Absolutism in Easter Europe

Between 1400 and 1650, nobles and rulers reestablished serfdom in the east (Bohemia, Silesia, Hungary, eastern Germany, Poland Lithuania, and Russia). These countries gained economic unity but serfs lost rights, and were bound to the land and their lords. A runaway peasant was punished by having his ear nailed to a tree and given a knife to cut it off. These land lords could force peasants to work for up to 6 days without pay. The reason for …

…captured by Alexander the Great, who turned it into the new capital of Russia. It best defines the tie between politics, architecture, and urban development. St. Petersburg was known as the 'window on Europe,' because of it's Western Europe style. Nobles were forced to build large stone houses and palaces there. The serfs had to go each summer to build there without pay, and most died or ran away. In 1782 it had over 300,00 inhabitants.