The County of Sponheim (german:

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as " count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is " ...

schaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim, where the counts had their original residence.

Geography

The territory was located roughly between the rivers

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

, Moselle, and Nahe, in the present state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, around the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

region. It bordered the

Electorate of Trier The Electorate of Trier (german: Kurfürstentum Trier or ' or Trèves) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince- ...

to the north and west, the Raugraviate, the Electorate of Mainz and the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine o ...

to the east and the

County of Veldenz The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality o ...

to the south and west, among other states.

History

Beginnings

The family of Sponheim, or Spanheim (German: ''Spanheimer''), has been documented since the 11th century. There are two main branches which are certainly related, but whose exact relationship is still debated. The branch of the Dukes of Carinthia descends from

Siegfried I, Count of Sponheim Siegfried I (c. 1010 – 7 February 1065) is considered the progenitor of the Carinthian ducal House of Sponheim (''Spanheimer'') and all of its lateral branches, including the Counts of Lebenau and the Counts of Ortenburg. He is documented as ...

. The

Rhenish The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

branch, which retained the County of Sponheim, descends from

Stephan I, Count of Sponheim Stephen I, Count of Sponheim (d. ca. 1080) is the patriarch of the Rhenish branch of the House of Sponheim, which ruled over the County of Sponheim. He was closely related to Siegfried I, Count of Sponheim, patriarch of the Carinthian Sponheimish ...

. The county originated from various inheritances which were united in the family's hands, including possessions from the Counties of Nellenburg and Stromberg and jurisdiction of the ''Gaugrafen'' of

Trechirgau The Trechirgau was a mediaeval administrative district, a gau. It belonged to the Duchy of Lorraine. Its exact extent is only roughly known and it lay in the triangle formed by Enkirch, Koblenz and Oberwesel. History The Trechirgau was clos ...

(Berthold-Bezelin dynasty). The Sponheim comital office is supposedly derived from the comital office of Trechirgau. Jackman, Donald C.: ''Sponheim''. Medieval German Counties. Medieval Prosopography. https://web.archive.org/web/20040205173219/http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/d/c/dcj121/prosop/counts/countyA/county11.htm . P. 4 The family of the Counts of Sponheim founded the monastery of Sponheim in the 12th century, where in the 11th century a church had already been built. An abbot from Sponheim,

Johannes Trithemius Johannes Trithemius (; 1 February 1462 – 13 December 1516), born Johann Heidenberg, was a German Benedictine abbot and a polymath who was active in the German Renaissance as a lexicographer, chronicler, cryptographer, and occultist. He is co ...

, chronicled the counts of Sponheim and accumulated a large collection of documents on the history of the area.

First divisions, Upper and Lower Counties, 13th to 15th centuries

Around 1225, the county was divided in two, with each portion ruled by a different branch of the House of Sponheim. The Sponheim-Starkenburg line ruled over the Upper, Hither, or Farther County of Sponheim (''Hintere Grafschaft Sponheim''), based on Starkenburg, and the Sponheim-Kreuznach line over the Lower, Anterior, or Fore County of Sponheim (''Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim''), based on Kreuznach. This partition took place among the sons of Count Gottfried III of Sponheim, who died abroad while participating in the Fifth Crusade. Gottfried had married Adelheid of

Sayn Sayn was a small German county of the Holy Roman Empire which, during the Middle Ages, existed within what is today Rheinland-Pfalz. There have been two Counties of Sayn. The first emerged in 1139 and became closely associated with the County ...

, sister of the last Count of Sayn, Henry III. His estate was divided between their three sons John I, Henry, and Simon I. Simon, the youngest brother, received the Lower County of Sponheim and took up his residence in the castle of Kauzenburg near Kreuznach. Henry married the heiress of Heinsberg, received a portion of the Sayn inheritance, and founded the Sponheim line of the lords of Heinsberg. John became heir to Sayn and to the Upper County of Sponheim, residing first in Starkenburg Castle, and from 1350 at Grevenburg castle at

Trarbach Traben-Trarbach on the Middle Moselle is a town in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and a state-recognized climatic spa (''Luftkurort''). The city lies in the ...

