg chronicles - BAMBERGA.png|caption4=[[Bamberg]] 1493 ([[Nuremberg Chronicle]])
|image5=Braun Regensburg UBHD.jpg|caption5=[[Regensburg]], in 1572
|image6=Nuremberg chronicles - ERFORDIA.png|caption6=[[Erfurt]], in 1493
}}

Total population estimates of the German territories range around 5 to 6 million by the end of Henry III's reign in 1056 and about 7 to 8 million after Friedrich Barbarossa's rule in 1190.{{Sfn|Fuhrmann|1986|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Hlapxde55rAC&pg=PA11 11ff]}}<ref>{{Cite web |first=Robert C. |last=Allen |title=Economic structure and agricultural productivity in Europe, 1300-1800, page 9 |url=http://www.helsinki.fi/iehc2006/papers3/Allen122.pdf |access-date=19 March 2019 |publisher=University of British Columbia}}</ref> The vast majority were farmers, typically in a state of [[serfdom]] under feudal lords and monasteries.{{Sfn|Fuhrmann|1986}} Towns gradually emerged and in the 12th century many new cities were founded along the trading routes and near imperial strongholds and castles. The towns were subjected to the [[German town law|municipal legal system]]. Cities such as [[Cologne]], that had acquired the status of [[Imperial Free City|Imperial Free Cities]], were no longer answerable to the local landlords or bishops, but immediate subjects of the Emperor and enjoyed greater commercial and legal liberties.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Alfred |last=Haverkamp |title=Medieval Germany, 1056–1273 |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1988}}</ref> The towns were ruled by a council of the – usually [[merchant|mercantile]] – elite, the [[Patrician (post-Roman Europe)|patricians]]. [[Artisan|Craftsmen]] formed [[guild]]s, governed by strict rules, which sought to obtain control of the towns; a few were open to women. Society had diversified, but was divided into sharply demarcated classes of the [[clergy]], [[physician]]s, [[merchant]]s, various guilds of artisans, unskilled day labourers and [[peasant]]s. Full citizenship was not available to [[paupers]]. Political tensions arose from issues of taxation, public spending, regulation of business, and market supervision, as well as the limits of corporate autonomy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nicholas |first=David |title=The Growth of the Medieval City: From Late Antiquity to the Early Fourteenth Century |publisher=Longman |date=1997 |pages=69–72, 133–142, 202–220, 244–245, 300–307}}</ref>

[[History of Cologne|Cologne's]] central location on the [[Rhine]] river placed it at the intersection of the major trade routes between east and west and was the basis of Cologne's growth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strait |first=Paul |url=https://archive.org/details/cologneintwelfth0000stra |title=Cologne in the Twelfth Century |publisher=Gainesville, University Presses of Florida |date=1974 |isbn=978-0-8130-0448-8}}</ref> The economic structures of medieval and early modern Cologne were characterized by the city's status as a major harbor and transport hub upon the Rhine. It was the seat of an archbishop, under whose patronage the vast [[Cologne Cathedral]] was built since 1240. The cathedral houses sacred Christian relics and it has since become a well known [[pilgrimage|pilgrimage destination]]. By 1288 the city had secured its independence from the archbishop (who relocated to Bonn), and was ruled by its [[Bourgeoisie|burghers]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huffman |first=Joseph P. |title=Family, Commerce, and Religion in London and Cologne |date=1998}} – covers from 1000 to 1300.</ref>