The mediatised houses (or mediatized houses, German: Standesherren) were ruling princely and comital-ranked houses that were mediatised in the Holy Roman Empire during the period 1803–1815 as part of German mediatisation, and were later recognised in 1825–1829 by the German ruling houses as possessing considerable rights and rank. With few exceptions, these houses were those whose heads held a seat in the Imperial Diet when mediatised during the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806–07, by France in 1810, or by the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15. The mediatised houses were organised into two ranks: the princely houses, entitled to the predicate Durchlaucht (Serene Highness), which previously possessed a vote on the Bench of Princes (Furstenbank); and the comital houses that were accorded the address of Erlaucht (Illustrious Highness), which previously possessed a vote in one of the four Benches of Counts (Gräfenbank). Although some form of mediatisation occurred in other countries, such as France, Italy and Russia, only designated houses within the former Holy Roman Empire legally comprised the mediatised houses.
Privileges
Mediatised houses generally possessed greater rights than other German noble families. Whilst they lost sovereignty and certain rights (such as legislation, taxation, appellate jurisdiction, and control over policing and conscription) in their territories, they often still retained their private estates and some feudal rights, which may have included exclusive or primary access to local forestry, fishing, mining or hunting resources, jurisdiction over policing and lower level civil and criminal court cases. Mediatised houses also possessed the right to settle anywhere within the German Confederation while retaining their territorial prerogatives. The Congress of Vienna specified that the mediatised houses were recognised as the first vassals in their respective states, were usually entitled to membership in the legislative upper chambers in which their lands lay (such as the Austrian or Prussian House of Lords), and held rank equivalent to ruling houses. However the Congress of Vienna did not specify which families were considered mediatised.
Members of mediatised houses possessed a rank higher than other German ducal, princely and comital families which held the same or even a higher hereditary title. For example, a prince (Fürst) of a mediatised house ranked higher than a duke (Herzog) of a family that had never possessed Imperial immediacy, even though in Germany, nominally, a duke is of higher rank than a prince.
Equality of birth
Most importantly, members of the mediatised houses were recognized as entitled to retain the equality of birth their families had enjoyed under the Holy Roman Empire with Germany's reigning dynasties, who inter-married by right with the other ruling houses of Europe. Although this privilege did not automatically require that every ruling family had to accept all members of mediatised families as eligible for dynastic inter-marriage (see Countess Auguste von Harrach), each mediatised family was allowed to impose its own marital standards by house law, and could be accepted by ruling families without legal demur. This had practical effects in determining whether a marriage was considered morganatic or not, and what rights the children of such a marriage might possess.
It was ultimately left up to each of the sovereign states to determine which families were counted as part of the mediatised houses and which were not, leading to discrepancies between the roster of the Imperial Diet in 1806 and the families counted amongst the mediatised. Prior to 1806, the term "exemption" was used to refer to states which surrendered their immediacy and high jurisdiction rights to another state but retained their votes in the Imperial Diet. Not all exempt houses were counted amongst the mediatised houses. Further discrepancies exist because the houses were mediatised between 1806–1814 and the rosters of the princely and comital mediatised houses were not drawn up until 1825 and 1829 respectively, during which period some families had become extinct or sold those of their territories to which the rights of mediatisation appertained.
From 1836 the Almanach de Gotha listed the mediatised houses in a section of their own, separate from both ruling dynasties and from princely and ducal families which were not recognized as having exercised sovereignty since the Congress of Vienna.
The rights of the mediatised houses in Austria and Czechoslovakia were abolished in 1919 following the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I and the establishment of republics in those countries. Rights were also abolished in Germany in 1919, however the abolition was not initially enforced.
The following lists are exhaustive, including all of the mediatised houses.