. John I's sons divided their father's estate in 1265. Gottfried received the County of Sayn, whose direct heirs are today the counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Henry I, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg became heir to the Upper County of Sponheim. Both territories were extensively fortified throughout the centuries, as evidenced by the existence of around 21 castles or castle ruins, many of which can still be visited today.The County of Sponheim included throughout its history the following fortifications: Allenbach, Alt-Wolfstein, Argenschwang, Birkenfeld, Böckelheim, Dill, Tannenfels, Ebernburg, Frauenburg, Gemünden/Hunsrück, Grafendahn, Grevenburg, Gutenberg, Herrstein, Kastellaun, Koppenstein, Kreuznach, Naumburg, Sponheim, Starkenburg, Winterburg, Zollburg

Feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...

s with the neighbouring Electorates of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

were common, giving birth to southwestern German legends such as the tale of Michel Mort. The Upper and Lower Counties were also not always on good terms with each other regarding political affiliation. During the dispute between the German kings Frederick the Fair and Louis the Bavarian, the Upper County supported Louis, while Lower Sponheim advocated for Frederick. Louis's victory resulted in political strengthening of Upper Sponheim. Around that time, the Lower County had itself been administratively divided between the brothers John II of Sponheim-Kreuznach and Simon II of Sponheim-Kreuznach, with Soonwald forest defining the boundary. Count Walram of Sponheim-Kreuznach reunited the Lower County. Walram became known as an active military leader involved in many actions, including inter-Sponheim ones.

Second divisions and joint regency

In 1417, the Sponheim-Kreuznach line became extinct and the Sponheim-Starkenburg line ruled alone for about 20 years over most of the whole county. Count Walram's granddaughter married Ruprecht Pipan, heir to the

, who died of disease after returning from the

Battle of Nicopolis The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied crusader army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German, and assorted troops (assisted by the Venetian navy) at t ...

at the age of 21. The marriage was childless, but nevertheless a small portion of the Lower County (less than 1/5) was granted as dowry to the Electors Palatine. In 1437 the Sponheim-Starkenburg family became extinct in the male line, and the counties were jointly ruled as a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

by female-line heirs from then until the early 19th century. These rightful successors, who took the title of Count at Sponheim (''Graf zu Sponheim''), were the Margraves of Baden, who descended from Mechtild of Sponheim, and the Counts of Veldenz, who descended from Loretta of Sponheim; both Mechtild and Loretta were daughters of Count John III of Sponheim-Starkenburg. The County of Veldenz was soon inherited by a collateral line of the

Counts Palatine of the Rhine Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

through the union of the heiress

Anna of Veldenz Countess Palatine Anna of Veldenz (12 November 1540 – 30 March 1586) was Margravine of Baden-Durlach by marriage to Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach, and co-regent of the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach during the minority of her son Ernest ...

with Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken. The rule of the Upper County of Sponheim was thus shared between Baden and

Palatinate-Simmern The House of Palatinate-Simmern (german: Pfalz-Simmern) was a German- Bavarian cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The house was one of the collateral lineages of the Palatinate. The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided ...

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; old ...

Palatinate-Birkenfeld The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld ( German: ''Pfalz-Birkenfeld''), later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relativel ...

; the rule of the Lower County of Sponheim roughly between Baden and the

Reformation

The

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

was instituted in the County of Sponheim in the year 1557, led by Friedrich II, Count Palatine of Simmern. The county became an important outpost of Protestant territory, with exclaves on the Moselle such as Enkirch,

, or Winningen, bordering as it did the Catholic

. Warfare with neighbouring Catholic states would take place intermittently through the centuries, notably including the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

End of the county

After the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, most of the county became a part of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine The Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine (german: Großherzogtum Niederrhein), or simply known as the Lower Rhine Province ('), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and existed from 1815 to 1822. History The province was created after the Congress ...

until 1822, then

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

and the region around Birkenfeld became part of Oldenburg. The ruling dynasties of Baden and Wittelsbach received extensive territories in exchange for the loss of Sponheim (compare also literature on the so-called "Sponheim Controversy" between Baden and Bavaria).

References

Notes

External links

* * Mötsch, Johannes
Ein Kondominatsbesitz – Die Vordere und die Hintere Grafschaft Spohnheim
(website b

with good maps. (Archived by WebCite at https://web.archive.org/web/20070927030235/http://www.fiskalvorpost.de/moreu6i5.html * Höckmann, Thomas

Archived by WebCite at and https://web.archive.org/web/20120319194429/http://www.hoeckmann.de/germany/sample09.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sponheim, County Of 11th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1804 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Upper Rhenish Circle Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate Counties of the Holy Roman Empire