County of Sponheim

County of Sponheim Grafschaft Sponheim (German)
11th century – 1804
Coat of arms of Upper Sponheim
State of the Holy Roman Empire
Capital	Sponheim Traben-Trarbach Kreuznach
Government	Feudal County
Historical era	Imperial Circle	1500
• Annexed by the First French Empire	1804
Preceded by Succeeded by Rhenish Franconia Duchy of Lorraine Kingdom of Prussia Grand Duchy of Oldenburg Kingdom of Bavaria

The County of Sponheim (German: Grafschaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim, where the counts had their original residence.

Geography

The territory was located roughly between the rivers

History

Beginnings

The family of Sponheim, or Spanheim (German: Spanheimer), has been documented since the 11th century. There are two main branches which are certainly related, but whose exact relationship is still debated. The branch of the

The county originated from various inheritances which were united in the family's hands, including possessions from the Counties of Nellenburg and Stromberg and jurisdiction of the Gaugrafen of Trechirgau (Berthold-Bezelin dynasty). The Sponheim comital office is supposedly derived from the comital office of Trechirgau.^[1] The family of the Counts of Sponheim founded the monastery of Sponheim in the 12th century, where in the 11th century a church had already been built. An abbot from Sponheim, Johannes Trithemius, chronicled the counts of Sponheim and accumulated a large collection of documents on the history of the area.

First divisions, Upper and Lower Counties, 13th to 15th centuries

Around 1225, the county was divided in two, with each portion ruled by a different branch of the

This partition took place among the sons of Count Gottfried III of Sponheim, who died abroad while participating in the

John I's sons divided their father's estate in 1265. Gottfried received the County of Sayn, whose direct heirs are today the counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Henry I, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg became heir to the Upper County of Sponheim.

Both territories were extensively fortified throughout the centuries, as evidenced by the existence of around 21 castles or castle ruins, many of which can still be visited today.^{[note 1]} Feuds with the neighbouring Electorates of Mainz and Trier were common, giving birth to southwestern German legends such as the tale of Michel Mort. The Upper and Lower Counties were also not always on good terms with each other regarding political affiliation. During the dispute between the German kings Frederick the Fair and Louis the Bavarian, the Upper County supported Louis, while Lower Sponheim advocated for Frederick. Louis's victory resulted in political strengthening of Upper Sponheim. Around that time, the Lower County had itself been administratively divided between the brothers John II of Sponheim-Kreuznach and Simon II of Sponheim-Kreuznach, with Soonwald forest defining the boundary. Count Walram of Sponheim-Kreuznach reunited the Lower County. Walram became known as an active military leader involved in many actions, including inter-Sponheim ones.

Second divisions and joint regency

In 1417, the Sponheim-Kreuznach line became extinct and the Sponheim-Starkenburg line ruled alone for about 20 years over most of the whole county. Count Walram's granddaughter married Ruprecht Pipan, heir to the

Reformation

The

After the Napoleonic Wars, most of the county became a part of Prussia,^{[note 2]} and the region around Birkenfeld became part of Oldenburg. The ruling dynasties of Baden and Wittelsbach received extensive territories in exchange for the loss of Sponheim (compare also literature on the so-called "Sponheim Controversy" between Baden and Bavaria).

See also

• List of Counts at Sponheim
• Margraviate of Baden
• Friedrich Karl von Tettenborn

References