List of Princely mediatised houses (Durchlaucht)
Name |
Title |
Listed by |
Head of house (as of July 2018) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arenberg | Duke | Austria, Prussia, Hanover | Léopold, 13th Duke (b.1956) | The territories of Arenberg were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the counties of Vest Recklinghausen and Meppen in 1803. Joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806. Annexed by France and the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1810. Not restored by the Congress of Vienna |
Auersperg | Prince | Austria | Adolf, 11th Prince (b.1937) | The county of Thengen mediatised by Baden in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1811. Held mediate to Austria the duchy of Gottschee and the princely county of Wels, and several minor territories |
Bentheim and Steinfurt | Prince Count before 1817 | Austria, Hanover, Prussia | Christian, 4th Prince (b.1923) | County of Steinfurt mediatised by Berg in 1806. Annexed by France in 1810. Awarded to Hanover 1815 (Bentheim-Bentheim and Bentheim-Steinfurt, which were under personal union were united into the singular house). A branch of the House of Bentheim |
Bentheim-Tecklenburg | Prince Count before 1817 | Austria, Hanover, Prussia | Maximilian, 7th Prince (b.1969) | County of Limburg and lordship of Rheda mediatised by Berg in 1806. Awarded to Prussia in 1815. A branch of the House of Bentheim |
Castell-Castell | Prince Count before 1901 | Bavaria | Ferdinand, 4th Prince (b.1965) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Castell-Rüdenhausen | Prince Count before 1901 | Bavaria | Otto, 6th Prince (b.1985) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Colloredo-Mansfeld | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Hieronymus, 8th Prince (b.1949) | Purchased a part of the County of Rieneck in 1803 because its Imperial immediacy granted him a seat in the Imperial Diet. Purchased lordship of Limpurg-Gröningen in 1804. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1837. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Croÿ | Duke | Austria, Prussia | Rudolf, 15th Duke (b.1955) | The territories of Croÿ were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Dülmen in 1803. Mediatised to Arenberg in 1806. Annexed by France 1810. Awarded to Prussia 1815 |
Dietrichstein | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Extinct | Lordship of Tarasp, exempt under Austria, ceded to Graubünden in 1801. Received the lordship of Neu-Ravensburg in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1864 |
Erbach-Schönberg | Prince Count before 1903 | Hesse-Darmstadt | Dietrich, 5th Prince (b.1954) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Esterházy de Galántha | Prince | Austria, Bavaria | Anton, 13th Prince (b.1936) | Obtained princely county of Edelstetten in 1804. Mediatised to Bavaria in 1806. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories. Held mediate in Baden the lordship of Gallingen but not predicated as mediatised |
Fugger-Babenhausen | Prince | Austria, Bavaria | Hubertus, 8th Prince (b.1946) | Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine |
Fugger-Glött | Prince Count before 1913 | Bavaria | Extinct | Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine. Extinct 1981. |
Fürstenberg | Prince | Austria, Baden, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Württemberg | Heinrich, 12th Prince (b.1950) | Mostly mediatised by Baden in 1806. Lordship of Trochtelfingen mediatised by Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1806. Lordships of Gundelfingen and Neufra mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Oehringen | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Kraft, 9th Prince (Also 5th Duke of Ujest, b.1933) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Jagstberg | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Alexander, 2nd Prince (b.1937) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Felix, 10th Prince (b.1963) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Langenburg | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Philipp, 10th Prince (b.1970) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Ferdinand, 10th Prince (b.1942) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Constantin, 12th Prince (b.1949) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst (Ratibor and Corvey branch) | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Viktor, 5th Duke of Ratibor and 5th Prince of Corvey (b.1964) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Kaunitz-Rietberg | Prince | Austria, Prussia | Extinct | mediatised by Westphalia in 1807. Extinct 1848 |
Khevenhüller-Metsch | Prince | Austria | Johannes, 10th Prince (b.1956) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Leiningen | Prince | Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt | Andreas, 8th Prince (b.1956) | mediatised by Baden in 1806 |
Leyen | Prince | Austria, Baden | Philipp Erwein, 7th Prince (b.1967) | Became a principality in 1806. Mediatised by Austria in 1815. Ceded to Baden in 1819 |
