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20-541: Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim . There was a Benedictine abbey which was founded in 1101 by Stephan II, Count of Sponheim not far from the comital residence at Castle Sponheim . Johannes Trithemius was one of the abbots . Traveling from university to his home town in 1482, he was surprised by a snowstorm and took refuge in the Benedictine abbey of Sponheim near Bad Kreuznach . He decided to stay and

40-457: Is supposedly derived from the comital office of Trechirgau. The family of the Counts of Sponheim founded the monastery of Sponheim in the 12th century, where in the 11th century a church had already been built. The Benedictine abbot from Sponheim, Johannes Trithemius , chronicled the counts of Sponheim and accumulated a large collection of documents on the history of the area. Around 1225, the county

60-648: The Dukes of Carinthia descends from Siegfried I, Count of Sponheim . The Rhenish branch, which retained the County of Sponheim, descends from Stephan I, Count of Sponheim . The county originated from various inheritances which were united in the family's hands, including possessions from the Counties of Nellenburg and Stromberg and jurisdiction of the Gaugrafen of Trechirgau (Berthold-Bezelin dynasty). The Sponheim comital office

80-532: The Lower County had itself been administratively divided between the brothers John II of Sponheim-Kreuznach and Simon II of Sponheim-Kreuznach, with Soonwald forest defining the boundary. Count Walram of Sponheim-Kreuznach reunited the Lower County. Walram became known as an active military leader involved in many actions, including inter-Sponheim ones. In 1417, the Sponheim-Kreuznach line became extinct and

100-589: The Palatinate . The Reformation was instituted in the County of Sponheim in the year 1557, led by Friedrich II, Count Palatine of Simmern . The county became an important outpost of Protestant territory, with exclaves on the Moselle such as Enkirch , Trarbach , or Winningen , bordering as it did the Catholic Electorate of Trier . Warfare with neighbouring Catholic states would take place intermittently through

120-680: The Sponheim-Starkenburg family became extinct in the male line, and the counties were jointly ruled as a condominium by female-line heirs from then until the early 19th century. These rightful successors, who took the title of Count at Sponheim ( Graf zu Sponheim ), were the Margraves of Baden , who descended from Mechtild of Sponheim, and the Counts of Veldenz , who descended from Loretta of Sponheim; both Mechtild and Loretta were daughters of Count John III of Sponheim-Starkenburg . The County of Veldenz

140-585: The Sponheim-Starkenburg line ruled alone for about 20 years over most of the whole county. Count Walram's granddaughter married Ruprecht Pipan, heir to the Electorate of the Palatinate , who died of disease after returning from the Battle of Nicopolis at the age of 21. The marriage was childless, but nevertheless a small portion of the Lower County (less than 1/5) was granted as dowry to the Electors Palatine. In 1437

160-730: The centuries, notably including the Thirty Years' War . After the Napoleonic Wars , most of the county became a part of Prussia , and the region around Birkenfeld became part of Oldenburg (as the Principality of Birkenfeld ). Some small formerly-Sponheim-areas became parts of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (the Principality of Lichtenberg ; from 1826 part of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ) and Hesse-Homburg ; these areas passed to Prussia in 1834 and 1866 respectively. The ruling dynasties of Baden and Wittelsbach received extensive territories in exchange for

180-486: The counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein . Henry I, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg became heir to the Upper County of Sponheim. Both territories were extensively fortified throughout the centuries, as evidenced by the existence of around 21 castles or castle ruins, many of which can still be visited today. Feuds with the neighbouring Electorates of Mainz and Trier were common, giving birth to southwestern German legends such as

200-446: The death of Henry in 1246, the County passed to the Counts of Sponheim-Eberstein and thence to Sponheim-Sayn in 1261. The second County of Sayn emerged as a partition of Sponheim-Sayn in 1283 (the other partition being Sayn-Homburg ). It was notable for its numerous co-reigns, and it endured until 1608 when it was inherited by the Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn . A lack of clear heirs of William III of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn led to

220-564: The heiress of Heinsberg , received a portion of the Sayn inheritance, and founded the Sponheim line of the lords of Heinsberg . John became heir to Sayn and to the Upper County of Sponheim, residing first in Starkenburg Castle, and from 1350 at Grevenburg castle at Trarbach . John I's sons divided their father's estate in 1265. Gottfried received the County of Sayn, whose direct heirs are today

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240-552: The loss of Sponheim (compare also literature on the so-called "Sponheim Controversy" between Baden and Bavaria). Sayn Sayn was a small German county of the Holy Roman Empire which, during the Middle Ages , existed within what is today Rheinland-Pfalz . There have been two Counties of Sayn. The first emerged in 1139 and became closely associated with the County of Sponheim early in its existence. Count Henry II

260-463: The north and west, the Raugraviate , the Electorate of Mainz and the Electorate of the Palatinate to the east and the County of Veldenz to the south and west, among other states. The family of Sponheim, or Spanheim (German: Spanheimer ), has been documented since the 11th century. There are two main branches which are certainly related, but whose exact relationship is still debated. The branch of

280-477: The sons of Count Gottfried III of Sponheim , who died abroad while participating in the Fifth Crusade . Gottfried had married Adelheid of Sayn , sister of the last Count of Sayn, Henry III . His estate was divided between their three sons John I, Henry, and Simon I. Simon, the youngest brother, received the Lower County of Sponheim and took up his residence in the castle of Kauzenburg near Kreuznach. Henry married

300-546: The tale of Michel Mort . The Upper and Lower Counties were also not always on good terms with each other regarding political affiliation. During the dispute between the German kings Frederick the Fair and Louis the Bavarian , the Upper County supported Louis, while Lower Sponheim advocated for Frederick. Louis's victory resulted in political strengthening of Upper Sponheim. Around that time,

320-476: Was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim , where the counts had their original residence . The territory was located roughly between the rivers Rhine , Moselle , and Nahe , in the present state of Rhineland-Palatinate , around the Hunsrück region. It bordered the Electorate of Trier to

340-559: Was divided in two, with each portion ruled by a different branch of the House of Sponheim . The Sponheim- Starkenburg line ruled over the Upper, Hither, or Farther County of Sponheim ( Hintere Grafschaft Sponheim ), based on Starkenburg , and the Sponheim-Kreuznach line over the Lower, Anterior, or Fore County of Sponheim ( Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim ), based on Kreuznach . This partition took place among

360-579: Was elected abbot in 1483, at the age of twenty-one. In his time, the abbey library increased from around fifty items to more than two thousand. However, his efforts were not met with praise, and his reputation as a magician did not further his acceptance. Increasing differences with the convent led to his resignation in 1506. This Bad Kreuznach district location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . County of Sponheim The County of Sponheim ( German : Grafschaft Sponheim , former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym)

380-554: Was notable for being accused of satanic orgies by the Church's German Grand Inquisitor, Conrad von Marburg , in 1233. Henry was acquitted by an assembly of bishops in Mainz , but Conrad refused to accept the verdict and left Mainz. It is unknown whether it was Henry's Knights who killed Conrad on his return to Thuringia , but investigation was foregone due to the cruelty of Conrad, despite Pope Gregory IX ordering his murderers to be punished. With

400-512: Was soon inherited by a collateral line of the Counts Palatine of the Rhine through the union of the heiress Anna of Veldenz with Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken . The rule of the Upper County of Sponheim was thus shared between Baden and Palatinate-Simmern - Zweibrücken or Palatinate-Birkenfeld ; the rule of the Lower County of Sponheim roughly between Baden and the Electorate of

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