Hochstaden was a medieval county in the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
. It existed from the 11th to the 13th century. After the extinction of a senior line, a junior line was created by marital connection with the counts of
Are-Hochstaden. After the main line Are died out, their property fell to the high Stader line. Finally, Archbishop
Konrad von Hochstaden
Konrad von Hochstaden (or Conrad of Hochstadt) (1198/1205 – 18 September 1261) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1238 to 1261.
Life
Konrad was a son of Count Lothar of Hochstaden, Hochstadt, canon of St. Maria ad Gradus and of the old Cologne Cath ...
and his brother bequeathed the property to the
Cologne archbishopric.
History
The origin was the early medieval
Motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
of Husterknupp northwest of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. Hardly anything is known about the early owners and since the Middle Ages the castle had already disappeared. The last remnants were destroyed by
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
mining.
The counts of Hochstaden date back to Gerhard I. This is attested for the period 1074-1096. His mother possibly came from the Ezzonen. His father was probably Gerhard Wassenberg. Gerhard I and his father were sometimes referred to as "princes", a status that was beyond a simple count. The origin of his wife is unknown.
His brother was
Cologne Archbishop Hermann III. of Hochstaden. This older line died out with Gerhard II, in 1149. The heiress of Hochstaden and Wickrath Adelheid married Otto von Are in about 1167. From then, the ownership of Hochstaden was in the hands of the family of Are. After the death of the father of Otto Dietrich I von Are the inheritance was divided. The lines Are,
Nürburg
Nürburg () is a town in the Germany, German district of Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is also the name of the local castle, Nürburg Castle, which was built in the High Middle Ages. The name is derived ...
and Hochstaden emerged. After the death of Otto the line of Hochstaden was also divided. In addition to the main line Hochstaden there was a line
Wickerode
Wickerode is a village and a former municipality in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the municipality Südharz
Südharz (literally "South Harz") is a municipality in the Mansfeld-Sà ...
. Between 1283 and 1331 a Cologne canon named Heinrich became extinct.
About the throne of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, the counts of Hochstaden supported the Guelph side against Frederick II.
The line Hochstaden possessed this region after the death of Theodoric II, The last representatives of the senior line of Are. This line-Are Hochstaden came to Archbishop Konrad and his brother Friedrich (ruling 1228-1265). After her nephew Theodoric and Gerhard had died childless, his brothers, from the archbishopric of Cologne, including Neuenahr, Altenahr, Heimbach, Hardthöhe and Nürburg took over the possession.
[Donald C. Jackman: ''Hochstaden: Public Succession in Ripuaria of the High Middle Ages.'' Archive for Medieval Prosopography 7/2009]
Genealogy
Senior line
*Gerhard I. (†after 1096)
**Gerhard II. (†after 1145)
***Adelheid (†before 1162), married to Otto Graf von Are (†before 1162).
*Hermann III. (†November 21, 1099)
Junior Line
*Adelheid and Otto von Are
**Otto (†after 1208), the founder of the line
Wickrath
**
Lothar
Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", and ...
,
Bishop of Liège
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
**Dietrich (†1194 or 1197), married to Liuitgart von
Dagsburg
***Lothar I. (†after 1215), married with Mathilde of
Vianden
Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...
****Lothar II. (†1237 or 1242)
*****Dietrich (†1246)
*****Gerhard (†1242 or 1245)
****
Konrad (†September 18, 1261),
Archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...
****Friedrich (†1265)
****Elisabeth, married to Eberhard von Hengebach
****Mechthild (†after 1243), married to Konrad von Müllenark
****Margareta (1220-1314), married to
Adolf VII of Berg Adolf VII of Berg (also referred to as Adolf IV, especially in the Netherlands and in Germany) (c. 1220 – 22 April 1259) was the eldest son of Henry IV, Duke of Limburg and Irmgard of Berg.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlec ...
.
References
{{reflist
External links
List on Medieval Genealogy: Family of the Counts of Are High Graffenstaden
Rhineland
Counts of Germany