The County of Stolberg-Wernigerode (german: Grafschaft Stolberg-Wernigerode) was a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

located in the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German w ...

region around

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

, now part of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg.

History

The Counts of Wernigerode had become extinct in 1429 and their lands were inherited through Salic law by the

Counts of Stolberg The County of Stolberg (german: Grafschaft Stolberg) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until ...

, sovereign counts of the Empire since the early 11th century. On 31 May 1645, the Harz line of Stolberg-Stolberg was divided between a senior Stolberg-Wernigerode line and a junior Stolberg-Stolberg line. Because Wernigerode was heavily damaged by the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

, the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode also resided in the castle of

Ilsenburg Ilsenburg () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six nor ...

The town of Gedern in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

, acquired in 1535, became the seat of the cadet branch of Stolberg-Gedern in 1677. This junior line, raised to an imperial principality by Emperor Charles VII of Wittelsbach in 1742, was reacquired by Stolberg-Wernigerode in 1804. The Wernigerode line also re-acquired Stolberg-Schwarza on 14 September 1748. In 1714, Count Christian Ernest surrendered his military and the fiscal independence of Stolberg-Wernigerode to King

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Ne ...

, although he still maintained subordinated rule over his territories as a count. The county was mediatised in 1807 and made part of the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day History of Germany, Germany. While formally independent, it was a ...

. In the 1815

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, Stolberg-Wernigerode was granted to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

, although successive counts retained sovereign rights until 1876. The territory was incorporated into the Prussian

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), 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 merge ...

in 1815. The Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode were considered ''

Reichsfrei Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pr ...

''. The children of '' Fürsten'', ''Fürstinnen'' and ''Erbprinzen'' (Princes and Princesses) zu Stolberg-Wernigerode bore the title of Prince(ss) zu Stolberg-Wernigerode and were styled as

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness ( abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior member ...

. Other members of this line bore the equal title of ''

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 ...

/Gräfin zu Stolberg-Wernigerode'' (not to be confused with ordinary Counts) and were styled as

Illustrious Highness His/Her Illustrious Highness (abbreviation: H.Ill.H.) is the usual English-language translation for ''Erlaucht'', a style historically attributed to certain members of the European aristocracy. It is not a literal translation, as the German word ...

Rulers of Stolberg-Wernigerode

Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode

* Henry Ernest, 1645-1672 *

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, ...

, son, 1672-1710 * Christian Ernest, nephew, 1710-1771 * Henry Ernest, son, 1771-1778 * Christian Frederick, son, 1778-1824 * Henry, son, 1824-1854 *

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorde ...

, grandson, 1854–1896,

Vice-Chancellor of Germany The vice-chancellor of Germany, unofficially the vice-chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (), officially the deputy to the federal chancellor (), is the second highest ranking German cabinet member. The chancellor is the head of governm ...

, '' Fürst'' from 1890 on

Princes of Stolberg-Wernigerode

, 1st Prince 1890-1896 (1837-1896) -

, '' Fürst'' from 1890 on ** Christian Ernst, 2nd Prince 1896-1940 (1864-1940) *** Botho, 3rd Prince 1940-1989 (1893-1989) **** Christian-Heinrich, 4th Prince 1989-2001 (1922-2001) ***** Prince Ludwig-Christian (b.1958) ***** Prince Bolko (b.1959) ****** Princess Natasia (b.1992) ***** Philipp, 5th Prince 2001-''present'' (b.1967) ****** Carl, Hereditary Prince of Stolberg-Wernigerode (b.2009/10) ***** Prince George (b.1970) ****** Prince Tassilo (b.2005) ****** Prince Nikolas (b.2007) **** Prince Elger (b.1935) ***** Prince Alexander (b.1967) - ''adopted by Stolberg-Roßla line''

References

* * {{coord missing, Germany Counties of the Holy Roman Empire

History

Rulers of Stolberg-Wernigerode

Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode

Princes of Stolberg-Wernigerode

See also

References