The

imperial count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

y of Holstein-Kiel was a line of the House of Schauenburg and Holstein from 1261 to 1390.

History

The County of

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

was ruled until 1238 by

Adolphus IV of Schauenburg and Holstein Adolf IV (before 1205 – 8 July 1261), was a Count of Schauenburg (1225–1238) and of Holstein (1227–1238), of the House of Schaumburg. Adolf was the eldest son of Adolf III of Schauenburg and Holstein by his second wife, Adelheid of Que ...

. When he retired, his sons

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I ...

and

Gerhard I Gerard I may refer to: * Gerard I, Count of Guelders Gerard I, Count of Guelders (c. 1060 – 8 March 1129) was Count of Guelders (Gelre in Dutch). He was the son of Theodoric of Wassenberg. He may have been married to Clementia of Aquitaine, a ...

ruled jointly in Holstein. In 1261 they divided the county, John taking

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 ...

and founding the line of Holstein-Kiel, and Gerhard taking

Itzehoe Itzehoe (; nds, Itzhoe) is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km (31.7 mi) northwest of Hamburg and 24 ...

and founding the

Holstein-Itzehoe Holstein-Itzehoe was a county that was formed from Schauenburg and Holstein by the division of Holstein between Gerhard and John in 1261. Gerhard of Holstein-Itzehoe was the only regent. After his death in 1290 Holstein-Itzehoe was divided up be ...

line. In 1300 Holstein-Itzehoe was further divided into

Holstein-Plön Holstein-Plön was the name of a county ruled by the House of Schauenburg that ruled in Holstein and Stormarn from 1110/11. The county emerged before 1295 when the County of Holstein-Itzehoe was partitioned after the death of Count Gerhard I 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 ...

and

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 ...

. In 1350 the County of Holstein-Plön fell to the counts of Holstein-Kiel. In 1390 the last Count of Holstein-Kiel, and hence of Holstein-Plön, died without issue. Both counties were inherited by the line of

Counts of Holstein-Kiel

*1261-1263

(1229 – 1263) *1263-1273 Adolphus V ''the Pomeranian'' (1252 – 1308), from 1273 Count of Holstein-Segeberg *1263-1316 John II ''the One-Eyed'' (1253 – 1321) *1316-1359 John III ''the Mild'' (ca. 1297 – 1359), from 1312 Count of Holstein-Plön *1359-1390 Adolphus VII (ca. 1329 – 1390), also Count of Holstein-Plön Following the death of John I, his sons, Adolphus V and John II ruled Holstein-Kiel jointly. In 1273, they divided Holstein-Kiel, John II ruling from Kiel; Adolphus V ruling from Segeberg and founding the line of

Holstein-Segeberg The County of Holstein-Segeberg was a county in the state of Holstein from 1273 to 1308 and a line of the noble family of Schauenburg and Holstein. The only count of Holstein-Segeberg was Adolphus V, nicknamed ''the Pomeranian'', who was born in 1 ...

. When Adolphus V died in 1308 without a male heir, Holstein-Segeberg returned to Holstein-Kiel. The successor of John II in 1316 was John III, a son of Gerhard II of Holstein-Plön. After the death of Count Gerhard V of Holstein-Plön, a nephew of John III, the Plön main line ended in 1350 and so John III took over the County of Holstein-Plön. When Adolphus VII died without heirs in 1390, Holstein-Kiel and Holstein-Plön went into the hands of Count

Gerhard VI of Holstein-Rendsburg Gerhard VI (c. 1367–1404) was the Count of Holstein-Rendsburg from 1382, and Duke of Schleswig as of 1386. Gerhard VI was born around 1367, the son of Count Henry II from the Rendsburg line of the House of Schauenburg and Ingeborg of Mecklenbu ...

Rise and fall of the county

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Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Holstein Kiel