Lobkowicz | Prince | Austria | Jaroslav, 14th Prince (b.1942) | Princely county of Störnstein mediatised by Bavaria in 1807, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1814. Held mediate to Austria the duchy of Raudnitz and several minor territories |
Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg | Prince | Baden, Bavaria, Württemberg | Ludwig, 8th Prince (b.1951) | County of Virneburg annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Mediatised by Baden, Prince-Primate and Württemberg in 1806 |
Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg | Prince | Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg | Alois-Constantin, 9th Prince (b.1941) | mediatised by Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prince-Primate and Württemberg in 1806 |
Looz-Corswarem | Duke | Austria, Hanover, Prussia | Thierry, 11th Duke (b.1948) | The territories of Looz-Corswarem were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the Principality of Rheina-Wolbeck in 1803. Mediatised by the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1806. The Principality was divided in 1815 between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Kingdom of Hanover. |
Metternich-Winneburg | Prince | Austria | Extinct | Lordship of Winneburg and Beilstein annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Ochsenhausen in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1825. Held mediate to Austria the county of Köningswart and several minor territories. Extinct in 1992 |
Orsini and Rosenberg | Prince | Austria | Johannes, 7th Prince (b.1949) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Öttingen-Spielberg | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Albrecht Ernst, 10th Prince (b.1951) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Öttingen-Wallerstein | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Moritz, 8th Prince (b.1946) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Quadt-Wykradt and Isny | Prince Count before 1901 | Württemberg | Alexander, 5th Prince (b.1958) | Lordship of Wykradt annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Isny in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Salm-Kyrburg | Prince | Austria, Prussia | Extinct | The territories of Salm-Kyrburg were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received part of the Bishopric of Münster in 1803. Mediatised the lordship of Gemen (held by Boyneburg-Bömelberg) in 1806. Annexed by France in 1810. Not restored by the Congress of Vienna. Extinct 1905 |
Salm-Horstmar | Prince Count before 1817 | Austria, Prussia | Philipp Otto, 5th Prince (b.1938) | Formerly the county of Salm-Grumbach. Mediatised by Berg in 1806 |
Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck | Prince Count before 1816 | Austria, Baden, Prussia | Extinct | Lordships of Dyck and Reifferscheid were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received lordship of Baindt in 1803. Mediatised to Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1888 |
Salm-Reifferscheid-Krautheim | Prince Count before 1804 | Austria, Baden | Extinct | Lordships of Dyck and Reifferscheid were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. In 1806 territory south of the Jagst mediatised by Württemberg and territory north by Baden, and territory north by Baden, and rights to this territory sold to them in 1829/37. Extinct 1958 |
Salm-Reifferscheid-Raitz | Prince | Austria | Hugo, 7th Prince (b,1973) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Salm-Salm | Prince | Austria, Prussia | Carl-Philipp, 9th Prince (b.1933) | The territories of Salm-Salm were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received part of the Bishopric of Münster in 1803. Annexed by France in 1810. Not restored by the Congress of Vienna |
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg | Prince | Austria, Prussia | Gustav, 7th Prince (b.1969) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1815 |
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein | Prince | Austria, Prussia, Württemberg | Bernhart, 6th Prince (b.1963) | County of Hohnstein exempt to Prussia from 1714, annexed by Westphalia in 1806, returned to Prussia in 1813. Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1815 |
Schönburg-Hartenstein | Prince | Austria, Saxony | Alexander, 8th Prince (b.1930) | Exempt to Saxony from 1740 |
Schönburg-Waldenburg | Prince | Austria, Saxony | Ulrich, 6th Prince (b.1940) | Exempt to Saxony from 1740 |
Schwarzenberg | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Karel, 12th Prince (b.1937) | Principality of Schwarzenberg and barony of Seinsheim mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Landgraviate of Klettgau mediatised by Baden in 1806. The county of Sulz mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Held mediate to Austria the duchy of Krumau and several minor territories |
Solms-Braunfels | Prince | Austria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia, Württemberg | Extinct | mediatised by Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1813. Extinct 1970 |
Solms-Hohensolms-Lich | Prince | Austria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia, Württemberg | Carl-Christian, 9th Prince (b.1975) | mediatised by Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1813 |
