The County of Isenburg was a region of

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 ...

located in southern present-day

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

, located in territories north and south of

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. The states of Isenburg emerged from the Niederlahngau (located in the

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 ...

), which partitioned in 1137 into Isenburg-Isenburg and Isenburg-Limburg-Covern. These countships were partitioned between themselves many times over the next 700 years.

House of Isenburg

The House of Isenburg was an old aristocratic family of medieval Germany, named after the castle of Isenburg in

. Occasionally referred to as the House of Rommersdorf before the 12th century, the house originated in the Hessian comitatus of the Niederlahngau in the 10th century. It partitioned into the lines of Isenburg-Isenburg and Isenburg-Limburg-Covern in 1137, before partitioning again into smaller units, but by 1500 only the lines of Isenburg-Büdingen (in Upper Isenburg) and Lower Isenburg remained. In 1664 the Lower Isenburg branch died out. The Büdingen line continued to partition, and by the beginning of the 19th century the lines of Isenburg-Büdingen, Isenburg-Birstein, Isenburg-Meerholz and Isenburg-Wächtersbach existed. Today still exist the (Roman Catholic) princes of Isenburg (at Birstein), the (Lutheran) princes of Ysenburg (at

Büdingen Büdingen is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is mainly known for its well-preserved, heavily fortified medieval town wall and half-timbered houses. Geography Location Büdingen is in the south of the Wetterau below the Vogels ...

and Ronneburg) and the (Lutheran) counts of Ysenburg-Philippseich.

"Family tree" of the Isenburg countships

Isenburg, the original countship was divided upon the death of Count Rembold II in 1137 into: *Isenburg (or Isenburg-Isenburg), 1137–1199, eventually dividing c. 1210 into: ** Isenburg-Braunsberg, 1210–1388, when it was renamed

Isenburg-Wied Isenburg-Wied was the name of a state of the Holy Roman Empire, based around Neuwied in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second mos ...

. Isenburg-Wied, in turn, existed from 1388–1454, when it passed by marriage to the Lords of

Runkel Runkel is a town on the river Lahn in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Runkel lies in the Lahn Valley on both sides of the river between the Westerwald and the Taunus, some eight kilometres east of Limburg. ...

and was superseded by the Countship of Wied in 1462. ** Nieder-Isenburg (Lower Isenburg), 1218–1502 when it was divided into: ***

Isenburg-Grenzau Isenburg-Grenzau was the name of several states of the Holy Roman Empire, seated in the Lordship of Grenzau, in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The first state called Isenburg-Grenzau existed 1158–1290; the second 1341–1439; and the third ...

, 1502–1664. After the death of Count

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

in 1664 without direct heirs, his territories were claimed back as feudal tenures by the Archbishoprics of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, and the

Abbey-principality A prince-abbot (german: Fürstabt) is a title for a clergy, cleric who is a Prince of the Church (like a Prince-bishop), in the sense of an ''ex officio'' temporal lord of a feudalism, feudal entity, usually a Imperial State, State of the Holy R ...

of Fulda. The core territories including Isenburg were passed on by Fulda to the Counts of Walderdorff. They had to share them according to a later agreement with the Counts of Wied, by then a cadet branch of the Isenburgs. *** Isenburg-Neumagen, 1502–1554, when it passed by marriage to the Counts of Sayn-Homburg. * Isenburg-Kempenich, 1137–1424, when it passed to the Lords of Schöneck. In 1434, it passed to the Archbishop of Trier, who sold the territory to the Counts of Virneburg. * Isenburg-Limburg-Covern, 1137–1158, when it was divided into: **

Isenburg-Covern Isenburg-Covern was the name of a state of the Holy Roman Empire, based around Kobern-Gondorf in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the sec ...

, 1158–1306, when it passed to Isenburg-Cleberg. **

, 1158–1258, when it was divided into: ***

Isenburg-Limburg The Countship of Isenburg-Limburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries, based around the city of Limburg an der Lahn in modern Hesse, Germany. House of Limburg The short-lived House of Limburg (or House of Isenburg ...

