Mindelheim () was a minor state of Unterallgäu in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

, Germany. It was part of the territory of Rechberg until 1467 when it was made a Lordship for the House of Frundsberg. It was raised to a Barony in 1569, was annexed by Maxelrain in 1586, annexed by

Leuchtenberg Leuchtenberg is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany, essentially a suburb of nearby Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and a larger historical region in the Holy Roman Empire governed by the Landgraves of Leucht ...

in 1618, and created a Principality for

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, in 1705 for his service in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

1705 Creation

In recognition of Marlborough's efforts as commander-in-chief of the Grand Alliance's armies

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

proposed in 1704 to make Marlborough a sovereign prince of 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 unt ...

. He was created thus on 28 August 1704, then made Prince of Mindelheim on 18 November 1705 by

Emperor Joseph I , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Vienna, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria , burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna , ...

, and formally invested with this title on 24 May 1706 at the Imperial Diet.Holmes, R. (2008) "''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius''" (London: HarperPress) pgs 302-303 The principality was carved out of Imperial land in

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

, and measured approximately fifteen square miles. The income from the Principality came to about £2,000 per annum, equivalent to about £475,000 in 2019.Holmes, R. (2008) "''Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius''" (London: HarperPress) pg 303 Marlborough visited the principality only once in his life, in 1713, and stayed a mere four days. However he was well received by his subjects. He wrote of his visit 'I liked much better than expected but not so, as to think of living there'. In 1713, as a conclusion of the war came about, Mindelheim was likely to be annexed by the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria (german: Kurfürstentum Bayern) was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Ba ...

. Marlborough succeeded in getting Mindelheim swapped for the

county of Nellenburg Nellenburg was a county or landgraviate (''Landgrafschaft'') in southwestern Germany. Named after the , the county surrounded the town of Stockach. It passed to Austria in 1465, after the extinction of the original comital line. Like the rest of Au ...

in Further Austria, which was not elevated to be a principality. Mindelheim was duly annexed under the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne ...

. After the Treaty of Utrecht led to the loss of his Principality of Mindelheim, it was discussed to make John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough prince of Nellenburg. Austrian law did not allow for the elevation into a sovereign principality though, and the plan was dropped in or after 1717. Nellenburg, therefore, never became a principality or a state of the Holy Roman Empire.

Lords of Mindelheim (1467–1559)

*Ulrich X (1467–1478) * Georg II (1478–1528) *Casper (1528–1536) *George III (1536–1559)

Baron of Mindelheim (1559–1586)

*George III (1559–1586)

Prince of Mindelheim (1705–1714)

(1705–1714)

References

{{coord missing, Bavaria Former states and territories of Bavaria

1467 establishments in Europe States and territories established in 1467 1705 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire

1705 Creation

Lords of Mindelheim (1467–1559)

Baron of Mindelheim (1559–1586)

Prince of Mindelheim (1705–1714)

See also

References