Starhemberg | Prince | Austria | Georg Adam, 6th Prince (b.1961) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Stolberg-Rossla | Prince Count before 1893 | Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia | Alexander of Stolberg-Wernigerode (b.1967) | Exempt to Prussia in 1714 |
Stolberg-Stolberg | Prince Count before 1893 | Hanover, Prussia | Jost-Christian, 4th Prince (b.1940) | Exempt to Saxony in 1738. Ceded to Prussia in 1815 |
Stolberg-Wernigerode | Prince Count before 1890 | Hesse-Darmstadt, Hanover, Prussia | Philipp, 5th Prince (b.1967) | Exempt to Saxony in 1738. Ceded to Prussia in 1815 |
Thurn and Taxis | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Württemberg | Albert, 12th Prince (b.1983) | mediatised to Bavaria, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Württemberg in 1806 |
Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg | Prince | Austria | Carl-Wolfgang, 7th Prince (b.1965) | County of Umpfenbach mediatised by Baden in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1812. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Johannes, 6th Prince (b.1957) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Erich, 8th Prince (b.1962) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806; Lordship of Alt-Trauchburg by Bavaria in 1806 |
Waldburg-Zeil-Wurzach | Prince | Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg | Extinct | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806; Lordship of Marstetten east of the Iller (Ferthofen) by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1903 |
Wied-Neuwied | Prince | Austria, Nassau, Prussia | Maximilian, 9th Prince (b.1999) | Lordship of Runkel east of the Lahn mediatised by Berg in 1806; rest mediatised by Nassau in 1806 |
Windisch-Grätz | Prince | Austria, Württemberg | Anton, 5th Prince (b.1942)(Elder line, last male heir) Mariano Hugo, 6th Prince (b.1955)(Younger line) | County of Eglofs mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Ysenburg and Büdingen | Prince | Austria, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt | Alexander, 7th Prince (b.1969) | Formerly the principality of Isenburg-Birstein. Mediatised by Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt in 1815 |
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Büdingen | Prince Count before 1840 | Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt | Extinct | Formerly the county of Isenburg-Büdingen. Mediatised by Isenburg-Birstein in 1806. Extinct 1941 |
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Wächtersbach | Prince Count before 1865 | Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt | Wolfgang-Ernst, 8th Prince (b.1936) | Formerly the county of Isenburg-Wächtersbach. Mediatised by Isenburg-Birstein in 1806 |
List of Comital mediatised houses (Erlaucht)
Name |
Title |
Listed by |
Head of house (as of July 2018) |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bentinck | Count | Oldenburg | Timothy, 8th Count (Also 12th Earl of Portland, b.1953) | mediatised by Oldenburg in 1807. Obtained Erlaucht recognition in 1845 |
Erbach-Erbach | Count | Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg | Franz, 8th Count (b.1958) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Erbach-Fürstenau | Count | Hesse-Darmstadt | Louis, 7th Count (b.1976) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Fugger-Kirchberg-Weissenhorn | Count | Bavaria | Extinct | Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine |
Fugger-Kirchheim | Count | Bavaria | Extinct | Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine |
Fugger-Nordendorf | Count | Bavaria | Extinct | Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine |
Giech | Count | Bavaria | Extinct | Inherited half of the Imperial Lordship of Sulzbürg-Pyrbaum from Wolfstein family in 1740. Exempt to Prussia in 1791. Annexed by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1938 |
Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen | Count | Austria | Ernst Leonhard, 11th Count (b.1920) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories. Extinct 1886 |
Königsegg-Aulendorf | Count | Württemberg | Johannes, 12th Count (b.1925) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Kuefstein-Greillenstein | Count | Austria | Johann, Count of Kuefstein (b.1951) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Leiningen-Billigheim | Count | Baden | Extinct | Formerly the county of Leiningen-Guntersblum. Annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Billigheim in 1803. Mediatised by Baden in 1806 |
Leiningen-Neudenau | Count | Baden | Extinct | Formerly the county of Leiningen-Heidesheim. Annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Neudenau in 1803. Mediatised by Baden in 1806 |
Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen | Count | Hesse-Darmstadt | Extinct | Received the lordship of Ilbenstadt in 1803. Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen | Count | Nassau | Extinct | Received the lordship of Engelthal in 1803. Mediatised by Berg in 1807. Ceded to Nassau in 1815 |
