County of Bretzenheim

Imperial County of Bretzenheim Reichsgrafschaft Bretzenheim*
1790–1804
Coat of arms of Bretzenheim
Status	County
Capital	Bretzenheim
Common languages	West Central German
Historical era	Napoleonic Wars
• Partitioned from the      Electorate of the Palatinate	1790 1790
• Raised to princely county	1789
• Part-mediatised to      Hesse-Darmstadt; granted      County of Lindau am Bodensee	1803
• Mediatised to Austria	1804
Preceded by Succeeded by Electorate of the Palatinate Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt Archduchy of Austria
* Later Reichsfürstentum Bretzenheim, Imperial princely county of Bretzenheim

Coat of arms of Bretzenheim

Bretzenheim was a minor principality in pre-Napoleonic Germany. It was created in 1790 for Prince Charles Augustus (1769-1823) of the line of Wittelsbach-Bretzenheim, illegitimate son of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria and Palatinate and Josepha von Heydeck.

History

Its territory in central Germany was mediatised to Hesse-Darmstadt in 1803, and its territory north of Lake Constance (former imperial city of Lindau) was mediatised to Austria in 1804.

Before 1789-1790 it was an Imperial Lordship and it had some important rulers, including Ambrosius Franz, Count of Virmont. In 1772 the Elector of Palatinate bought the Lordship (Imperial County 1774 ) for his son.

Prince of Bretzenheim

• Charles Augustus (1790–1804)