Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

History

Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg, a member of the House of Sponheim, married the heiress Countess Adelaide of Wittgenstein in 1345. The united counties then became known as Sayn-Wittgenstein, although it only officially became known as such during the reign of Salentin's successor Count John. The territory of Sayn-Wittgenstein was often divided between northern (centered on Bad Berleburg) and southern (centered on Bad Laasphe) divisions, although the border between the two often shifted. Sayn-Wittgenstein was partitioned in 1607 into:

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

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 ...

(in the originally territories of

Sayn Sayn was a small German county of the Holy Roman Empire which, during the Middle Ages, existed within what is today Rheinland-Pfalz. There have been two Counties of Sayn. The first emerged in 1139 and became closely associated with the County ...

), and Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein. The area of both former counties is known today as "Wittgenstein", and is part of the district Siegen-Wittgenstein in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Family today

Four

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

branches of the House of Sayn were extant at the beginning of the 20th century, each possessing its own secundogeniture.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' Band XIX. "Sayn-Wittgenstein". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2011, pp.314-338. German. . Almanach de Gotha ''Sayn und Wittgenstein''. Justus Perthes, 1944, pp.284-291. French. In order of seniority of legitimate descent from their progenitor, Ludwig I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1532-1605), they were the: #Princes ('' Fürsten'') zu

, descended from Count Georg (1565-1631) #Princes (''Fürsten'') zu

, descended from Count Christian Ludwig (1725-1797) #Counts zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, descended from Count Georg Ernst (1735-1792) #Princes (''Fürsten'') zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, descended from Count Ludwig (1571-1634) Some of these lines had junior branches, both dynastic and non-dynastic, the latter including families whose right to the princely title was recognized by the Russian, Prussian, Bavarian or Austrian monarchies, whereas other morganatic branches used lesser titles accorded by German sovereigns (e.g. Baron von Kleydorff, Hesse, 1868; Count von Hachenburg, Prussia, 1883; Baron von Freusburg, Lippe, 1916; Baron von Altenburg, ?, 1909). The last male of the comital line was Ottokar, Count zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1911-1995). On the death of Ludwig, 3rd Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein in 1912, the eldest of his three sons, Hereditary Prince August (1868-1947), became 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein and head of the third branch of the House of Sayn. Being a childless bachelor, the elder of whose two younger brothers, Georg (1873-1960), had married morganatically, while the younger, Wilhelm (1877-1958), was 49 and yet unmarried, August preserved the name and heritage of his branch of the House of Sayn by adopting Christian Heinrich ''Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg'' (1908-1953). He was the second son of the late head of the entire House of Sayn, Richard, 4th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1882-1925), whose eldest son, Gustav Albrecht (1907-1944) had inherited the senior line's fortune and position. In November 1960, Christian Heinrich, being the divorced father of two daughters by his dynastic marriage to Beatrix ''

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

in'' von Bismarck-Schönhausen (1921-2006), married Dagmar ''Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein'' (1919-2002), elder daughter of his adopted father's younger brother, Georg, who died seven months before the wedding. As Georg's children by his morganatic wife, Marie Rühm, (created Baroness von Freusburg by the reigning Prince of Lippe in 1916) had been de-morganatized by the declaration of their uncle August on 11 February 1947, her marriage to Christian Heinrich was deemed a dynastic match, ensuring that their son Bernhart would be born in compliance with the house laws of his adoptive ancestors, the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohensteins, as well as being a grandson of the last dynastic male of that family, Prince Georg.

Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1354–1607)

* Eberhard (1469–1494) * George I (1427–1469) * John (1384–1427) * Louis I (1568–1605) * Salentin, Count of Sayn-Homburg (1354–84) *

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

(1494–1568) File:Laasphe De Merian Hassiae 144.jpg, Wittgenstein in 1655 File:Schloss_Witgenstein_(2)fd.jpg, Wittgenstein Castle (near Bad Laasphe) in 1903 File:Schloss Wittgenstein.jpg, The princely castle at

Bad Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest o ...

File:2006-05-05 Schloss Sayn 01.JPG, Sayn Castle File:Schloss_Homburg_(Nümbrecht),_022,_wik_k.jpg, Homburg Castle File:012_Jagdschloß_Schwarzenau.jpg, Schwarzenau Castle File:Odenthal_Schloss_Strauweiler_aus_Richtung_Ortszentrum.jpg, Castle Strauweiler

References and notes

External links

Sayn-Wittgenstein v Landeshauptmann von Wien
a landmark case in front of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Unio ...

concerning the attribution of nobility names in the case of adoption. {{Authority control 1607 disestablishments States and territories established in 1384

History

Family today

Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1354–1607)

See also

References and notes

External links