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.
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).
Ruler | Born | Reign | Death | Ruling part | Consort | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eberhard I | ? | c.1030?-1044 | 1044 | Sponheim | Unknown | First known count of the family. | |
Siegfried I | c.1010 | 1044-1065 | 7 February 1065 | Sponheim | Unknown | Also Count in the Puster Valley and Margrave of the Hungarian March | |
Stephen I | ? | 1065-1080 | 1080 | Sponheim | ? of Stromberg at least one child | Cousin or brother of Siegfried. | |
Stephen II | ? | 1080-1118 | 1118 | Sponheim | Sophia of Formbach c.1092 five children | ||
Meginhard I | c.1085 | 1118-1136 | 1136 | Sponheim | Matilda of Mörsberg-Nellenburg one child | Also Count of Winterthur. | |
Godfrey I | c.1115 | 1136-1159 | 1159 | Sponheim | Matilda of Lorraine? two children | ||
Godfrey II | ? | 1159-1183 | 1183 | Sponheim | ? of Veldenz one child | ||
Godfrey III | c.1175 | 1183-1218 | c.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.1205 | 1218-1266 | 1266 | 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.1210 | 1218-1264 | 8 April 1264 | 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.1245 | 1264-1290 | 28 January 1290 | Lower Sponheim | Adelaide of Leiningen-Landeck c.1265 seven children | ||
Henry I | c.1235 | 1266-1289 | 1 August 1289 | Upper Sponheim | Blancheflor of Julich three/four children | ||
John II the Lame | c.1265 | 1289-1324 | 22 February/29 March 1324 | Upper Sponheim | Catherine of Ochsenstein three children | His heir predeceased him, being succeeded by his minor grandchild. | |
Henry II the Younger | c.1295 | c.1310-1323 | October 1323 | Upper Sponheim | Loretta of Salm January 1315 one child | Co-ruler of his father, died five months before him. | |
Simon II | c.1270 | 1290-1336 | 1336 | 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 | c.1270 | 1290-1340 | 11 March 1340 | 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.1315 | 1324-1398 | 30 December 1398 | Upper Sponheim | Matilda of the Palatinate 1331 three children | ||
Waleran | 1305 | 1336/40-1380 | 1380 | Lower Sponheim | Elisabeth of Katzenelnbogen 9 August 1330 six children | Inherited the domains of his father (Kastellaun) and uncle (Kreuznach). | |
Simon III | c.1330 | 1380-1414 | 30 August 1414 | Lower Sponheim | Maria of Vianden c.1345 three children | ||
John IV | c.1335 | 1398-1413/14 | 16 October 1413/12 April 1414 | Upper Sponheim | Elisabeth of Sponheim-Kreuznach 1346 one child | ||
Elisabeth | c.1360 | 1414-1417 | 31 July 1417 | 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 | 1359 | 1413/14-1417 | 24 October 1437 | 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 |
Upper Sponheim | Lower Sponheim |
---|---|
Palatinate-Veldenz
Palatinate-Simmern/-Birkenfeld/-Zweibrücken
Palatinate-Zweibrücken Palatinate-Birkenfeld
(Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler receives Birkenfeld)
(Palatinate-Bischweiler-Birkenfeld acquires Zweibrücken)
Baden
| Electoral Palatinate
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)
|
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.
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.
Enkirch is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district 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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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.
Kastellaun Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Kastellaun in the Rhein-Hunsrück district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
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".
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.