The County of Zweibrücken (german: Grafschaft Zweibrücken) was a territory in 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 ...
named for
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
in the contemporary
Land
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
. It was created in between 1182 and 1190 from an inheritance division of the
county of Saarbrücken
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
and lasted until 1394.
Creation
The
House of Saarbrücken ranked in the beginning of the 12th century amongst the most prominent families in southwestern Germany, with major landholdings in present-day
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
,
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
,
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
and
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
and prominent patronages. Their power is best characterized by the fact that members of the family twice in the 12th century held the powerful position of
Archbishop-Elector of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
. Seemingly soon after 1100 they gained patronage over the
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
of
Hornbach with large landholdings between
Blies
The Blies () is a right tributary of the Saar in southwestern Germany (Saarland) and northeastern France (Moselle). The Blies flows from three springs in the Hunsrück near Selbach, Germany. It is roughly 100 km long, ending in the French c ...
and the
Palatinate Forest.
Here, at the crossing over the
Schwarzbach, and probably about 1150, the
water castle of
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
was built. With an inheritance division in the Saarbrücken counts' family, Zweibrücken fell to the younger son
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
, who founded the line of Counts of Zweibrücken. Around the castle, a town formed and received city rights in 1352, together with Hornbach.
Geography
The initial allowance of the County of Zweibrücken, in order to name here some relevant constituents, consisted in fiefs, i.e. from the Empire half of Landeck castle with eleven villages around
Bergzabern
Bad Bergzabern () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, on the German Wine Route in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the south-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest, approximately ...
, from the
bishopric of Metz rights over their serfs, the so-called "Stephan's people", from the
bishopric of Verdun
The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the Coun ...
half of Liebenberg castle near
Namborn
Namborn is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately 7 km north of Sankt Wendel, and 25 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein. It is approximately 40 km northeast of Saarbrücken on ...
, in patronages the important patronage over the monastery of Hornbach, other patronages over the
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
s cloister Altenmünster in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
and over several holdings of the ecclesiastical foundations
saint Alban
Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs rec ...
in Mainz and of the Liebfrauen there, finally
allod In the law of the Middle Ages and early Modern Period and especially within the Holy Roman Empire, an allod ( Old Low Franconian ''allōd'' ‘fully owned estate’, from ''all'' ‘full, entire’ and ''ōd'' ‘estate’, Medieval Latin ''allodiu ...
s between
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
and
Mosel, amongst those Zweibrücken castle,
Lemberg Castle
Lemberg Castle (german: Burg Lemberg) is a medieval castle on the territory of Lemberg in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Location
The hill castle stands on the ''Schlossberg'' hill at an elevation of ...
built after 1198 by count Henry I, and shares of
Marimont-lès-Bénestroff
Marimont-lès-Bénestroff () is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Moselle department
The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France.
The c ...
,
Lindre-Haute and
Sarreguemines.
[Hans-Walter Herrmann: Die Grafschaft Zweibrücken. In: Geschichtliche Landeskunde des Saarlandes, vol. 2, Saarbrücken 1977, p. 316-322]
Evolution
The system of
primogeniture had not yet come into common use and the ongoing inheritance partitions in Southwestern Germany affected many territories leading to their decline. This held true for the County of Zweibrücken. Around 1237, Count Henry I was succeeded by his son
Henry II. In 1282, Henry II was succeeded by two of his sons,
Eberhard I and
Walram I, who ruled the county jointly. Because they did not always agree, in 1286 they decided to divide the territory. Eberhard I received the lordship of Lemberg and Walram I the lordship of Zweibrücken. This division was further refined in 1295 and solidified in 1333 with the division of the last shared estates, resulting in the creation of two independent counties.
County of Zweibrücken-Zweibrücken
The western part of the former county, consisting of the territory around Zweibrücken and some other parts, fell to Walram I and remained with his descendants. The last count of the Walramide line,
Eberhard II, who had no children and was impoverished by numerous feuds, pledged it in 1385 to the
Counts Palatine
A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
from the palatine line of the
House of Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
. After his death in 1394 they inherited their new estates and thus ruled in the Western Palatinate for the first time. After unification with the
County of Veldenz in the year 1444, the
Principality of
Palatine Zweibrücken emerged.
County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch
The eastern part of the Zweibrücken lands, the Barony of Lemberg, fell to Eberhard I. In 1297, he exchanged some of his towns with
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
Frederick III of
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
and received in exchange the castle and lordship of
Bitche
Bitche ( , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a commune in the Moselle department, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. It is the Pays de Bitche's capital city and the seat of the Canton of Bitche and the communauté ...
as fief. He founded the line of counts of
Zweibrücken-Bitsch
The County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch (, ) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire that was created between 1286 and 1302 from the eastern part of the County of Zweibrücken and the Barony of Bitche (german: Bitsch) in Lorraine. It continued to exist ...
that reigned over the baronies of Lemberg and Bitsch until the male line became extinct in 1570.
Counts of Zweibrücken
Saarbrücken line (1182-1286)
of the line of the
Counts of Saarbrücken
* 1182–1237
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
* 1237–1282
Henry II
* 1282–1309
Walram I
* 1282-1286 brothers Eberhard I and
Walram I in
condominium
Walramides (1286-1394)
after Eberhard I's death, brother Walram I continued, as first in the Walramide line
* 1286-1309 Walram I
* 1309–1311
Simon
Simon may refer to:
People
* Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon
* Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon
* Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...
* 1311–1366
Walram II
* 1366–1394
Eberhard II
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zweibrucken, County of
1394 disestablishments
States and territories established in 1182
Counties of the Holy Roman Empire
Western Palatinate
1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1182 establishments in Europe
Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate