Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen was a state of the Holy Roman Empire seated in Gelnhausen in the south of modern Hesse, Germany.
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in Western and Central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. The largest territory of the empire after 962 was the Kingdom of Germany, though it also included the neighboring Kingdom of Bohemia and Kingdom of Italy, plus numerous other territories, and soon after the Kingdom of Burgundy was added. Its size gradually diminished over time, particularly from 1648 onward, and by the time of its dissolution, it largely contained only German-speaking territories, plus the Kingdom of Bohemia which was bordered by the German lands on three sides.
Gelnhausen is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. It is one of the eleven towns in the district. Gelnhausen has around 22,000 inhabitants.
Hesse or Hessia, officially the State of Hesse, is a federal state (Land) of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. Its state capital is Wiesbaden and the largest city is Frankfurt am Main.
Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Bischwiller in the far northeast of France.
Duke in Bavaria was a title used among others since 1506, when primogeniture was established, by all members of the House of Wittelsbach, with the exception of the Duke of Bavaria which began to be a unique position. So reads for instance the full title of Karl I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and patriarch of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld: "Count Palatine by Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, Count to Veldenz and Sponheim". The title grew in importance as Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen began to use it as his primary title. This choice has also had effect for his descendants.
The Duchy of Bavaria was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (duces) under Frankish overlordship. A new duchy was created from this area during the decline of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth century. It became one of the stem duchies of the East Frankish realm which evolved as the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
These two lines are the only branches of the House of Wittelsbach which did not eventually become extinct.
The House of Wittelsbach is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.
Palatine Zweibrücken, or the County Palatine of Zweibrücken, is a former state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Zweibrücken. Its reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.
Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken 1532–1559.
The Grand Duchy of Berg, also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories between the French Empire at the Rhine river and the German Kingdom of Westphalia.
Palatinate-Birkenfeld, later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relatively unimportant territory, namely the Palatine share of the Rear County of Sponheim; however, their importance steadily grew. All living members of the House of Wittelsbach descend from Palatinate-Birkenfeld, which thus became the parent branch of the Kings of Bavaria.
Charles I of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, Count to Veldenz and Sponheim was the Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld from 1569 until 1600.
Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Zweibrücken was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around the Duchy of Zweibrücken in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Duke Pius August in Bavaria, full German name: Pius August Herzog in Bayern was a Duke in Bavaria as a member of the Palatine Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen line of the House of Wittelsbach. Pius August was a grandfather of Empress Elisabeth of Austria through his son Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria, as well as a great grandfather of Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians and an ancestor of the current generations of the Belgian and Italian Royal Families and the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg.
Princess Amélie Louise d'Arenberg, full German name: Amalie Luise, Prinzessin und Herzogin von Arenberg and full French name: Amélie Louise, princesse et duchesse d'Arenberg, was a member of the House of Arenberg by birth and, through her marriage to Duke Pius August in Bavaria, a member of the Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen line of the House of Wittelsbach. Amélie Louise was a grandmother of Empress Elisabeth of Austria through her son Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria.
Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria, full German name: Wilhelm, Herzog in Bayern was Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen between 1789 and 1799 and first Duke in Bavaria from 16 February 1799 until his death in 1837. From 17 December 1803 to 20 March 1806, Wilhelm was titled Duke of Berg. Wilhelm was a great-grandfather of Empress Elisabeth of Austria through his son Duke Pius August in Bavaria.
Teilherzogtum is a German term denoting a part of a duchy after the duchy had been internally partitioned among members of the respective ducal family. Teilherzogtum does not have an English cognate.
John Charles, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld at Gelnhausen, was a German prince and ancestor of the cadet branch of the royal family of Bavaria known, from the early 19th century, as Dukes in Bavaria. He took Gelnhausen as the name of his branch of the family after acquiring that estate in 1669.
John, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld at Gelnhausen.
Frederick Bernard, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen was Count Palatine and Duke of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen.
Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler was Countess Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen and Duchess in Bavaria, through her marriage to Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria. Maria Anna was a great-grandmother of Empress Elisabeth of Austria through his son Duke Pius August in Bavaria
Duchess Maria Elisabeth Amalie Franziska in Bavaria was a Duchess in Bavaria as a member of the Palatine Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen line of the House of Wittelsbach and through her marriage to Louis-Alexandre Berthier became Princess of Wagram and Princess of Neuchâtel.
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