The County of Stolberg () was a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

located in the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountain range in present-day

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was ruled by a branch of the

House of Stolberg The House of Stolberg is an old and large German dynasty of the former Holy Roman Empire's Uradel, high aristocracy (''German nobility#Hochadel, Hoher Adel''). Members of the family held the title of ''Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Fürst'' an ...

. The town of Stolberg was probably founded in the 12th century as a mining settlement. The Counts of Stolberg (''Grafen zu Stolberg'') probably derived from a branch of the counts of Hohnstein castle near

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. The castle of Stolberg was first mentioned in 1210 as ''Stalberg'', then the seat of one count Henry originally from nearby Voigtstedt. It remained a property of the comital family until its expropriation in 1945. The Stolberg lands, which were located mostly east of the Harz, included Stolberg, Hayn, the lower County of Hohnstein (1417), as well as Kelbra and

Heringen Heringen (Werra) () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia. Geography Location The nearest major towns and cities are Bad Hersfeld (28 km to the west), Eisena ...

(1413/17), the two latter territories being ruled alongside the

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia, which is in modern-day central Germany. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture t ...

. The Counts of Stolberg could significantly enlarge their territory when they inherited the

County of Wernigerode The County of Wernigerode () was a state of the Holy Roman Empire which arose in the Harzgau region of the former Duchy of Saxony, at the northern foot of the Harz mountain range. The comital residence was at Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhal ...

in 1429, the County of Königstein in 1535, and the County of Rochefort in 1544. The

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

was introduced into their territory in 1539. On 19 March 1548 the line was split between a Harz line (

Stolberg-Stolberg Stolberg-Stolberg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the southern Harz region. Its capital was the town of Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt, Stolberg, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. In 1429 ...

) and a Rhenish line with the possessions in

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

( Stolberg-Rochefort) and

Königstein im Taunus Königstein im Taunus (, ) is a health spa and lies on the thickly wooded slopes of the Taunus in Hesse, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Owing to its advantageous location ...

( Stolberg-Königstein).

References

* *

External links

Stolberger-Geschichte.de
1548 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1210 Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt Harz 1210s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1210 establishments in Europe Counties of the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-hist-stub

See also

References

External links