The House of Salm was an ancient
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...
n noble family originating from
Salmchâteau
Salmchâteau (; ; ) is a village of Wallonia in the municipality and district of Vielsalm, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. It is situated on the river Salm.
The Counts of Salm build a château in Salmchâteau, of which only two t ...
in the
Ardennes
The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France.
Geological ...
(present-day
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
) and ruling
Salm. The dynasty is above all known for the experiences of the
Upper Salm
Salm is the name of several historic countships and principality, principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France.
History
Origins and first division
The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes r ...
branch which came to be located at
Château de Salm in the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...
mountain range and over time came to rule over a principality whose capital was
Badonviller then
Senones
The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where the ...
.
History
The noble family possibly descended from Count Palatine
Wigeric of Lotharingia
Wigeric or Wideric (; or ; died before 923) was a Frankish nobleman and the count of the Bidgau (''pagus Bedensis'') and held the rights of a count within the city of Trier. He received also the advocacy of the Abbey of Saint RumboldThe abbey f ...
(d. before 923), the founder of the
House of Ardenne
The House of Ardenne (or Ardennes, French ''Maison d'Ardenne'') was an important medieval noble family from Lotharingia, known from at least the tenth century. They had several important branches, descended from several brothers:Parisse, ‘Généa ...
. His presumable son
Sigfried (d. 997) appeared as first
Count of Luxembourg
The territory of Luxembourg has been ruled successively by counts, dukes and grand dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a sovereignty, sovereign state in 1815.
Counts of Luxembourg ...
about 950. Sigfried's grandson
Giselbert Giselbert is the name of:
* Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine (c. 890 – 939), also known as ''Giselbert''
* Giselbert I of Roussillon (d. 1013 or 1014)
* Giselbert II of Roussillon (d. 1102)
* Giselbert, Count of Clermont (d. after 1097)
* Giselbert of Lo ...
(d. 1059), is documented as a Count of Salm in 1036 and as Count of Luxembourg in 1047. When he divided his estates among his heirs, his younger son
Hermann received the
County of Salm and thereby became the progenitor of the comital dynasty. During the
Great Saxon Revolt, he even was elected German
anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...
in opposition to King
Henry IV in 1081, however, he remained isolated until his death in 1088.
In 1163, Hermann's grandson Count Henry I of Salm (d. before 1174) again divided the estates among his son Henry II and his daughter Elizabeth, who had married Frederick II,
Count of Vianden. Henry II received the County of
Upper Salm
Salm is the name of several historic countships and principality, principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France.
History
Origins and first division
The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes r ...
in the Vosges, while Elizabeth and Frederick II founded the comital line of
Lower Salm in the Ardennes.
Lower Salm
The descendants of Elizabeth and Frederick became extinct in 1416. Their possessions were inherited by the Lords of
Reifferscheid, who resided at
Reifferscheid Castle
The ruins of Reifferscheid Castle () stand at a height of 450 metres above Normalnull, sea level (NN) near the German-Belgian border between the mountains of the Eifel and the Ardennes in the municipality of Hellenthal. Its name probably co ...
. The succession arrangement was challenged by the
Raugraves
The Raugraves were a German noble family, which had its center of influence in the former Nahegau. They descended from the Emichones (Counts of Nahegau).
History
First family in the 12th until 15th centuries
The family of the Raugraves (th ...
, however, they had to accept a 1456 judgement by the
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
councillor
Antoine I de Croÿ.

The ''Salm-Reifferscheid'' line was later divided into the branches of ''Salm-Reifferscheid-Bedburg/Krautheim'', ''Salm-Reifferscheidt-Raitz'' and ''Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck'' (extinct in 1888).
Upper Salm

The Counts of Upper Salm resided at
Château de Salm in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
, where they had to compete with the neighbouring
Prince-Bishops of Strasbourg and the
Dukes of Lorraine
The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...
. In 1475, half of the estates were inherited by the
Rhinegraves Rhinegraves are a form of breeches which were popular from the early 1660s until the mid-1670s in Western Europe. They were very full petticoat breeches gathered at or above the knee. They were worn under petticoat breeches or under an overskirt ...
; the remaining half passed to the Lorraine dukes in 1600.
The Rhinegraves began to call themselves Counts of Salm too, they were raised to
princes
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...
in 1623. Their line included several cadet branches ruling over minor principalities such as
Salm-Salm
The Principality of Salm-Salm (; ) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the present-day French departments of Bas-Rhin and Vosges (department), Vosges; it was one of a number of partitions of Salm (state), Salm.
History
Salm-Sa ...
,
Salm-Horstmar, and
Salm-Kyrburg
Salm-Kyrburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire located in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, one of the various partitions of Salm (state), Salm. It was twice created: the first time as a Wild- and Rhinegraviate (partitioned from Upper ...
. In the
German Mediatisation
German mediatisation (; ) was the major redistribution and reshaping of territorial holdings that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany by means of the subsumption and Secularization (church property), secularisation of a large number of ...
of 1803, the Princes of Salm-Salm and Salm-Kyrburg received the southwestern estates of the former
Prince-Bishopric of Münster
The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...
with the
Lordship of Anholt. They ruled the newly established
Principality of Salm jointly as a
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
.
