Sayn

Territory of the Holy Roman Empire

The county of Sayn was a former imperial immediacy territory of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in the area of the Westerwald in today's state of Rhineland- Palatinate.

History

After, probably built in the 10th or 11th century Castle Sayn Bendorf called himself at a Counts, which is occupied for the first time in 1139 in a document. The counts acquired gradually goods in the Westerwald, the victory and the Lower Rhine. The exact origins of the first Count of Sayn are still in the dark, but a descent from the House of Nassau is likely. It is in the county of Sayn apparently not an old office district, but a collection of feudal rights and the noble family of Sayn. In particular, the marriage of Henry II to Agnes of Saffenberg (around 1173 ) and the marriage of Henry III. Mechthild von Landenberg the family brought considerable gains in possessions. The elder branch of the Counts of Sayn died in 1246 with the death of Henry III. from. His sister Adelheid was with Gottfried III. married of Sponheim and brought the county of Sayn as heir to the Counts of Sponheim. Some possessions then fell to Gottfried's second son, Henry, or to the rule Heinberg. The grandson of Godfrey III. by his eldest son John I ( also named Gottfried ) eventually founded the younger line of the Counts of Sayn.

In 1462 the county was at feud with the county Katzenelenbogen. As part of the feud, Count Philip of Katzenelenbogen several villages and the church of Höhn destroy.

From 1500 the county of Sayn belonged to the Lower Rhenish - Westphalian Circle. Count Adolph leads in 1560 the Reformation ..

First Count of Sayn

  • Eberhard (1139-1176) ∞ Cunegonde of Isenburg Henry II (1176-1203) ∞ Agnes of Saffenburg (1173-1200) Henry III. (1202-1246) ∞ Mechthild von Landsberg
  • Adelheid von Sayn (1202-1263) ∞ I Gottfried III. of Sponheim ∞ II Eberhard of Eberstein the Elder
  • Agnes of Sayn (1202-1260) ∞ Heinrich von Blieskastel
  • Eberhard von Sayn (1249-1257) German Champion

Second Counts of Sayn from the House of Sponheim

Count Henry III. Sister Adelheid was with Gottfried III. married of Sponheim. Both grandson Godfrey I is the father of a second family of counts of Sayn.

  • Adelheid (1247-1263), married to Gottfried III. ( Count of Sponheim )
  • John I (1263-1266), Count of Sponheim, Count of Sayn. Parts of the county ( Löwenburg Freusburg ) fall to the younger brother Henry, heir of Heinberg.
  • Godfrey I (1266-1284) Among his sons was in 1294 a division of an estate held: John II inherited the county of Sayn and founded the line of the Counts of Sayn- ​​Sayn;
  • His brother Engelbert I inherited Vallendar and from maternal inheritance Homburg and founded the line of the Counts of Sayn- ​​Homburg. Through the County of Wittgenstein inherited in today's district of Siegen -Wittgenstein, the family of Sayn- ​​Homburg called from 1361 Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Counts of Sayn- ​​Sayn

  • John II (1284-1324)
  • Johann III. (1324-1359)
  • John IV (1359-1403)
  • Gerhard I. (1403-1419), his brother Reinhard was from 1385-1390 Bishop of Kulm
  • Theodor (1419-1452)
  • Gerhard II (1452-1493)
  • Gerhard III. (1493-1506), no male offspring, it inherits his brother
  • John V (1498-1529), son of Sebastian I.
  • John VI. (1529-1560), after his death, initially ruled his brother
  • Sebastian II (1529-1573), it will inherit the three sons of John VI.
  • Adolph (1560-1568)
  • Hermann (1560-1571) and
  • Henry IV (1560-1606)

Only heir is Hermann's daughter

  • Anna Elisabeth (1606-1608), married to Count William III. of Sayn -Wittgenstein

The Counts of Sayn -Wittgenstein- Sayn

Count William III. founded the line of Sayn -Wittgenstein- Sayn, which will revert to the wester forests heritage line Sayn -Sayn. The home country of Burg Sayn but was drafted by the Electorate of Trier as a completed man's fiefdom. The Wilhelm III. established line of Sayn -Wittgenstein- Sayn died with his seven- year-old grandson Ludwig 1636 already off again. After the death of Louis the possession of the line fell to the sisters and was divided by their descendants in the counties of Sayn- ​​Hachenburg and Sayn- ​​old churches.

