The County of Stolberg-Rossla () 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 ...

. Its capital was Rossla, now in

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 ...

. The territory was owned and 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 ...

from 1341 until 1803, when the county became mediatised by the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. Stolberg-Rossla emerged as a partition of

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 ...

in 1706. It was forced to recognize the suzerainty of the

in 1738. Stolberg-Rossla was mediatised to Saxony in 1803, but passed to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

in 1815. Although the territory was subsequently administered within the

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

, the counts retained their possessions until 1945. In 1893 they were raised to the rank of

Prince A prince is a 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, in some European states. The ...

s of Stolberg-Rossla.

Rulers of Stolberg-Rossla

Counts of Stolberg-Rossla

* Christoph Ludwig I, Count of

(1634–1704) ** Christoph Friedrich, Count of Stolberg-Stolberg (1672–1736) ** Jost Christian, 1st Count of Stolberg-Roßla 1706–1739 (1676–1739) *** Friedrich Botho, 2nd Count 1739–1768 (1714–1768) **** Heinrich Christian Friedrich, 3rd Count 1768–1778 (1747–1810) **** Johann Wilhelm Christoph, 4th Count 1778–1826 (1748–1826) **** August, 5th Count 1826–1846 (1768–1846) ***** Karl Martin, 6th Count 1846–1870 (1822–1870) ****** Botho, 7th Count 1870–1893 (1850–1893)

Princes of Stolberg-Rossla

* Botho, 1st Prince 1893 (1850–1893) ** Jost Christian, 2nd Prince 1893–1916 (1886–1916) ** Christoph Martin, 3rd Prince 1916–1949 (1888–1949) *** Johann Martin, 4th Prince 1949–1982 (1917–1982)

Stolberg-Wernigerode Heir

Prince Alexander of

Stolberg-Wernigerode The County of Stolberg-Wernigerode () was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. History The Counts of Wernigerode h ...

(b.1967), the only son of Prince Elger of Stolberg-Wernigerode (b. 1935) and his wife, Baroness Karin von Düring (b. 1934), was adopted by his distant cousin, Prince Johann Martin of Stolberg-Roßla (1917–1982) and upon his death became the 5th Prince of Stolberg-Rossla. Alexander is married to Caroline Jansen (b. 1968) and has a son, Prince ''Ludwig'' Botho Elgar Wilhelm Martin (b.2008), and three daughters: Princess Juliana (2002), Princess Auguste (b. 2004) and Princess Emilia (b. 2006).http://w.genealogy.euweb.cz/stolberg/stolberg3.html#O

References

* * 1706 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1803 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1706 Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt {{Germany-hist-stub

Rulers of Stolberg-Rossla

Counts of Stolberg-Rossla

Princes of Stolberg-Rossla

Stolberg-Wernigerode Heir

See also

References