List of counts at Sponheim

Last updated

Coat of arms of the House of Sponheim Armoiries de Sponheim 1.svg
Coat of arms of the House of Sponheim

The County of Sponheim went through roughly three main phases during the course of the centuries. The first one lasted from the beginnings in the 11th century until the first divisions of the county between two Sponheimish lines around 1234. In this first period the region was ruled by a single count.

Contents

In the second phase the county was managed by two counts. The “Further” County (Vordere Grafschaft) of Sponheim was ruled by the line Sponheim-Kreuznach with residence at Castle Kauzenburg near Kreuznach. The "Hinder" County (Hintere Grafschaft) of Sponheim was ruled by the Sponheim-Starkenburg line, with residence at first at Castle Starkenburg near Enkirch and after 1350 at Castle Grevenburg near Trarbach. This phase lasted nearly to the extinction of both lines in 1437.

Finally in the third phase both parts of the county were managed by joint rulers as a condominium. The management of the “Hinder” County of Sponheim was divided between a collateral palatine line (House of Palatinate-Simmern, later House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, later still House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld) and Baden, the management of the “Further” County of Sponheim roughly between Baden and the Electoral Palatinate. The ruling houses of the Sponheimish condominium were matrilineal descendants of the House of Sponheim and took on the title of Count at Sponheim (Graf zu Sponheim).

Counts of Sponheim

House of Sponheim

RulerBornReignDeathRuling partConsortNotes
Eberhard I ?c.1030?-10441044 Sponheim UnknownFirst known count of the family.
Siegfried I c.10101044-10657 February 1065 Sponheim UnknownAlso Count in the Puster Valley and Margrave of the Hungarian March
Stephen I ?1065-10801080 Sponheim ? of Stromberg
at least one child
Cousin or brother of Siegfried.
Stephen II ?1080-11181118 Sponheim Sophia of Formbach
c.1092
five children
Meginhard I c.10851118-11361136 Sponheim Matilda of Mörsberg-Nellenburg
one child
Also Count of Winterthur.
Godfrey I c.11151136-11591159 Sponheim Matilda of Lorraine?
two children
Godfrey II ?1159-11831183 Sponheim ? of Veldenz
one child
Godfrey III c.11751183-1218c.1218 Sponheim Adelaide of Sayn
1202
five children
Died during the Fifth Crusade. After his death, his children split the Sponheim domains.
John I c.12051218-12661266
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
? of Altena Isenberg
five children
Son of Godfrey III, inherited the Upper part of the county, with residence in Starkenburg.
Simon I c.12101218-12648 April 1264
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Margaret of Hengebach
c.1240
six children
Son of Godfrey III, inherited the Lower part of the county, with residence in Kreuznach.
John I the Lame c.12451264-129028 January 1290
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Adelaide of Leiningen-Landeck
c.1265
seven children
Henry I c.12351266-12891 August 1289
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
Blancheflor of Julich
three/four children
John II the Lame c.12651289-132422 February/29 March 1324
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
Catherine of Ochsenstein
three children
His heir predeceased him, being succeeded by his minor grandchild.
Henry II the Younger Henricus Junior Comes de Spanheym.section.jpeg c.1295c.1310-1323October 1323
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
Loretta of Salm
January 1315
one child
Co-ruler of his father, died five months before him.
Simon II c.12701290-13361336
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Elisabeth of Falkenburg
c.1293
nine children
Sons of John I, shared rule in the county: John ruled from Kreuznach; Simon ruled from Kastellaun.
John II Johann2vonSponheim.jpg c.12701290-134011 March 1340
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Unknown/Unmarried
Regency of Loretta of Salm (1324-1331)Loretta was regent in name of her child, John III. In spite of being engaged in a trial of strength with one of the most powerful and influential princes of her time, the Elector of Trier Baldwin of Luxembourg, she devoted herself to putting Sponheim on a firm political and economic footing.
John III The Elder c.13151324-139830 December 1398
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
Matilda of the Palatinate
1331
three children
Waleran WalramvonSponheim.jpg 13051336/40-13801380
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Elisabeth of Katzenelnbogen
9 August 1330
six children
Inherited the domains of his father (Kastellaun) and uncle (Kreuznach).
Simon III c.13301380-141430 August 1414
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Maria of Vianden
c.1345
three children
John IV c.13351398-1413/1416 October 1413/12 April 1414
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
Elisabeth of Sponheim-Kreuznach
1346
one child
Elisabeth c.13601414-141731 July 1417
Wappen Vordere Grafschaft Sponheim.svg
Lower Sponheim
Engelbert III of the Mark
c.1381
no children

