Everything about Holstein totally explained
Holstein (
Low German:
Holsteen,
Danish:
Holsten,
Latin and historical
English:
Holsatia) is the region between the rivers
Elbe and
Eider. It is part of
Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the
County of Holstein, the later
Duchy of Holstein, and was the northernmost territory of the
Holy Roman Empire. The history of Holstein is closely intertwined with the history of the
Danish Duchy of
Schleswig. The capital of Holstein is
Kiel.
Holstein's name comes from the
Holcetae, a
Saxon tribe mentioned by
Adam of Bremen as living on the north bank of the Elbe, to the west of Hamburg. The name means "dwellers in the wood".
History
Holstein, essentially the part of
Old Saxony that was situated north of the river
Elbe, was conquered by
Charlemagne ca. 800. It was a county from 1111–1474; it was first a fief of the
Duchy of Saxony, then of the Duchy of
Saxe-Lauenburg, and finally of the
Bishopric of Lübeck.
The County of Holstein was ruled by the House of
Schauenburg; the first count was
Adolf I, Count of Holstein. Holstein was occupied by
Denmark after the
Battle of Stellau (
1201), but was reconquered by Schauenburg in the
Battle of Bornhöved (1227). In the
14th century, the counts of Holstein acquired the Duchy of
Schleswig, a fief of the Kingdom of
Denmark. When the Holstein line of the Schauenburg counts became extinct in
1459, Holstein and Schleswig fell to the
king of Denmark through the
Treaty of Ribe (
1460); only the
Lordship of Pinneberg remained with the Schauenburg counts.
In
1474, Holstein was raised to a duchy and became a state of the
Holy Roman Empire (
reichsunmittelbar), which it remained until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806.
In
1490, Holstein was divided into Holstein-Segeberg and
Holstein-Gottorp. Holstein-Segeberg remained with the Danish king and was also known as
Royal Holstein; later it came to be known as
Holstein-Glückstadt. Holstein-Gottorp, also known as
Ducal Holstein, was given to a cadet branch of the
House of Oldenburg, to which the kings of Denmark belonged.
The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp became emperor of Russia in 1762 as
Peter III and was planning an attack on Denmark to recover the lost
Holstein-Gottorp lands in Schleswig. Although Peter was soon overthrown by his wife,
Catherine the Great, the Danes determined to rid themselves of this problem. In 1773, they exchanged the
County of Oldenburg for the Gottorp lands in Holstein, bringing all of Holstein under their control. Thus, Holstein was again united in one state.
Because of its personal union with Denmark, the Duchy of Holstein didn't come under French control during the
Napoleonic era. From
1815 to
1864 it was a member of the
German Confederation, though still in
personal union with Denmark (the King of Denmark being also Duke of Holstein). Following the death of King
Frederick VII of Denmark in 1863, the inheritance of Schleswig and Holstein was disputed. The new king,
Christian IX, made his claim to the Danish throne through a female line. The
Duke of Augustenborg, a minor scion from another line of the family, claimed the Duchies, and soon the German Confederation, led by
Prussia and
Austria, went to war with Denmark, quickly defeating it in 1864 and forcing it to cede the duchies. However, the duchies were not given to the Duke of Augustenborg. In
1865 an arrangement was worked out between Prussia and Austria where the Austrians occupied and administered Holstein, while the Prussians did the same in Schleswig. This arrangement came to an end with the
Austro-Prussian War of
1866, which resulted in Schleswig and Holstein both being incorporated into Prussia as the
Province of Schleswig-Holstein.
For a list of rulers, see
Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein.
Geography
Further Information
Get more info on 'Holstein'.
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