Neipperg | Count | Württemberg | Karl Eugen, 7th Count (b.1951) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Ortenburg-Tambach | Count | Bavaria | Heinrich, 36th Count (b.1956) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Pappenheim | Count | Bavaria | Albert, Count of Pappenheim (b.1943) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Was not a member of the Imperial Diet; recognised by Bavaria as a mediatised house in 1831 |
Platen-Hallermund | Count | Hanover | Erik, 5th Count (b.1939) | mediatised by Westphalia in 1807. Ceded to Hanover in 1813 |
Pückler and Limpurg | Count | Württemberg | Extinct | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1963 |
Rechberg and Rothenlöwen | Count | Württemberg | Bernhard, 7th Count (b.1956) | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Was not a member of the Imperial Diet; recognised by Württemberg as a mediatised house |
Rechteren-Limpurg | Count | Bavaria | Adolph, 9th Count (b.1931) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Schaesberg-Tannheim | Count | Württemberg | Johannes, 7th Count (b.1960) | County of Kerpen and Lommersum annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Tannheim in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Schlitz genannt von Görtz | Count | Hesse-Darmstadt | Rudiger, 7th Count (b.1939, last male heir) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Schönborn-Buchheim | Count | Austria, Bavaria | Friedrich Karl, 7th Count (b.1938) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Schönborn-Wiesentheid | Count | Bavaria | Paul, 8th Count (b.1964) | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806 |
Schönburg-Forderglauchau | Count | Saxony | Alexander, 6th Count (b.1969) | Exempt to Saxony from 1740 |
Schönburg-Hinterglauchau | Count | Saxony | Extinct | Exempt to Saxony from 1740 |
Schönburg-Rochsburg | Count | Saxony | Extinct | Exempt to Saxony from 1740 |
Schönburg-Wechselburg | Count | Saxony | Extinct | Exempt to Saxony from 1740 |
Solms-Laubach | Count | Hesse-Darmstadt | Karl, 11th Count (b.1963) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Solms-Rödelheim | Count | Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt | Philipp, Count of Solms-Rödelheim (b.1964) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Solms-Wildenfels | Count | Hesse-Darmstadt | Friedrich Magnus, Count of Solms-Wildenfels (b.1945) | mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 |
Stadion-Thannhausen | Count | Bavaria | Extinct | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1908 |
Stadion-Warthausen | Count | Austria, Württemberg | Extinct | mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Was not a member of the Imperial Diet; recognised by Austria and Württemberg as a mediatised house. Extinct 1906 |
Starhemberg | Count | Austria | Georg Adam, 6th Prince (b.1961) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Sternberg-Manderscheid | Count | Austria, Württemberg | Extinct | Counties of Blankenheim, Gerolstein, Kayl and Manderscheid annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the counties of Schussenried and Weissenau in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1830 |
Törring-Gutenzell | Count | Württemberg | Hans Veit, 4th Count (b.1935) | County of Gronsfeld annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Gutenzell in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1860; collateral branch given mediatised rights in 1888 |
Waldbott von Bassenheim | Count | Bavaria, Nassau, Württemberg | Carl Ludwig, 8th Count (b.1938, last male heir) | County of Pyrmont annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Heggbach in 1803. Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Inherited Buxheim in 1809 |
Waldeck-Pyrmont | Count | Württemberg | Extinct | Waldeck-Limpurg mediatised by Württemberg in 1806 |
Wallmoden-Gimborn | Count | Mecklenburg | Extinct | Lordship of Gimborn-Neustadt mediatised by Berg in 1807 |
Wurmbrand-Stuppach | Count | Austria | Ernst Gundaccar, 5th Count (b.1946) | Held mediate to Austria several minor territories |
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Meerholz | Count | Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg | Extinct | Formerly the county of Isenburg-Meerholz. Mostly mediatised by Isenburg-Birstein in 1806. 1/4 portion of the Solms-Assenheim part of Limpurg-Gaildorf meditised to Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1939 |
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Philippseich | Count | Hesse-Darmstadt | Extinct | Appanage branch of the princely line of Isenburg-Birstein. Recognised by Hesse-Darmstadt as a mediatised house despite not possessing immediacy or a vote in the Imperial Diet |
List of Houses not considered as part of the mediatised houses
Listed below are houses that for one reason or another were not counted amongst the mediatised houses. Usually this is because they became extinct before the formalisation of the mediatised houses in 1825/9, they divested their immediate territories just prior to the German mediatisation in 1806, or they surrendered their mediate rights before 1825/9. The formal list of the mediatised Houses generally doesn't include the families bearers of old Imperial States outside the German Confederation (France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands).
