County of Zweibrücken
Encyclopedia
The County of Zweibrücken (German
:Grafschaft Zweibrücken) was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire
named for Zweibrücken
in the contemporary Land
Rhineland-Palatinate
. It was created in between 1182 and 1190 from an inheritance division of the county of Saarbrücken and lasted until 1394.
ranked in the beginning of the 12th century amongst the most prominent families in southwestern Germany with major landholdings in present-day Lorraine
, Alsace
, Saarland
and Rhineland-Palatinate
and prominent patronages. Their power ist best characterized by the fact that members of the family twice in the 12th century held the position of archbishop of Mainz. Seemingly soon after 1100 they gained patronage over the monastery
of Hornbach
with large landholdings between Blies
and Palatinate forest.
Here, at the crossing over the Schwarzbach
, and probably about 1150, the water castle
of Zweibrücken
was built. With an inheritance division in the Saarbrücken counts family, Zweibrücken fell to the younger son Heinrich I, who founded the line of counts of Zweibrücken. Around the castle, a town formed and received city rights in 1352 together with Hornbach.
half of Liebenberg castle near Namborn
, in patronages the important patronage over the monastery of Hornbach, other patronages over the nun
s cloister Altenmünster in Mainz
and over several holdings of the ecclesiastical foundations saint Alban
in Mainz and of the Liebfrauen there, finally allods between Rhine and Mosel, amongst those Zweibrücken castle, Lemberg
castle built after 1198 by count Heinrich I, and shares of Marimont-lès-Bénestroff
, Lindre-Haute
and Sarreguemines
.
right (oldest son as first or single heir) had not yet come into common use and the ongoing inheritance partitions in Southwestern Germany affected many territories and led to their decay. This also holds true for the county of Zweibrücken. Count Heinrich I, around 1237, was succeeded by his son count Heinrich II. Of the latter's sons, left behind in 1282, Eberhard I. und Walram I. started a common government of the county. For this was not always possible in harmony, they decided upon a division after 1286. Eberhard I. received the bailiwick of Lemberg, Walram I. the bailiwick of Zweibrücken. This division was further refined in 1295 and solidified in 1333 with the division of the last shared properties, resulting in the formation of two independent counties.
of Pfalz-Zweibrücken emerged.
Friedrich III of Lorraine and received in exchange from the latter the castle and dominion of Bitsch
as fief. He founded the line of counts of Zweibrücken-Bitsch that reigned the bailiwick of Lemberg and the dominion of Bitsch until the male line became extinct in 1570.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
:Grafschaft Zweibrücken) was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
named for Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
in the contemporary Land
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
. It was created in between 1182 and 1190 from an inheritance division of the county of Saarbrücken and lasted until 1394.
Creation
The counts of SaarbrückenSaarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
ranked in the beginning of the 12th century amongst the most prominent families in southwestern Germany with major landholdings in present-day Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
, Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
and Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
and prominent patronages. Their power ist best characterized by the fact that members of the family twice in the 12th century held the position of archbishop of Mainz. Seemingly soon after 1100 they gained patronage over the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Hornbach
Hornbach
Hornbach is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated southwest of the Palatinate forest, on the border with France, south of Zweibrücken. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Zweibrücken-Land.The monastery was the most likely reason for the...
with large landholdings between Blies
Blies
The Blies is a right tributary of the Saar River in south-western Germany and north-eastern France . The Blies flows from three springs in the Hunsrück mountains near Selbach, Germany. It is approximately 100 km long, ending in the French city of Sarreguemines...
and Palatinate forest.
Here, at the crossing over the Schwarzbach
Schwarzbach (Blies)
The Schwarzbach is a river in southwestern Germany, left tributary of the Blies. Its source is in the Palatinate Forest, near Trippstadt. It flows through the states Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Towns along its course are Waldfischbach-Burgalben, Contwig and Zweibrücken...