, 1258–1406, when it was annexed by the Archbishopric of Trier ***

, 1258–1287, when it was divided into: ****

, 1287–1290, when it passed to Isenburg-Cleberg. **** Isenburg-Arnfels, 1286–1379, when it passed to Isenburg-Wied. **** Isenburg-Cleberg, 1287–1340, when it was divided into: *****

, 1340–1439, when it passed to Nassau-Beilstein. It subsequently passed to the Archbishopric of Trier in 1446, and was finally purchased by the Counts of Nieder-Isenburg in 1460. *****

Isenburg-Büdingen Isenburg-Büdingen was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located in Büdingen. It was originally a part of the County of Isenburg. There were two different Counties of the same name. The first (1341–1511) was a partition of Isenburg-Cleber ...

, 1340–1511, when it was divided into: ****** Isenberg-Büdingen-Ronneburg, or Isenburg- Ronneburg, 1511–1601, when it was annexed by Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein ******

Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located to the north of Gelnhausen. Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein was created as a partition of Isenburg-Büdingen in 1511, and was partitioned into Isenburg-Birstein, Isenburg-Büd ...

(or Isenburg-Birstein), 1511–1628, which was divided into: *******

Isenburg-Birstein Isenburg-Birstein was the name of two German historical states centred on Birstein in southeastern Hesse, Germany. The first "Isenburg-Birstein" was a County and was created as a partition of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein in 1628. It was merged int ...

, 1628–1664, when it passed to

Isenburg-Offenbach Isenburg-Offenbach was the name of a state of the Holy Roman Empire, based around Offenbach and Neu Isenburg (built by the counts in 1699) in modern Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: l ...

*******

, 1628–1685, when it was divided into: ********

, 1685–1806, when it was mediatized to the Principality of Isenburg ******** Isenburg-Wächtersbach, 1685–1806, when it was mediatized to the Principality of Isenburg ******** Isenburg-Meerholz, 1685–1806, when it was mediatized to the Principality of Isenburg ******** Isenburg-Marienborn, 1685–1725 *******

, 1628–1711, when it was divided into: ********

, 1711–1744, when it became the Principality of Isenburg-Birstein. The Principality existed from 1744-1806, when it was renamed the Principality of Isenburg, 1806–1814/5 ********

Isenburg-Eisenberg Isenburg-Eisenberg was the name of a junior, non-immediate line of the House of Isenburg. It was partitioned from Isenburg-Offenbach Isenburg-Offenbach was the name of a state of the Holy Roman Empire, based around Offenbach and Neu Isenburg ...

, 1711–1758, when it was absorbed back into the Principality of Isenburg-Birstein ********

Isenburg-Philippseich Isenburg-Philippseich was a County of southern Hesse, Germany. It was created in 1711 as a partition of Isenburg-Offenbach Isenburg-Offenbach was the name of a state of the Holy Roman Empire, based around Offenbach and Neu Isenburg (built by th ...

, 1711–1806, when it was mediatized to the Principality of Isenburg

Principality of Isenburg

It was not until 1806 that there was a state called simply ''"Isenburg"''. When 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 ...

was defeated by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in that year, the empire was abolished and the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

was established amongst the various German states. As an incentive to join the Confederation, it was stated that any state which joined could mediatise their neighbours. Prince Charles of

joined the Confederation and was granted the mediatized Isenburgian Countships of

, Isenburg-Meerholz,

, and Isenburg-Wächtersbach. His Principality was renamed to Isenburg. The Principality continued under the rule of Prince Charles through the Napoleonic era, but was mediatised by Austria in December 1813, at the insistence of

King Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

, who was angered that Isenburg had raised a regiment for French service by recruiting Prussian deserters and vagabonds.Treitschke, Heinrich. ''History of Germany in the Nineteenth Century'', Vol. I, page 609. Isenburg was one of only three original member princes of the Empire to be mediatized at the end of the Napoleonic era (the others being

Leyen The House von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck is an ancient German noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank. As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel (high nobility). History The origin can be ...

and prince-primate Dalberg, Prince of Aschaffenburg). This decision was confirmed at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. The lands of the principality were divided between the Grand Duchy of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

and the Electorate of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

(or Hesse-Cassel).