Name |
Title |
Notes |
---|---|---|
Abensperg und Traun | Count | Eglofs sold to Windisch-Grätz in 1804 |
Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym | Prince | mediatised by Nassau in 1806. Extinct 1812 |
Aspremont-Lynden | Count | Rekem (Reckheim) annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Baindt in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Sold in 1812 |
Boyneburg-Bömelberg | Baron | Inherited the immediate lordship of Gemen in 1800, after extinction of the Limburg-Styrum-Gemen branch. Unclear however if the Imperial Diet vote associated to Gemen was also inherited (some state that it was transferred to the only surviving Limburg-Styrum branch, that of Styrum[1]). Mediatised by Berg in 1806. Extinct 1826/31 |
Heydeck-Bretzenheim | Prince | The lands of Bretzenheim were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the principality of Lindau in 1803. Ceded to Austria in 1804. Extinct 1863 |
Grävenitz | Count | Imperial Lordship of Welzheim was forcefully sold in 1735 by Grävenitz family for 65.000 Gulden to Württemberg. Descendants of the last ruler, Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Grävenitz, who later unsuccessfully tried to reclaim rights to it, went extinct. |
Ligne | Prince | Compensation for loss of the Imperial County of Ligne (Fagnolles, since that barony had become seat of the county in 1789) as a result of the Peace of Lunéville consisted of substitution of the secularized Imperial abbey of Edelstetten, with an individual vote guaranteed in the Imperial College of Princes in 1803. That principality was, however, sold to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy on 22 May 1804, before the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire, of which Edelstetten had been a constituent Imperial state, in 1806. |
Limburg-Styrum | Count | Imperial Diet vote lost in 1800 (Gemen), but still possessed the immediate lordship of Styrum, which was mediatised in 1806 and which is formally cited in the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine. Nevertheless, Limburg-Styrum was not listed by any member of the German Confederation as a mediatised House in 1825, given they had sold their German properties and left to their lands in the newly created kingdoms of the Netherlands and Belgium. The family is however generally counted as part of the mediatised houses. |
Nesselrode | Count | mediatised by Nassau in 1806. Extinct 1824 |
Nostitz-Rieneck | Count | Rieneck sold to Colloredo-Mansfeld in 1803 |
Ostein | Count | Myllendonk annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Buxheim in 1803. Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1809 |
Plettenberg-Mietingen | Count | Wittem annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Mietingen and Sulmingen in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1813 |
Sickingen-Sickingen | Count | mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1834 |
Sinzendorf | Prince | Rheineck annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the burgraviate of Winterrieden in 1803. Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1822 |
Wartenberg-Roth | Count | Received the county of Roth in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1818 |
Wied-Runkel | Prince | Lordship of Runkel east of the Lahn mediatised by Berg in 1806; rest mediatised by Nassau in 1806. Extinct 1824 |
References and notes
- ↑ Duke and Prince Jean Engelbert d'Arenberg, "The Lesser Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the Napoleonic Era" dissertation, Washington, DC, 1950, published as Les Princes du St-Empire à l'époque napoléonienne (Louvain, 1951)