The Duchy of Holstein (german: Herzogtum Holstein, da, Hertugdømmet Holsten) was the northernmost state of 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 ...

, located in the present German state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

. It originated when King

Christian I of Denmark Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within Den ...

had his County of

Holstein-Rendsburg Holstein-Rendsburg is the name of a county that existed from 1290 to 1459, ruled by a line of the Schauenburg family. Rise and fall of the county The Schauenburgs had ruled in Holstein since 1110/1111. In 1290, when Count Gerhard I of Holstei ...

elevated to a duchy by Emperor Frederick III in 1474. Members of the Danish

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a German dynasty with links to Denmark since the 15th century. It has branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Iceland, Greece, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Schleswig, Holstein, and Oldenburg. The cu ...

ruled Holstein – jointly with the Duchy of Schleswig – for its entire existence. From 1490 to 1523 and again from 1544 to 1773 the Duchy was partitioned between various Oldenburg branches, most notably the dukes of

Holstein-Glückstadt Holstein-Glückstadt or Schleswig-Holstein-Glückstadt is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the Kings of Denmark in their function as dukes ...

(identical with the

Kings of Denmark This is a list of Danish monarchs, that is, the kings and queens regnant of Denmark. This includes: * The Kingdom of Denmark (up to 1397) ** Personal union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1397) * The Kalmar Union (1397–1536) ** Union of Denmark ...

) and

Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...

. The Duchy ceased to exist when the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

annexed it in 1866 after the Austro-Prussian War.

History

The northern border of Holstein along the

Eider Eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quil ...

River had already formed the northern border of the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...

, after Emperor

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

upon the Saxon Wars reached an agreement with King

Hemming of Denmark Hemming I (died 812) was a king in Denmark from 810 until his death. He was the successor of King Gudfred, his uncle. Family Hemming I is mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals as son to an unnamed brother of Gudfred. Though ''Gesta Hammaburg ...

in 811. The lands of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

beyond the river remained a fief of the Danish Crown, while Holstein became an integral part of East Francia, the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...

and the Holy Roman Empire.

Establishment

Adolf VIII, the last Count of Holstein-Rendsburg and

Duke of Schleswig The following is a list of jarls and dukes, who ruled over Schleswig respectively Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland). First jarls/dukes Houses of Estridsen and Schauenburg (1080–1460) House of Oldenburg In 1864, following the Second Sch ...

had died without heirs in 1459. As Schleswig had been a Danish fief, it had to fall back to King Christian I of Denmark, who, himself a nephew of Adolf, also sought to enter into possession of Holstein. He was backed by the local nobility, who supported the continued common administration of both lands and by the 1460

Treaty of Ribe The Treaty of Ribe ( da, Ribe-brevet meaning The Ribe letter; german: Vertrag von Ripen) was a proclamation at Ribe made in 1460 by King Christian I of Denmark to a number of Holsatian nobles enabling himself to become Count of Holstein and gain ...

proclaimed him as the new Count of Holstein. Nevertheless, the comital Holstein lands south of the Eider River officially remained a mediate fief held by the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

dukes of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

. In 1474 Emperor Frederick III conferred

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

to Christian by elevating him to a Duke of Holstein.

Partition

In 1544, the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were partitioned in three parts between Christian's grandson Christian III of Denmark and his two younger half-brothers (who had to renounce the Danish throne), as follows: * The royal part, held by Christian III and his successors (identical with the

). From 1648 the royal parts of Schleswig and Holstein were administered out of Glückstadt and became known as the Duchy of ''Schleswig-Holstein-Glückstadt''. Before 1773 its Holstein territory consisted of the following '' Ämter'':

Rendsburg Rendsburg ( da, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'', nds, Rendsborg, also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Ecke ...

, South

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, Low Saxon: ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; da, Ditmarsken; la, label=Medieval Latin, Tedmarsgo) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schle ...

Steinburg Steinburg () is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, administered from Itzehoe. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Dithmarschen, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Segeberg and Pinneberg, and by the Elbe River (and the dis ...

Segeberg Segeberg (; frr, Segebärj) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Ost ...

, and

Plön Plön (; Holsatian: ''Plöön'') is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as o ...

. *The Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein in Haderslev, held by Duke Hans the Elder. Hans had no issue and after his death in 1580, his territories were divided among his brothers. *The Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein in Gottorp, held by Duke Adolf and his successors. In addition, significant parts of Holstein were jointly administered by the Dukes of Holstein-Glückstadt and the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, mainly on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

coast. In 1640, the County of

Holstein-Pinneberg The County of Holstein-Pinneberg (), also known as the County of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg (), was a small territory which existed from 1290 until 1640, centred around Pinneberg in modern-day Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Rise and fall of ...

, whose ruling house was extinct, was merged in the royal part of the Duchy of Holstein.

Reunification

In 1713, during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

, the estates of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp in Schleswig including Schloss Gottorf were conquered by royal Danish troops. In the 1720

Treaty of Frederiksborg The Treaty of Frederiksborg ( da, Frederiksborgfreden) was a treaty signed at Frederiksborg Castle, Zealand, on 3 July 1720Heitz (1995), p.244 (14 July 1720 according to the Gregorian calendar), ending the Great Northern War between Denmark-Norwa ...