Notable members
Among its notable members were the counts of
Lower Salm in the Ardennes,
advocati of the abbaye Saint-Pierre at
Senones
The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where the ...
, counts of
Upper Salm
Salm is the name of several historic countships and principality, principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France.
History
Origins and first division
The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes r ...
in the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...
mountains, governors of
Nancy, marshals of
Lorraine
Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
, marshals of
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
** Chocolate bar
* Protein bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...
,
princes
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...
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 ...
and sovereign princes of the Principality of
Salm-Salm
The Principality of Salm-Salm (; ) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the present-day French departments of Bas-Rhin and Vosges (department), Vosges; it was one of a number of partitions of Salm (state), Salm.
History
Salm-Sa ...
:
*
Hermann of Salm
Herman(n) of Salm ( – 28 September 1088), also known as Herman(n) of Luxembourg, the progenitor of the House of Salm, was Count of Salm and elected German anti-king from 1081 until his death.
Life
Hermann was a son of Count Giselbert of ...
(c. 1035–1088), German anti-king
*
Otto I, Count of Salm
Otto I, Count of Salm ( – 1150) was a German nobleman. He was a ruling count of Salm and from 1125 to 1137, he was co-ruler of the County Palatine of the Rhine with his stepson William.
Life
His parents were the German anti-king Herma ...
(c. 1080–1150), Count Palatine of the Rhine
*
Nicholas, Count of Salm (1459–1530), defender of Vienna against the Turks in 1529
*
Christina of Salm
Countess Christina of Salm-Badenweiler (1575–1627), was a Duchess consort of Lorraine; married in 1597 to Francis II, Duke of Lorraine.
Life
Christina Katharina was the only daughter and heiress of Count Paul of Salm-Brandenbourg (1548–1595) ...
(1575–1627), duchess consort of Lorraine
*
Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen
Otto Louis of Salm, Wild- and Rhinegrave of Kyrburg and Mörchingen (13 October 1597 – 6 October 1634, Speyer) was a Swedish general during the Thirty Years' War. He was governor in the Alsace and Commander of the Swedish troops in the Uppe ...
(1597–1634), Swedish general during the Thirty Years' War
*
Charles Theodore, Prince of Salm
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
(1645–1710), Imperial field marshal and ministern father in law of the 1st
Duke of Ursel
The House of Ursel is the name of an old Belgian noble family of German origin . The Head of the House is styled as Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess of Ursel.
History
The Ursel family roots are in S ...
.
*
Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg
Philip Joseph, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg (1709–1779) was the first prince of Salm-Kyrburg, from 1743 to 1779.
Life and reign
Philip Joseph was the second son of Hendrik Gabriel Joseph of Salm-Kyrburg (1674–1716), regent of Salm-Kyrburg from 169 ...
(1709–1779)
**
Frederick III, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg (1744–1794), son
***
Frederick IV, Prince of Salm-Kyrburg (1789–1859), grandson
**
Amalie Zephyrine of Salm-Kyrburg
Amalie Zephyrine of Salm-Kyrburg (; Paris, 6 March 1760 – Sigmaringen, 17 October 1841), was a Germans, German noblewoman by birth member of the House of Salm in the Salm-Kyrburg branch and through her marriage she was Hohenzollern-Sigmaringe ...
(1760–1841), daughter
*
Joseph zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck
Joseph Franz Maria Anton Hubert Ignatz Fürst und Altgraf zu Salm-Reifferscheidt-Dyck (4 September 1773 at Castle Dyck near Neuss – 21 March 1861 in Nice) was a German aristocrat, amateur botanist and owner of Castle Dyck.
Early life
...
(1773–1861), botanist
*
Felix Salm-Salm
Prince Felix Constantin Alexander Johann Nepomuk of Salm-Salm (25 December 1828 – 18 August 1870) was a Prussian military officer of princely birth and a soldier of fortune.
Salm-Salm served in the Schleswig-Holstein Army ( Prussian Army), A ...
(1828–1870), officer in the American Civil War
**
Agnes Salm-Salm, née Leclerc Joy (1844–1912), his wife
*Princess
Maria Christina of Salm-Salm (1879–1962), Archduchess of Austria
*
Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten
Count Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten (; ; 24 February 1885 – 23 July 1944), nicknamed "Ludi", was an Austrian tennis player of the pre-Open Era. He competed in the men's outdoor singles event at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He reached the quarte ...
(1885–1944), tennis player
See also
*
Salm (state)
Salm is the name of several historic countships and principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France.
History
Origins and first division
The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes region of pre ...
*
Palais de la Légion d'Honneur
The Palais de la Légion d'Honneur (; Palace of the Legion of Honour), also known as the Hôtel de Salm (), is a historic building on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine, River Seine in Paris, France. Originally built in the 1770s, and reb ...
External links
House of Salm at europeanheraldry.org
*
at the Office de Tourisme Pays des Abbayes
*
Salm Castle
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