, and probably about 1150, the water castle
Water castle
A water castle is a castle or stately home whose site is entirely surrounded by moats or natural waterbodies. Topographically water castles are a type of lowland castle.There is a further distinction between:...
of Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
was built. With an inheritance division in the Saarbrücken counts family, Zweibrücken fell to the younger son Heinrich I, who founded the line of counts of Zweibrücken. Around the castle, a town formed and received city rights in 1352 together with Hornbach.
Geography
The initial allowance of the county of Zweibrücken, in order to name here some relevant constituents, consisted in fiefs, i.e. from the Empire half of Landeck castle with eleven villages around Bergzabern, from the bishopric of Metz rights over their serfs, the so-called "Stephan's people", from the bishopric of VerdunBishopric of Verdun
The Bishopric of Verdun was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire; it was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. It was annexed to France in 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the Peace of Westphalia of...
half of Liebenberg castle near Namborn
Namborn
Namborn is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 7 km north of Sankt Wendel, and 25 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein....
, in patronages the important patronage over the monastery of Hornbach, other patronages over the nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s cloister Altenmünster in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
and over several holdings of the ecclesiastical foundations saint Alban
Alban of Mainz
Saint Alban of Mainz was a priest, missionary, and martyr.Rabanus Maurus wrote in his Martyrology about Alban, who was sent to Gallia as a missionary by Ambrose of Milan. In Mainz, Alban helped bishop Aureus of Mainz to regain his bishopric...
in Mainz and of the Liebfrauen there, finally allods between Rhine and Mosel, amongst those Zweibrücken castle, Lemberg
Lemberg, Germany
Lemberg is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
castle built after 1198 by count Heinrich I, and shares of Marimont-lès-Bénestroff
Marimont-lès-Bénestroff
Marimont-lès-Bénestroff is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department...
, Lindre-Haute
Lindre-Haute
Lindre-Haute is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
and Sarreguemines
Sarreguemines
Sarreguemines is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is the seat of an arrondissement.-Geography:...
.
Evolution
The primogeniturePrimogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
right (oldest son as first or single heir) had not yet come into common use and the ongoing inheritance partitions in Southwestern Germany affected many territories and led to their decay. This also holds true for the county of Zweibrücken. Count Heinrich I, around 1237, was succeeded by his son count Heinrich II. Of the latter's sons, left behind in 1282, Eberhard I. und Walram I. started a common government of the county. For this was not always possible in harmony, they decided upon a division after 1286. Eberhard I. received the bailiwick of Lemberg, Walram I. the bailiwick of Zweibrücken. This division was further refined in 1295 and solidified in 1333 with the division of the last shared properties, resulting in the formation of two independent counties.
County of Zweibrücken-Zweibrücken
The western part of the former county, consisting of the territory around Zweibrücken and some other parts, fell in the division to Walram I and remained with his descendants. The last count of the Walramide line, Eberhard II, without children and impoverished by numerous feuds, pledged it in 1385 to the Counts Palatine from the palatine line of the House of Wittelsbach. After his death in 1394 they entered their new properties and thus entered for the first time in the Western Palatinate. After unification with the County of Veldenz in the year 1444, the principalityPrincipality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
of Pfalz-Zweibrücken emerged.
County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch
The eastern part of the Zweibrücken lands, the bailiwick of Lemberg, fell to Eberhard I. In 1297 count Eberhard I exchanged some of his towns with dukeDuke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
Friedrich III of Lorraine and received in exchange from the latter the castle and dominion of Bitsch
Bitche
Bitche is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.It is known for its large citadel. The surrounding territory is known as le Pays de Bitche in French and Bitscherland in German.-Geography:...
as fief. He founded the line of counts of Zweibrücken-Bitsch that reigned the bailiwick of Lemberg and the dominion of Bitsch until the male line became extinct in 1570.
Walramides (1182-1394)
of the line of the counts of Saarbrücken- 1182 - 1237 Heinrich I.
- 1237 - 1282 Heinrich II.
- 1282 - 1309 Walram I.
- 1309 - 1311 Simon
- 1311 - 1366 Walram II.
- 1366 - 1394 Eberhard