Rupert Pepin of the Palatinate
c.1390
no children
Eldest surviving daughter of Simon III. After her death, her estates were reunited with those of the Starkenberg line.
John V & III Muenze-Grafschaft-Sponheim.jpeg 13591413/14-141724 October 1437
Wappen Starkenburg.svg
Upper Sponheim
Walpurga of Leiningen
c.1415
five children
In 1417, after the death of Elisabeth, Count of Sponheim-Kreuznach, he reunited Sponheim once more, but died with no descendants. The family became extinct.
1417-1437 Sponheim

Successors in Upper and Lower Sponheim

Upper SponheimLower Sponheim
Palatinate-Veldenz
  • Frederick III, Count at Veldenz and Sponheim (1437–1444, O.C. 1437)

Palatinate-Simmern/-Birkenfeld/-Zweibrücken

  • Frederick I, Count Palatine (1444–1480, O.C. 1453)
  • John I (1480–1509)
  • John II (1509–1557, O.C. 1527)
  • Frederick II, 1559 Prince Elector Frederick III (1557–1560), as pledgeholder 1569 to 1571

Palatinate-Zweibrücken

  • Wolfgang at Veldenz (1560–1569)
  • John I (1569–1584 as regent to his brother Charles I)

Palatinate-Birkenfeld

(Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler receives Birkenfeld)

(Palatinate-Bischweiler-Birkenfeld acquires Zweibrücken)

Baden

Electoral Palatinate


(Succession to Palatinate-Simmern line)

Palatinate-Simmern

(Extinction of the Simmern line, succession to Palatinate-Neuburg)

Palatinate-Neuburg

(Rightful successor was Count Palatine Maximilian of Zweibrücken (see “Upper” County))

Baden-Baden

(Extinction of the Baden-Baden line, succession falls to Baden-Durlach line)

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kastellaun</span> Town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Kastellaun is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counts of Vianden</span>

The Counts of Vianden, ancestors of the House of Orange-Nassau, were associated with the castle of Vianden in Luxembourg.

The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were immediate Counts of Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269. Its cadet branches ruled in the Imperial County of Ortenburg-Neuortenburg and various Sayn-Wittgenstein states until 1806.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enkirch</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Enkirch is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bärenbach, Bad Kreuznach</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Bärenbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Kirner Land, whose seat is in the town of Kirn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgsponheim</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Burgsponheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Rüdesheim, whose seat is in the municipality of Rüdesheim an der Nahe. Burgsponheim is a winegrowing centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pfaffen-Schwabenheim</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Pfaffen-Schwabenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Bad Kreuznach, whose seat is in the like-named town, although this lies outside the Verbandsgemeinde. Pfaffen-Schwabenheim is a winegrowing village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starkenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Starkenburg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the location of the like-named castle, now in ruins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leisel</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Leisel is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Birkenfeld, whose seat is in the like-named town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dill, Germany</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Dill is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town, and it is home to a castle ruin that bears the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dillendorf</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Dillendorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieder Kostenz</span> Municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Nieder Kostenz is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Sponheim</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire (1000s–1804)

The County of Sponheim 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grevenburg</span>

Grevenburg was a castle in Traben-Trarbach in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the residence of the Rear County of Sponheim and today is a ruin following its destruction by the French in 1734.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sponheim Castle</span> Building in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Sponheim Castle is a medieval ruin in Burgsponheim on the edge of the Hunsrück mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. From the 12th century it was the original residence of the Counts of Sponheim. Significant portions of the castle remain standing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kastellaun Castle</span> Building in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Kastellaun Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Kastellaun in the Rhein-Hunsrück district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg</span>

Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg, the Older, reigned over the County of Sponheim for 67 years. He also received many epithets such as "the Noble" and, because of his declining vision, "the Blind".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gutenburg Castle</span>

Gutenburg Castle, is the ruin of a hill castle above the village of Gutenberg in the county of Bad Kreuznach in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Loretta of Sponheim was a countess of the noble house of Sponheim-Starkenburg, regent of the County of Sponheim for her son, count John III, from 1324 to 1331.

Gottfried III, Count of Sponheim was a German nobleman. He succeeded his father Gottfried II as Count of Sponheim.

References