The County of Holzappel (German: ''Grafschaft Holzappel'') was an immediate state 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 ...

, located in the present

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state of

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 centered on the town of

Holzappel Holzappel is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, with a population in 2006 of 1100. It belongs to the association community of Diez. Holzappel was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1643 until 171 ...

. It was founded in 1643 by Peter Melander, an imperial

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. In 1806, the county lost its

imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

and was mediatised to the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

. It was dissolved in 1918.

History

The County of Holzappel emerged from the small lordship of Esterau consisting of 12 villages centered on the town of Esten.

Peter Melander

In 1643, the Lordship of Esterau along with the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Isselbach was purchased by Peter Melander from

John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, (Dillenburg, 6 August 1590 – Hadamar, 10 March 1653) and also known in German as Johann Ludwig, was a German nobleman and member of the House of Nassau who is best known for his role as an aide to the head of the i ...

, who was in considerable financial difficulty. Peter Meleander was an imperial

who had become rich due to his position in the

and had been appointed Count of Holzappel in 1641.

Emperor Ferdinand III Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608, in Graz – 2 April 1657, in Vienna) was from 1621 Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary from 1625, King of Croatia and Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 until his death in 1657. Fe ...

subsequently raised the small Lordship to the Imperial County of Holzappel. The Count of Holzappel became a member of the

Wetterau Association of Imperial Counts Wetterau Association of Imperial Counts was an association of comital families in the Wetterau and surrounding areas. It originated in the late Middle Ages and was formally disbanded when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806. 400px, Map of ...

in the Imperial Diet of the

. In the 17th century, the county consisted of: * Esterau: Esten (later

Laurenburg Laurenburg is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn district of Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. The town, a health resort situated in the lower Lahn River valley, belongs to the Diez Municipal Association. History Laurenburg Castle is fi ...

with

Burg Laurenburg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...

, Langschied,

Geilnau Geilnau is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Eu ...

, Kalkofen,

Dörnberg Dörnberg is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

Scheid Scheid is a village in the municipality of Tomils in the district of Hinterrhein in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. In 2009 Scheid merged with Feldis/Veulden, Trans and Tumegl/Tomils to form the municipality of Tomils.

, Horhausen, Bergen, Bruchhausen, Billenstein, Zum Hahne, Kirchhain and Gerschhausen. * Bailiwick Isselbach:

Isselbach Isselbach is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

, Ruppenroth, Eppenroth and Obernhof. Melander died on 17 May 1648 in Augsburg, as a result of the wounds he had received in

Battle of Zusmarshausen The Battle of Zusmarshausen was fought on 17 May 1648 between Bavarian-Imperial forces under von Holzappel and an allied Franco-Swedish army under the command of Carl Gustaf Wrangel and Turenne in the modern Augsburg district of Bavaria, Germa ...

. He was buried in the princely crypt (the ''Melandergruft'') in the Lutheran St. John church in Esten. The County of Holzappel was inherited by his only child, Elisabeth Charlotte in spite of a suit by Melander's nephews.

Elisabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg

Peter Melander left a fortune that allowed his widow Agnes to purchase the

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

and

Lordship of Schaumburg Schaumburg Castle (German: ''Schloss Schaumburg'') is a schloss in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, south of Balduinstein near Limburg an der Lahn. It was owned by the former ruling family of Waldeck and Pyrmont, and it served as the retirement re ...

near

Balduinstein Balduinstein is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country ...

in 1656. Eventually, it was also inherited by her daughter, Elisabeth Charlotte, and merged with Holzappel, thus forming the County of Holzappel-Schaumburg. Elisabeth Charlotte married Prince Adolph of Nassau-Dillenburg in 1658 and became Princess Elisabeth Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg. In 1685, Elisabeth Charlotte changed the name of the county seat from ''Esten'' into ''Holzappel''. She allowed refugee

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s and

Waldensians The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...

to settle in the county, and in 1699 founded the Waldensian settlement

Charlottenberg Charlottenberg is a locality in Värmland County, Sweden, and the administrative centre of Eda Municipality. Situated some seven kilometres from the Norwegian border, the town has a population of around 3,000. Charlottenberg railway station is t ...

near Holzappel which was named after her.

House of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym

By a contract of 1 September 1690 with

Victor Amadeus, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg (6 October 1634 in Harzgerode – 14 February 1718 in Bernburg), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the sixth (but second surviving) son of Chri ...

, Elisabeth Charlotte left Holzappel to the youngest of her three daughters,

Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg Charlotte of Nassau-Dillenburg-Schaumburg of Anhalt-Bernburg-Hoym (1672–1700) was the wife of Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym, a German prince of the House of Ascania. Life Charlotte of Nassau-Dillenburg-Schaumburg was born on 25 Septemb ...

, who married Victor Amadeus' younger son Lebrecht of Anhalt-Dernburg in 1692. Thus, the county was inherited by a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

line of the princely house of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision from the Principality of ...

, the Princes of

Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym (originally Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym) was a German principality and member of the Holy Roman Empire. The death of Prince Victor Amadeus of Anhalt-Bernburg in 1718 resulted in the partition of his land, with his second son ...

. In 1806, the county lost its

and was mediatised to the

House of Habsburg-Lorraine

In 1812, with the death of

Victor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym Victor II Karl Frederick of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym ( Schaumburg, 2 November 1767Schaumburg, 22 April 1812), was a German prince of the House of Ascania from the Anhalt-Bernburg branch and a ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg-Sch ...

, the line of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym became extinct in the male line. The County of Holzappel was inherited by his eldest daughter, Hermine who was married to Archduke Joseph of Austria and subsequently to her son Archduke Stephen of Austria.

House of Oldenburg

In 1867, after the childless death of Archduke Stephen, it passed to his

first cousin once removed Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

, Duke George Louis of Oldenburg.

House of Waldeck

However,

George Victor, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont George Victor (14 January 1831 – 12 May 1893) was the 3rd sovereign Prince of the German state of Waldeck and Pyrmont. He was born in Bad Arolsen the son of George II, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont and his wife Princess Emma of Anhalt-Bernburg- ...

challenged his inheritance, and in 1887, the courts ruled in his favour. The county was dissolved in 1918.

Counts of Holzappel

* 1643 – 1648 Peter Melander * 1648 – 1707

Elisabeth Charlotte, Countess of Holzappel Elisabeth Charlotte Melander (29 February 1640 – 17 March 1707), was Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarc ...

* 1707 – 1772

Victor I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym , father = Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Zeitz-Hoym , mother = Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg , spouse = Charlotte Louise of Isenburg-Büdingen-BirsteinHedwig Sophie Henckel of Donnersmarck , issue = Victoria Charlotte, Margravine of Brandenburg ...

* 1772 – 1806

Charles Louis, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym Prince Charles Louis of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym; Schaumburg, 16 May 1723 – Schaumburg, 20 August 1806), was a German prince of the House of Ascania from the Anhalt-Bernburg branch and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schau ...

* 1806 – 1812

* 1812 – 1817

Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym , house = Ascania , father =Victor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym , mother = Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg , birth_date = , birth_place =Hoym , death_date = , death_place =Budapest , religion = Calvin ...

* 1817 – 1867 Archduke Stephen of Austria * 1867 – 1887 Duke George Louis of Oldenburg * 1887 – 1893

* 1893 – 1918

Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont (''Friedrich Adolf Hermann Fürst zu Waldeck und Pyrmont''; 20 January 1865 – 26 May 1946) was the last reigning Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont from 12 May 1893 to 13 November 1918. Family He was th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holzappel, County of States and territories established in 1643 Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle 1643 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1806 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire