Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen (sometimes called Sayn-Altenkirchen) was a German

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 ...

located in what is now

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, near the river Sieg. When Count William III of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was a county of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, comprising the lands of the region of Sayn. It was created as a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1607, although it was not until the next year that it obtained fully the C ...

died in 1623 without clear heirs, the Archbishop of Cologne occupied the vacant County until the succession was settled. It was settled by treaty in 1648, when the County was given jointly to Princesses Ernestine and Johanette, two sisters who were granddaughters of Count William, and their mother Dowager Countess Louise Juliane made regent. But shortly after the treaty, the County was split between the two. Ernestine's portion was called Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg (or Sayn-Hachenburg for short), a title which descended through the female line and is now a title of the Grand Duke of

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 ...

. Johanette's was Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen. Their mother remained regent for both Counties until 1652, when Johanette and Ernestine separately ruled their respective Counties. Sayn-Altenkirchen was inherited by Duke Johann William of Saxe-Eisenach — Johanette's son — and secondly by Duke William Henry of Saxe-Eisenach — Johanette's grandson. William Henry died childless and Sayn-Altenkirchen was inherited by Charles,

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Johanette's great-grandson. The County of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen ended when it was mediatised to Nassau-Weilburg in 1803. Queen Caroline, wife of

George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover, Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Em ...

, was co-heiress to this County, but she never inherited it and her grandson

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

was compensated for his loss of inheritance to it.

Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn-Altenkirchen (1648–1803)

* Joan (1648–1701) * William Henry (1701–41) * Charles I William Frederick (1741–1757) * Charles II Alexander (1757-1803) '' Mediatised to Nassau-Weilburg 1803

References

* Matthias Dahlhoff: ''Geschichte der Grafschaft Sayn'', Dillenburg 1874. * Daniel Schneider: ''Das Mühlengewerbe in der Grafschaft Sayn-Altenkirchen'', in: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreises Altenkirchen, 59. Jahrgang, 2016, p. 219-237. * Daniel Schneider: ''Die Entwicklung der Konfessionen in der Grafschaft Sayn im Grundriss'', in: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreises Altenkirchen, 58. Jahrgang, 2015, p. 74-80. * Daniel Schneider: ''Die Landstände in der Grafschaft Sayn sowie in Sayn-Altenkirchen und Sayn-Hachenburg'', in: Jahrbuch für westdeutsche Landesgeschichte, 33. Jahrgang, 2007, p. 213-229. * Daniel Schneider: ''Die Städtepolitik der Grafen von Sayn im Spätmittelalter'', in: Jahrbuch für westdeutsche Landesgeschichte, 41. Jahrgang, 2015, pp. 33-49. * M. Spindler, A. Kraus: ''Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts'', München 1997. . * Gerhard Taddey: '' Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte'', Stuttgart 1998. . * Kreisverwaltung Altenkirchen (Hrsg.): ''Land an Sieg und Wied. Heimatkunde des Kreises Altenkirchen'', Wissen 1987. * Daniel Schneider: ''Die Geschichte der Ortsgemeinde Obererbach (Westerwald). Die Ortschaften Hacksen, Niedererbach, Obererbach und Koberstein vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart'', 2 Bände, Obererbach 2009, (mit Zusammenfassung der Entwicklung der Grafschaft Sayn-Altenkirchen). {{Coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate 1803 disestablishments States and territories established in 1648 Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate 1648 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire History of the Westerwald