Study title

Political and economic borders within an economic region are challenges to the social and economic competences of the persons concerned, because in the case of conflicts great flexibility in order to develop and enforce strategies of solution is required. The mining area of the ‘Lebertal’ in the middle of the Vosges, located in the former Austrian territories in Southwestern Germany (Vorderoesterreich) is an example of previously used sovereign rights of political, economical, and social nature, which became inevitable limitations. In the ‘Lebertaler’ district with it’s natural resources silver, copper, and plump, the mining areas of the Habsburgs, the Duke of Lorraine and the House Rappoltstein bordered each other. The diversity of the territories was a great hindrance to the emergence of a single, large-scale economic territory. The guarantee of continuous interaction to ensure the smoothly interplay of the employees of the mining area, of the production, of sales and of the supply of necessary raw materials and relief goods as well as with food constitutes in such a conglomeration of rights in a confined space a challenge. By several measures the basic conditions had first to be created, which allowed an economy of this region centered on efficiency and economic success in this region. The development from a region characterized by a confusing diversity of the territories to an efficient economic territory is analyzed and described in this study. For this purpose, the data of a primary source about the incomes and expenditures of all the mines in the mining area Lebertal has been collected by the investigator. The primary sources are the notes of the revenues and expenditures, made by the mountain guide (or pit guide) Mathias Stoffl for a period of 80 years from 1546 to 1580. This information is completed by the primary investigator by collecting further data. Topics: - Income and expenditures per mine of the Lebertal, containing the following...