Counts Of Eberstein

The County of Eberstein was a territory within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, situated in the southwest of modern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. From 1085 up into the 13th century, the Counts of Eberstein lived in the castle known today as Alt Eberstein which lies on a mountain top between the valleys of the rivers Murg and Oos (in ''Ebersteinburg'', now an outlying district of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...

). They then moved to ''Neu Eberstein'', today known as ''Schloss Eberstein'', near

Gernsbach Gernsbach () is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, east of Baden-Baden in the Black Forest. Twin towns are Baccarat in France and Pergola, Marche in Italy. The town is the hist ...

. From 1085, the counts were ''

Vögte During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' of

Reichenbach Priory Reichenbach may refer to: Places Austria * Reichenbach (Litschau), a part of Litschau * Reichenbach (Rappottenstein), a part of Rappottenstein Germany * Reichenbach (Oberlausitz), in Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis district, Saxony * Rei ...

. After the financial ruin of Wolf von Eberstein in 1387, half of the family possessions had to be sold to the

Margraves of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

. When the last male member of the family died in 1660, the remaining possessions were taken over by the

bishopric of Speyer The Prince-Bishopric of Speyer, formerly known as Spires in English, (German: ''Hochstift Speyer, Fürstbistum Speyer, Bistum Speyer'') was an ecclesiastical principality in what are today the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Würt ...

and by the duchy of Württemberg. File:Grafschaft Eberstein in Schwaben - Map - Krieg von Hochfelden.JPG , Map of the County of Eberstein in 1283 File:Alt Ebersteinburg.JPG , The ruins of Alt Eberstein castle File:Gernsbach - Schloss Eberstein von Der Bruzzla.jpg , Schloss Eberstein near

File:Eberstein Scheibler102ps.jpg , The original coat of arms of the Counts of Eberstein, dated 1450–80, from the ''Scheibler'sches Wappenbuch'' The Counts of Eberstein from south-west Germany should not be confused with the Franconian lords of the same name with their ancestral home at Eberstein Castle near

Hilders Hilders is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. To the north rises the mountain of Auersberg Auersberg is a mountain in the Ore Mountains in Saxony, southeastern Germany. Auersberg is a 1018.2 m above sea level. It is ...

. Another medieval comital family were the

Counts of Everstein Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(sometimes also called Eberstein) from

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

with their ancestral home Everstein on the

Burgberg (ridge) The Burgberg (also called the Burgberge) is a ridge of hills up to high in the German federal state of Lower Saxony. Geography The Burgberg, which belongs to the Solling-Vogler Nature Park, is located in the district of Holzminden in the W ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:County Of Eberstein Eberstein