Upper Alsace (southern

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 ...

) was a

landgraviate Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

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 ...

centred on

Ensisheim Ensisheim (; gsw-FR, Anze) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic origins of the village's name reflect the area's history. Amon ...

and Landser, north of the

County of Ferrette The County of Ferrette (or Pfirt) was a feudal jurisdiction in Alsace in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It roughly corresponds with the Sundgau and comprised the lordships of Ferrette (Pfirt), Altkirch, Thann, Belfort, Rougemo ...

(Pfirt). The counts of Habsburg ruled the territory from the 1130s down to its cession to France in the 17th century.

History

In 1130, the

Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperator ...

, Lothair III of Supplinburg in order to diminish the power of the Hohenstaufen family in the region, merged three local regions into several larger fiefs. The County of Sundgau,

, and the parts west of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

from the Duchy of Swabia were merged to form the new Landgraviate of Upper Alsace. In 1188, the first mentions of the Landgraviate appear in official records, however the date of probable creation was around 1130. The Landgraviate included the prementioned areas, along with several

Seigneuries ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

and

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

s located in Upper Alsace.Bischoff 2020 Albert III, Count of Habsburg, received the landgraviate of Upper Alsace from the

Emperor Frederick I Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

in 1186. Frederick's son, Duke Frederick V, was his lord with the title of Duke of Alsace (''Elisatiae dux''). On 9 May 1469, Duke

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

of Burgundy acquired the landgraviate of Upper Alsace and the county of Ferrette for 50,000 Rhenish

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

. At the time of its purchase, the landgraviate was heavily mortgaged and pawned. Landser was mortgaged to Thüring von Hallwill for 7,000 florins. On 20 September Charles appointed Peter von Hagenbach as the "grand bailiff (''Landvogt'') of Ferrette and Alsace" with his seat at Ensisheim. This official was a successor of the previous Austrian-appointed ''Landvogt'', and thus in the service of the landgrave of Upper Alsace. The ''Landvogtei'' (bailiwick) of Alsace itself was an imperial office then mortgaged to the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

. On 14 April 1646, the imperial ambassador

Trauttmansdorff Trauttmansdorff Castle is a castle located south of the city of Meran, South Tyrol, northern Italy. It is home to the Touriseum, a museum of tourism and since 2001 the surrounding grounds have been open as the Trauttmansdorff Castle Gardens, a ...

, during negotiations to end 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 ...

, offered "Upper and Lower Alsace and the Sundgau, under the title of Landgraviate of Alsace" to the French. There was no such territory, since Alsace was at the time divided into several jurisdictions held by competing powers. The Archduke Ferdinand Charles held the landgraviate of Upper Alsace, while a relative held the ''Landvogtei'' (bailiwick) of

Hagenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the n ...

with a protectorate over the Décapole (a league of ten imperial cities).

Landgraves

The Landgraviate was owned by the 'Landgrave of Upper Alsace', which was always a member of the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

from 1324 by inheritance. The first Landgrave of the area was

Werner II, Count of Habsburg Werner II of Habsburg (died 19 August 1167) was Count of Habsburg also called Werner III and a progenitor of the royal House of Habsburg. He was the great-great-grandfather of King Rudolph I of Germany. He was the son of Count Otto II of Habsb ...

, and was succeeded by his family. The last Landgrave was Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria.Harmonville 1842 , p. 141

Notes

References

Sources

* Kaeppelin, Charles E. R, and Mary L. Hendee. '' Alsace Throughout the Ages''. Franklin, Pa: C. Miller, 1908. * Putnam, Ruth.
Alsace and Lorraine: From Cæsar to Kaiser, 58 B.C.–1871 A.D.
' New York: 1915. * * * * * {{Authority control __NOTOC__ History of Alsace Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Landgraves of the Holy Roman Empire de:Liste der Landvögte im Elsass

History

Landgraves

See also

Notes

References

Sources