Waldburg-Zeil was a

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and later Principality within

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 ...

, ruled by the House of Waldburg, located in southeastern

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

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 around Schloss Zeil, near Leutkirch im Allgäu.

History

Waldburg-Zeil was a partition of

Waldburg-Wolfegg-Zeil Waldburg-Wolfegg-Zeil was a County ruled by the House of Waldburg, located in southeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Waldburg-Wolfegg-Zeil was a partition of Waldburg and was repartitioned in 1589, to create Waldburg-Waldburg, Waldburg-Wolfegg a ...

. Originally ruled by Truchesses (

stewards Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other inst ...

), Waldburg-Zeil was elevated to a County in 1628, and a Principality in 1803 shortly before being mediatised to

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

in 1806. In 1674, Waldburg-Zeil was partitioned between itself and

Waldburg-Wurzach Waldburg-Wurzach was a County and later Principality within Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the House of Waldburg, located on the southeastern border of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located around Wurzach (located about 15 kilometres west of Bad Wa ...

. Count Francis Anthony inherited Waldburg-Trauchburg in 1772 (the districts of Friedburg and Scheer were later sold to

Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (german: link=no, Fürstenhaus Thurn und Taxis ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the en ...

in 1785), and Steward Froben and Steward Henry of

Waldburg-Wolfegg Waldburg-Wolfegg was a County ruled by the House of Waldburg, located in southeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Waldburg-Wolfegg was a partition of Waldburg-Wolfegg-Zeil and was repartitioned in 1667, creating Waldburg-Waldsee Waldburg-Wal ...

partitioned

Waldburg-Waldburg Waldburg-Waldburg was a County ruled by the House of Waldburg, located in southeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Waldburg-Waldburg was a partition of Waldburg-Wolfegg-Zeil and was divided between the other two parts of Waldburg-Wolfegg-Zeil — ...

after the death of Steward Gebhard.

Rulers of Waldburg-Zeil

Stewards of Waldburg-Zeil (1589–1628)

* Froben (1589–1614) * John James I (1614–28)

Counts of Waldburg-Zeil (1628–1803)

* John James I (1628–74) * Paris James (1674–84) * John Christopher (1684–1717) * John James II (1717–50) * Francis Anthony (1750–90) * Maximilian Wunibald (1790–1803)

Princes of Waldburg-Zeil(-Trauchburg) (1803–1806)

* Maximilian Wunibald (1803–06) The present prince is Erich, Fürst von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (born 1962), the only son of Georg, Prince von Waldburg zu Zeil und Trauchburg (1928-2015) and Princess Marie Gabrielle of

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 lan ...

(b. 1931), daughter of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria. In 1988 he married Mathilde, Duchess of

, daughter of

Carl, Duke of Württemberg Carl Maria Peter Ferdinand Philipp Albrecht Joseph Michael Pius Konrad Robert Ulrich Herzog von Württemberg (1 August 1936 – 7 June 2022) was the head of the House of Württemberg from 1975 to 2022. He was succeeded by his grandson Wilhelm. L ...

and Princess Diane of Orléans. As Erich has five daughters, his heir presumptive is his first cousin, Count Clemens von Waldburg-Zeil (b. 1960), married to Princess Georgina of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

, who has three sons. * Maximilian Wunibald, 1st Prince 1803-1818 (1750-1818) ** Franz-Thäddaus, 2nd Prince 1818-1845 (1778-1845) *** Constantin Maximilian, 3rd Prince 1845-1862 (1807-1862) **** Wilhelm, 4th Prince 1862-1906 (1835-1906) ***** Georg, 5th Prince 1906-1918 (1867-1918) ****** Erich August, 6th Prince 1918-1953 (1899-1953) ******* Georg, 7th Prince 1953-2015 (1928-2015) - married to princess Marie Gabrielle of Bavaria, daughter of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria. ******** Erich, 8th Prince 2015–present (b.1962) - married to duchess Mathilde of Württemberg, daughter of

******* '' Count Aloysius (1933-2014)'' ******** Count Clemens (b.1960) ********* Count Eduard (b.1985) ********* Count Maximilian (b.1992) ********* Count Constantin (b.1994)

Lustenau-Hohenems branch

In 1779 a side branch of the Counts of Waldburg-Zeil inherited the sovereign county of

Lustenau Lustenau (; gsw, Luschnou) is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg in the district of Dornbirn. It lies on the river Rhine, which forms the border with Switzerland. Lustenau is Vorarlberg's fourth largest town. Geography Lust ...

by marriage. The county was mediatized to Bavaria in 1806 and became part of Austria in 1830. The present Count is Franz Josef von Waldburg-Zeil-Hohenems.

References

1589 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-hist-stub