Württemberg-Neuenstadt was the name of two branch lines of the ducal House of Württemberg

House of Württemberg

The Württemberg family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Württemberg. The House has its origins, according to recent research, probably in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty.-History:...

 in the 17th and 18th century. It was named after the town of residence, Neuenstadt

Neuenstadt am Kocher

Neuenstadt, usually known as Neuenstadt am Kocher is a town in Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany with 9,600 inhabitants...

.

First branch line

The first branch line of this name came into existence after a Fürstbrüderlicher Vergleich - a mutual agreement made between ducal brothers on 7 June 1617 (Julian calendar: 28 May). Under the agreement, the sons of Duke Friedrich I

Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg

Friedrich I of Württemberg was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse....

 split the inheritance such that the eldest son, Johann Frederick

Johann Frederick, Duke of Württemberg

Duke John Frederick of Württemberg was the 7th Duke of Württemberg from 4 February 1608 until his death on 18 July 1628 whilst en route to Heidenheim.- Life :...

, assumed borony over the Duchy of Württemberg

Württemberg

Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....

 while his remaining brothers assumed possession of other ducal properties. The second youngest son, Frederick Achilles, was bequethed Neuenstadt Castle and an annual endowment of 10,000 guilder

Guilder

Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...

. After the death of Frederick Achilles in 1631, who was still unmarried, the castle returned to the main line of the duchy.

Second branch line

The second branch line came into existence in 1649, after the restitution of Württemberg following the Thirty Years’ War. Under the inheritance agreement of 7 October 1649 (27 September under the Julian calendar) Duke Eberhard III

Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg

Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1628 until his death in 1674....

 left his brother Frederick possession of Neuenstadt, Möckmühl

Möckmühl

Möckmühl is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Jagst, 22 km northeast of Heilbronn....

 and Weinsberg

Weinsberg

Weinsberg is a town in the north of the German state Baden-Württemberg. It was founded ca. 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its wine...

, although this was without sovereignty as this was passed on to Eberhard.

Duke Frederick was married to Clara Augusta, daughter of August the Younger

Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Augustus of Brunswick-Lüneburg , called the Younger, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In the estate division of the House of Welf of 1635, he received the Principality of Wolfenbüttel....

 of Brunswick. The couple brought 12 children into the world, of which three male children survived to adulthood: Frederick August, Ferdinand Wilhelm and Carl Rudolf. Duke Frederick died in 1682, outlived by his widow who resided in Neuenstadt and her widow’s residence of Weißenhof by Weinsberg

Weinsberg

Weinsberg is a town in the north of the German state Baden-Württemberg. It was founded ca. 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its wine...

 until 1700 when she died.

The eldest son, Frederick August assumed the inheritance of Frederick. In 1679 he married Countess Albertine Sophie Esther, the last remaining daughter from the line of the Counts of Eberstein

Counts of Eberstein

The Counts of Eberstein were a family of nobility in Baden, Germany. From 1085 up into the 13th century they lived in the castle known today as Alt Eberstein which lies on a mountain top between the valleys of the rivers Murg and Oos...

. The couple moved into Gochsheim Castle

Gochsheim Castle

Gochsheim Castle is an old royal residence in the Kraichtal area of Baden-Württemberg, in the north-eastern part of Karlsruhe, Germany. It currently houses a museum and holds around 100 works of local artist Karl Hubbuch who died in 1979....

 which they had inherited in Kraichgau. In 1679 the couple retreated to Neuenstadt to avoid the War of the Palatinian Succession

War of the Grand Alliance

The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...

. During his absence, Gochsheim

Kraichtal

Kraichtal is a town in the north-eastern part of the Karlsruhe district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was founded in 1971 by a merger of nine smaller municipalities.-Geography:...

 was sacked and razed to the ground by the French. The castle was reconstructed after the war ended in 1700, after which Gochsheim once again became a ducal residence. Frederick August died in 1716. On the death of his wife in 1728, Gochsheim returned to the main ducal line.

Frederick August’s marriage resulted in the birth of 14 children of which only three daughters survived. Of Frederick August’s brothers, Ferdinand Wilhelm had already died in 1701 so the Neuenstadt inheritance passed to Carl Rudolf

Carl Rudolf, Duke of Württemberg-Neuenstadt

Carl Rudolf was third and last Duke of Württemberg-Neuenstadt, army commander in Danish service and Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire.- Life :...

 in 1716. Carl Rudolf also became regent for a short time of the main ducal line of Württemberg for the underaged Duke Karl Eugen

Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg

Charles Eugene , Duke of Württemberg was the eldest son of Duke Karl I Alexander and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis .-Life:...

. When Carl Rudolf died in 1742 the male lineage of Württemberg-Neuenstadt finally disappeared. The only survivors of the duchy, two daughters, lived in Neuenstadt Castle until the line disappeared once and for all with the death of Friederike, at which point Neuenstadt permanently lost its status as a royal residence.