The Barony of Schwarzenberg (german: Herrschaft Schwarzenberg) was a domain that emerged in the middle of the 12th century in the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Ore Mountains in central Europe. It continued to exist following its acquisition by John Frederick the Magnanimous in 1533 as an administrative unit of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

under the name of Amt Schwarzenberg and acted as the regional focal point, until the end of the Saxon ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' constitution, for the collection of baronial contributions and coordination of

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the Feudalism, English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in excha ...

, for

law and order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

and

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

Geography

The barony was bordered by the Vogtland region to the east, and extended south into the forests on the ridge of the

Western Ore Mountains The Western Ore Mountains (german: Westerzgebirge) is a natural region that forms the westernmost part of the Ore Mountains in the German state of Saxony. It is also part of the major landscape unit known as the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It ex ...

from the

Auersberg Auersberg is a mountain in the Ore Mountains in Saxony, southeastern Germany. Auersberg is a 1018.2 m above sea level. It is located in the district of Wildenthal not far from the Czech border southeast of Eibenstock and northwest of Johanngeor ...

mountain to the

Fichtelberg The Fichtelberg () is a mountain with two main peaks in the middle of the Ore Mountains in the east German state of Saxony, near the Czech border. At above sea level, the Fichtelberg is the highest mountain in Saxony, the second highest in the ...

, and was bounded by the rivers Schwarzwasser, Pöhlwasser and

Große Mittweida The Große Mittweida (short also Mittweida) is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Schwarzwasser, which it joins in Schwarzenberg. Its source is on the north slope of the Fichtelberg. See also *List of rivers of Saxony ...

. To the south, it was bounded by the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

. The centre of the territory was the Fort of Schwarzenberg, first mentioned in 1212 as a ''castrum''.

Sources

* Walter Fröbe: ''Herrschaft und Stadt Schwarzenberg bis zum 16. Jahrhundert'', Schwarzenberg 1930/37. * Karlheinz Blaschke, Uwe Jäschke: ''Kursächsischer Ämteratlas 1790''. Gumnior, 2009. * Johann Christian Crell: ''Die in Chursachsen jeztlebende Amtleute und Amtsverweser''. Leipzig, 1722.

External links

Kreisamt Schwarzenberg
im ''Repertorium Saxonicum''

im ''Sächsischen Staatsarchiv Chemnitz''

Schwarzenberg Schwarzenberg may refer to: People * House of Schwarzenberg, Franconian and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172 ** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (1771–1820), Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napol ...

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