The Principality of Salm-Salm (; ) was a state of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. It was located in the present-day French departments of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

and

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

; it was one of a number of partitions of Salm.

History

Salm-Salm was created as a partition of

Salm-Dhaun Salm is the name of several historic countships and principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins and first division The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes region of pres ...

in 1574, and was raised from a County to a Principality in 1739 after being inherited and renamed by Count Nicholas Leopold of Salm-Hoogstraten. Salm-Salm was partitioned between itself and Salm-Neuweiler in 1608. The last territorial partition occurred in 1751, when Salm-Salm reorganized its borders with the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

. Since 1743 the Princes were also Dukes of

Hoogstraten Hoogstraten () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Ho ...

, with the seat at Hoogstraten Castle (Gelmelslot). In 1790, after the French Revolution, the princes of Salm fled the territory and moved to their castle in Anholt, Westphalia,

Anholt Castle Anholt Castle ( or ) is a monumental moated castle and former princely seat in the municipality of Isselburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, close to the Netherlands, Dutch border where the Münsterland meets the Lower Rhine region. First do ...

. Salm-Salm then was besieged by the revolutionary army, which blocked food supplies from reaching the state. As a consequence, the population was forced to surrender to France. On 2 March 1793, the French

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

declared Salm-Salm to be a part of the French Republic and attached it to the Department of the

. This was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the

Peace of Lunéville Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such a ...

of 1801. Some years later, in 1802/1803, together with

Salm-Kyrburg Salm-Kyrburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire located in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, one of the various partitions of Salm (state), Salm. It was twice created: the first time as a Wild- and Rhinegraviate (partitioned from Upper ...

, the prince of Salm-Salm was granted new territories formerly belonging to the Bishops of Münster (

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

). The new territory was governed in union with

and was known as the Principality of Salm.

Geography

In 1165, the original County of Salm was divided into the counties of Lower Salm, in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

, and the county of

Upper Salm Salm is the name of several historic countships and principality, principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins and first division The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes r ...

, situated in the

mountains. In 1738, the County of Upper Salm was elevated to Principality of Salm-Salm. The capital of Salm-Salm was first Badonviller, and from 1751 on,

Senones The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where the ...

. The second part of the name of Salm-Salm derives from Salm Castle near Salm (today La Broque). At the end of its existence, Salm-Salm had an area of about and 10,000 inhabitants. It was separated from the main part of the Holy Roman Empire when most of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

was ceded to France in the 17th century. Until 1766, it was bordered by the

to the west and by France to the east. After Lorraine became a part of France on 24 February 1766, Salm-Salm formed an exclave of the Holy Roman Empire surrounded by French territory. The economy of Salm-Salm was mainly based on an

iron mine Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's ou ...

near Grandfontaine. File:Salm-map.png, County of

() File:Salm 1589.jpg, Salm Castle in 1589

Rulers

Counts and Princes of Salm and Salm-Salm (1574–1738)

* Friedrich I, Count of

, Count of Salm-Salm 1574–1608 (1547-1608) ** Philipp Otto, Count 1608–1634 (1576-1634), created 1st Prince of Salm 1623 *** Ludwig, Count and 2nd Prince 1634-1636 (1618-1636) *** Leopold Philipp Karl, Count and 3rd Prince 1636–1663 (1620-1663) **** Karl Theodor, Count and 4th Prince 1663–1710 (1645-1710) ***** Eleonore, Married to Conrard, 1st Duke d'Ursel. ******

Charles, 2nd Duke d'Ursel Charles Elisabeth Conrard, Ursel family, 2nd Duke d'Ursel and of Hoboken, Prince of Arches and Charleville and Lord of Grobbendonk, Count of Grobbendoncq (1717–1775) was a Duke from the Holy Roman Empire. He succeeded his father and became the ...

(1717–1775) ***** Ludwig Otto, Count and 5th Prince 1710–1738 (1674-1738) At Ludwig Otto's death, the male line became extinct, and the county of Salm-Salm passed to descendants of Friedrich I's youngest son, Friedrich I Magnus (1606-1673). Eventually, the title Prince of Salm was assumed by his descendants as well.

Sovereign princes of Salm-Salm (1739–1813)

* Nikolaus Leopold of Salm-

, 1st Prince 1739–1770 (1701-1770), ''great-grandson of Friedrich I Magnus (see note under Counts)'' ** Ludwig Karl Otto, 2nd Prince 1770–1778 (1721-1778) ** ''Prince Maximilian Friedrich Ernst of Salm-Salm (1732-1773)'' *** Konstantin Alexander, 3rd Prince 1778–1828 (1762-1828), mediatized 1813

Mediatised princes of Salm-Salm (1813–''present'')

* Konstantin Alexander, 3rd Prince 1778–1828 (1762-1828), mediatized 1813 **

Florentin Florentin or Florentín (from Latin ''Florentinus'') can be a given name or surname. It is found as a given name among Romanian language, Romanian, German language, German, French language, French and Spanish language, Spanish speakers. The latter ...

, 4th Prince 1828–1846 (1786-1846) *** Alfred, 5th Prince 1846–1886 (1814-1886) **** Nikolaus, 6th Prince 1886–1908 (1838-1908) **** Alfred, 7th Prince 1908–1923 (1846-1923) ***** ''Emanuel, Hereditary Prince of Salm-Salm (1871-1916)'' ****** ''

Isabelle Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

(1903-2009)'', one of the longest-lived members of any princely family. ****** Nikolaus Leopold, 8th Prince 1923–1988 (1906-1988), 8th Prince of Salm-Kyrburg 1951 ******* Carl-Philipp, 9th Prince of Salm-Salm and of Salm-Kyrburg 1988–present (1933-2024) (1988–2024), 14th Prince of Salm ******** Emanuel, 15th Prince of Salm (born 1961) ******** Prince Philipp of Salm-Salm (born 1963) ********* Prince Wilhelm of Salm-Salm (born 2005) ******** Prince Clemens of Salm-Salm (born 1966) ***** ''Prince Franz Emanuel Konstantin of Salm-Salm (1876-1964)'' ****** Prince Franz Karl Alfred of Salm-Salm (1917-2011) ******* Prince Michael of Salm-Dahlberg (born 1953) ******** Prince Constantin of Salm-Dahlberg (born 1980) ******** Prince Felix of Salm-Dahlberg (born 1981) ******* Prince Franziskus-Hendrick of Salm-Salm (born 1963) ******* Prince Georg-Alfred of Salm-Salm (born 1969) *** Prince Felix of Salm-Salm (1828-1870)

References

External links

House of Salm
at europeanheraldry.org *

at the ''Office de Tourisme Pays des Abbayes'' *
Salm Castle

Princely museum at Anholt Castle
(in German) {{Authority control States and territories established in 1574 Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire 1793 disestablishments States and territories disestablished in 1793