, Duke Charles Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp ceded them to his liege lord the Danish crown. His remaining territories formed the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, administered from

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

. In 1773, Charles Frederick's grandson, Paul, Emperor of Russia finally gave his Holstein lands to the Danish king, in his function as Duke of Holstein, in exchange for the

County of Oldenburg The County of Oldenburg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1448 Christian I of Denmark (of the House of Oldenburg), Count of Oldenburg became King of Denmark, and later King of Norway and King of Sweden. One of his grandsons, Adolf, Duk ...

, and Holstein was reunited as a single state. With the dissolution of the

in 1806, the Duchy of Holstein gained sovereignty. After the 1815

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, the Duchy of Holstein became a member of the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

, resulting in several diplomatic and military conflicts about the so-called

Schleswig-Holstein Question Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schl ...

. Denmark defended its rule over Holstein in the

First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswi ...

of 1848-51 against the

. However, in the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. ...

(1864) Prussian and Austrian troops conquered Schleswig.

Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

had to renounce both Schleswig and Holstein in the

Treaty of Vienna (1864) The Treaty of Vienna (; ) was a peace treaty signed on 30 October 1864 in Vienna between the Austrian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Kingdom of Denmark. The treaty ended the Second War of Schleswig. Denmark ceded the Duchy of Schleswig (e ...

on October 30. At first placed under joint rule in a condominium, Prussia and Austria then assumed administration of Schleswig and Holstein, respectively, under the

Gastein Convention The Gastein Convention (german: Gasteiner Konvention), also called the ''Convention of Badgastein'', was a treaty signed at Bad Gastein in Austria on 14 August 1865.Wolfgang Neugebauer (ed.): ''Handbuch der preußischen Geschichte''. Band 2: ''Da ...

of August 14, 1865. However, tensions between the two powers culminated in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Following the

Peace of Prague (1866) The Peace of Prague (german: Prager Frieden) was a peace treaty signed by the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire at Prague on 23 August 1866. In combination with the treaties of Prussia and several south - and central German states it eff ...

, the victorious Prussians annexed both Schleswig and Holstein by decree of December 24, 1866, and later established the unified

Province of Schleswig-Holstein The Province of Schleswig-Holstein (german: Provinz Schleswig-Holstein ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia (subsequently the Free State of Prussia after 1918) from 1868 to 1946. History It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and H ...

List of statholders in Holstein

The Danish king in his function as duke of Holstein, and duke of Schleswig, appointed

statholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

s (German: Statthalter; Latin: produx) to represent him in the duchies. The statholders fulfilled the tasks related to the ducal power as patrimonial lords in the royal shares of Holstein and Schleswig, as well as the royal part in the condominial government with the houses of Gottorp and Haderslev (the latter extinct in 1580) for all the duchies of Holstein (until retreat of Gottorp in 1773) and Schleswig (until Gottorp's deposal from dukedom there in 1720). *1523/45–1550:

Johan Rantzau Johan (also Johann) Rantzau (12 November 1492 – 12 December 1565) was a German- Danish general and statesman known for his role in the Count's Feud. His military leadership ensured the succession of Christian III to the throne, which bro ...

*1550–1556: Count Bertram von Ahlefeldt *1556–1598: Heinrich Rantzau *1598–1600: vacancy? *1600–1627: Geerd Rantzau (1558–1627)Dietrich Hermann Hegewisch, ''Schleswigs und Holsteins Geschichte unter dem Könige Christian IV und den Herzogen Friedrich II, Philipp, Johann Adolf und Friedrich III oder von 1588 bis 1648'', Kiel: Neue Academische Buchhandlung, 1801, (=Wilhelm Ernst Christiani's Königlich-Dänischen wirklichen Justizraths und ordentlichen Professors der Weltweisheit, Beredsamkeit und Geschichte auf der Königl. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Geschichte der Herzogthümer Schleswig und Holstein unter dem Oldenburgischen Hause; part 3), p. XIV. *1627–1647: vacancy *1647–1648: Prince Frederick of Denmark *1648–1663: Christian zu Rantzau *1663–1685: Friedrich von Ahlefeldt, Count of Langeland (1623–1686), vice-statholder since 1660 *1685–1697: Detlev zu Rantzau (1644-1697) *1697–1708: Friedrich von Ahlefeldt, Count of Langeland (1662–1708), vice-statholder since 1686 *1708–1722: Carl von Ahlefeldt, Count of Langeland (1708–1722) *1722–1730: ? *1730–1731: Margrave

Charles Augustus of Brandenburg-Kulmbach Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1663–1731), uncle of the next *1731–1762: Margrave Frederick Ernest of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1703–1762), brother-in-law of King Christian VI *1762–1768: Count Friedrich Ludwig von Ahlefeldt-Dehn (1697–1771) *1768–1836:

Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel (, German and ; 19 December 1744 – 17 August 1836) was a cadet member of the house of Hesse-Kassel and a Danish general field marshal. Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life in De ...

*1836–1842:

Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (11 September 1747 – 20 May 1837) was a younger member of the dynasty that ruled the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) and a Danish general. He was born as the youngest son of Hereditary Prince Fre ...

*1842–1851: Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg *1851–1864: Christian zu Rantzau?

Notes

External links

Schleswig-Holstein
at ''Worldstatesmen'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Holstein 1866 disestablishments States and territories established in 1474 Duchies of the Holy Roman Empire Lower Saxon Circle States of the German Confederation Holstein Holstein 1470s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1474 establishments in Europe Former monarchies of Europe