Palatinate-Neuburg () was a territory 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 ...

, founded in 1505 by a branch of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of some 100,000.

History

The Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg was created in 1505 as the result of the Landshut War of Succession and existed until 1799 or 1808. After the so-called ''Kölner Spruch'' (Verdict of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

) the duchy was created from the territories north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

for Otto Henry and

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (18 ...

, the sons of Ruprecht of the Palatinate. While they were minors, their grandfather Philip, Elector Palatine, ruled the duchy until his death in 1508, followed by Elector Frederick II. In 1541, Count Palatine Otto Henry converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and his palace chapel at Neuburg Castle was the first newly built Protestant church of all, consecrated on 25 April 1543 by the reformed theologian Andreas Osiander. In 1556, Otto Henry became the Elector Palatine and the next year ceded his duchy (the so-called ''Young Palatinate'') to Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. The eldest son of Wolfgang, Philipp Louis, founded in 1569 the ''elder line of Palatine Zweibrücken-Neuburg'', from which the Palatine Sulzbach lineage was separated in 1614. Palatinate-Neuburg joined the

Protestant Union The Protestant Union (), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick IV, Elector Palatine in order t ...

in 1608. In 1609, the United Duchies of Julich-Cleves-Berg were in dispute following the death of the childless John William. Count Palatine Wolfgang Wilhelm claimed the territory and fought in the War of the Julich Succession, converting to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

midway through in order to secure alliances. As a result, Palatine-Neuburg and the Duchies of Julich and Berg would be held in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

. This was formalized in the Treaty of Xanten. In 1800, the duchy was invaded by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and on June 26, 1800, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

and Bavarian armies fought a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

there. After fighting for most of a day, the Coalition armies withdrew. Neuburg was occupied by the French, and General Ney established his headquarters in the castle there.Marceau, p 105. The Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg was abolished in 1808. In the partition of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in 1837, Palatinate-Neuburg was joined with

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

but became a part of Upper Bavaria in the 1970s.

Dukes of Palatinate-Neuburg

* Two brothers, first under regency of Frederick II, Elector Palatine ** Otto Henry, 1505–57 ( Elector Palatine from 1556 until death) **

, 1505–41

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Neuburg

* Wolfgang, 1557–69 * Philipp Ludwig, 1569–1614 (also Duke of Jülich and Berg in 1614) * Wolfgang Wilhelm, 1614–53 (also Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1614) * Philip William, 1653–90 (also Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1653 and Elector Palatine from 1685) * Johann Wilhelm, 1690–1716 (also Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1679 and Elector Palatine from 1690) * Charles Philip, 1716–42 (also Duke of Jülich and Berg and Elector Palatine from 1716) With the death of Elector Charles Philip in 1742 all his territories including the state of Palatinate-Neuburg passed to the Palatinate-Sulzbach line of the Wittelsbach dynasty. Charles Theodor of the Sulzbach line was a descendant of Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach, a brother of Wolfgang Wilhelm.

House of Palatinate-Sulzbach

* Charles Theodore, 1742–99 ( Elector Palatine from 1742,

Elector of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...

from 1777)

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld

* Maximilian Joseph, 1799–1808, (

from 1799)

Gallery

File:Coat of Arms of Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg (Order of the Golden Fleece).svg, Coat of Arms of

Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg Wolfgang Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (4 November 1578 in Neuburg an der Donau – 14 September 1653 in Düsseldorf) was a German Prince. He was Count Palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich and Berg. Life Wolfgang Wilhelm's parents were ...

File:Coat of Arms of Philip William, Johann Wilhelm and Charles III Philip, Electors Palatine (Order of the Golden Fleece).svg, Coat of Arms of Philip William, Johann Wilhelm and Charles Philip, Electors Palatine

References

{{coord, 48, 44, N, 11, 11, E, type:country, display=title 1505 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1808 disestablishments in the Confederation of the Rhine States and territories established in 1505 History of the Palatinate (region) Lists of monarchs Bavarian Circle States and territories disestablished in 1808 Former states and territories of Bavaria