  • William III. (reigned 1605-1623 )
  • Ernst ( reigned 1623-1632 ), son of William III. and Anna Elisabeth von Sayn, ∞ 1624 Louise Juliane of Erbach ( 1603-1670 )
  • Ludwig (who reigned from 1632 to 1636 under the tutelage of his mother Louise Juliane ), son of Ernst

The counties of Sayn- ​​Sayn- ​​Hachenburg and Old Churches

After Count Louis died without male issue, the county is divided among his sisters Johannette and Ernestine.

  • Johannette, married in second marriage with Duke Johann Georg of Saxony, the Board received the Old churches. This resulted in the county → Sayn- ​​old churches.
  • Ernestine, married to Salentin Ernst von Manderscheid, received the county → Sayn- ​​Hachenburg.

Sayn- ​​Hachenburg fell in 1799 to the Prince of Nassau- Weilburg; Sayn- ​​old churches came in 1791 in the Prussian possession and was awarded 1803 on the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss the Prince of Nassau- Usingen. In connection with the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, the two principalities of Nassau and therefore also the two saynischen counties in 1806 were united to the Duchy of Nassau. Due to the decisions on the Congress of Vienna (1815 ) was again a division. The parts of the two former saynischen counties that were old churches in today's County (Westerwald ), were transferred from Nassau to the Kingdom of Prussia and the parts of the former Sayn- ​​Hachenburg that lay in today Westerwald region remained at Nassau until this 1866 also Prussia came.

The counties were treated until the end of the Old Kingdom in 1806 as an independent principalities and managed remotely. Duke Adolf I von Nassau in 1890 to Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Since then, the title of Counts of Sayn is supported by the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg.

Territory

The county of Sayn lay on the territory of today's state of Rhineland- Palatinate. The 1605 lost ancestral homeland lay on the right middle Rhine to the Castle Sayn, Bendorf today to the city. The much larger territories were in northern Westerwald and the Middle Siegtal. Neighboring gentlemen were:

  • In the north of the Duchy of Berg and the rule Wildenburg ( Wildenburger country )
  • To the east of Nassau- Dillenburg,
  • In the south the county Wied,
  • The south of the enclave Bendorf, the Electorate of Trier,
  • The north of the enclave Bendorf, the county Isenburg
  • Electorate of Cologne in the west.

Former Premonstratensian abbey of Sayn, Kloster grave and laying

Castle Hachenburg

Cistercian monastery Marienstatt

Coat of arms

The county of Sayn and the first house Sayn had the following stem coat of arms: In a golden red, guardant lion ( Gelöwter Leopard), blue armored and gezungt, split tail. On the helmet with red -and-gold ceiling a growing golden ram's horn. It appears even today in a number of recent municipal coat of arms, for example:

City ​​Bendorf

City Hachenburg

Old Town churches

Municipality Hamm A.D. victory

Churches ( win)

Betzdorf

Herdorf

Friedewald (Westerwald )

Daaden

Ersfeld

Vallendar

Weitefeld

Rhineland-Palatinate Imperial Circle Residenz Altenkirchen Dynasty Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Sayn-Altenkirchen Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg Lower Rhine region Philip I, Count of Katzenelnbogen Protestant Reformation County of Loon Siegen-Wittgenstein John George I, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach Nassau-Usingen Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg County of Isenburg Betzdorf, Germany County of East Frisia County of Bentheim Bronkhorst County of Oldenburg County of Schaumburg County of Tecklenburg County of Virneburg Aachen Cambrai
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