Rulers

House of Isenburg

Partitions of Isenburg under House of Isenburg rule

Table of rulers

Lines of succession

Mediatized line of Birstein (1815)

* Charles, 1st Prince 1803-1820 (1766-1820) ** Wolfgang Ernst, 2nd Prince 1820-1866 (1798-1866) ** ''Prince Victor (1802-1843)'' *** Karl, 3rd Prince 1866-1899 (1838-1899) **** ''Prince Leopold (1866-1933)'' -renounced his rights in 1898 **** Franz Joseph, 4th Prince 1899-1939 (1869-1939) ***** Franz Ferdinand, 5th Prince 1939-1956 (1901-1956) ****** Franz Alexander, 6th Prince 1956–2018 (1943-2018) ******* Alexander, 7th Prince 2018–present (1969) ∞ Sarah Lorenz ******** Princess Alix (2015) ******** Princess Zita (2017) ******** Franz Salvator, Hereditary Prince (2019) ******* Princess Katharina (1971) ∞ Archduke Martin of Austria ******* Princess Isabelle (1973) ∞ Carl, Prince of Wied ******* Princess Sophie (1978) ∞

Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia Georg Friedrich Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (born 10 June 1976) is a German businessman who is the current head of the Prussian branch of the House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling dynasty of the German Empire and of the Kingdom of Prussia. ...

******* Prince Viktor (1979) ∞ Jungeun Anes Lee ******** Princess Amalia (2016) ******** Princess Victoria (2018)

Mediatized line of Büdingen (1806)

*Ernest Casimir III (1806-1848), in 1840 he was raised to Prince. * Ernest Casimir IV (1848-1861) *

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

(1861-1906) *Wolfgang (1906-1920) *Alfred (1920-1922) *Karl (1922-1941) *Otto Friedrich (1904-1990), from the Ysenburg-Büdingen-Wächtersbach branch, adopted by Karl in 1936 * Wolfgang-Ernst, 8th Prince 1990- (b.1936) ∞ Leonille Princess of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of Nort ...

** Hereditary Prince Casimir-Alexander (b.1967) *** Prince Tristan Alexander (b.2014) ** Prince Maximilian (b.1969) *** Prince Tassilo-Alexander (b.2006)

Notable members of the family

* Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg, c. 1255 – 29 September 1313?, Queen consort of Adolf of Nassau, king of Germany *

Diether von Isenburg Diether von Isenburg ( 14127 May 1482) was twice Archbishop (1459–1461 and 1475–1482) and founder of the University of Mainz. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was ''ex officio'' Elector and Lord Chancellor of Germany. Biography Diether was a son ...

, c. 1412 – 1482, Elector and Archbishop of Mainz * Anna of Isenburg-Büdingen, 1460 – 1522 * John of Isenburg-Grenzau, Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1547 until 1556 *

Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau __NOTOC__ Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau (German: ''Salentin IX. von Isenburg-Grenzau'') (c. 1532–1610) was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne as "Salentin of Isenburg" from 1567 until 1577, the Bishop of Paderborn from 1574 until 1577, a ...

, c. 1532–1610, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, Bishop of Paderborn *

Ernst Casimir II, 2nd Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

, 1806-1861 * Bruno, 3rd Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen, 1837-1906 * Princess Sophie Johanna Maria of Isenburg (born 1978), wife of

References

Works cited

External links

Official Website
– Fürstenhaus Isenburg (Princely House of Isenburg) {{DEFAULTSORT:Isenburg, County of County of Isenburg States of the Confederation of the Rhine Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Upper Rhenish Circle