The Königssondergau (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "King's Special District") was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

'' gau'' (district) which existed in the area north of the confluence of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and Main rivers in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, from Frankish times until the end of the 12th century. Often mistakenly equated with the

Rheingau The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch, Hesse, Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the Western Taunus to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of Hesse and is part ...

, the Gau was based around the former

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

administrative district of Civitas Mattiacorum. The name ''Kunigessuntera'' is documented the first time in 819. A main court (''fiscus'') with senior officials were present in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

; sub-courts existed in Biebrich and Mosbach (now part of Biebrich). The Gau probably had already been created by the beginning of the reign of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

(after 771) as the private property of the Frankish king and his heirs. This was the former Alemannic Rheingau divided into three sections - the Königssondergau was now between the Lower Rheingau (which retained the name "Rheingau") and the Upper Rheingau region south of the lower Main. The Königssondergau originally covered the area bordering on Kemel (now a constituent community of Heidenrod) and Bärstadt (now a constituent community of Schlangenbad) in the west, starting at Walluf, and extending east to

Eppstein Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...

and Hofheim, with the

Kriftel Kriftel is a municipality in the Main-Taunus district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 16 km west of Frankfurt (centre). It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Kriftel is also commonly known as "Fruit Orchard of the Anterior Taunus" (''Obstgar ...

as eastern border. In the north, the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

and the former Roman

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formed the border. The southern boundary was the Rhine. The Gau was adjacent in the west to the Lower Rheingau, in the northwest to Niddagau, in the east to the Maingau, and in the southeast to the Upper Rheingau. The administration of the Königssondergau lay in the hands of the gau counts, whose royal court (''curtis'') stood near today's Hessian Parliament in Wiesbaden. The

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

, built in the 9th and 10th centuries, was expanded in the Middle Ages into a castle. The income from the Königssondergau belonged to the Frankish king who used it to finance his court. Parts of the ''gau'' areas, villages and castles were given as fiefdoms to reward followers. Over time parts were also given to the

Archdiocese of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

(e.g. Oestrich,

Geisenheim Geisenheim is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany, and is known as ''Weinstadt'' (“Wine Town”), ''Schulstadt'' (“School Town”), ''Domstadt'' (“Cathedral Town� ...

Rüdesheim am Rhein Rüdesheim am Rhein is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt, Hessen. Know ...

and Lorch in the Veronese donation of 983 by

Emperor Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

) or sold to other owners.

Emperor Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was cr ...

donated Biebrich and Mosbach in 991 the Selz monastery in

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 ...

. Gifts and awards were also given to feudal nobles and counts, and by the 12th Century the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...

held count rights in and around Wiesbaden. Count Henry II of Nassau, 1198–1251, won Wiesbaden and the Königssondergau as imperial fiefdom in 1214. Also, the Lords of Eppstein penetrated by exploiting bailiwick rights, purchase and inheritance in the Königssondergau, where they became opponents of the Counts of Nassau.

External links

Die Domäne Mechtildshausen
Former states and territories of Hesse Geography of Wiesbaden Carolingian counties States and territories established in the 8th century Rheingau {{Hesse-geo-stub