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Coordinates: 49°36′N 7°17′E / 49.600°N 7.283°E / 49.600; 7.283
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{{Short description|Former state in present-day Germany}}
{{Infobox Former Country
{{Infobox country
|native_name = ''Lichtenberg''
|native_name = {{lang|de|Fürstentum Lichtenberg}}
|conventional_long_name = Principality of Lichtenberg
|conventional_long_name = Principality of Lichtenberg
|common_name = Lichtenberg
|common_name = Lichtenberg
|
|continent = Europe
|country = Germany
|government_type = Monarchy
|government_type = Monarchy
|title_leader = [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince]]
|title_leader = [[House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince]]
|leader1 = [[Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha|Ernst]]
|leader1 = [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernst]]
|year_leader1 = 1815-1834
|year_leader1 = 1815-1834
|year_start = 1815
|year_start = 1815
Line 16: Line 14:
|event_end = sold to [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
|event_end = sold to [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
|date_end =
|date_end =
|p1 =
|p1 = First French Empire
|flag_p1 =
|flag_p1 = Flag of France.svg
|p2 =
|p2 =
|flag_p2 =
|flag_p2 =
|s1 = Rhine Province
|s1 = Rhine Province{{!}}Rhine Province (Prussia)
|flag_s1 = Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1826-1911).svg
|flag_s1 = Flagge Preußen - Rheinland.svg
|s2 =
|s2 =
|flag_s2 =
|flag_s2 =
|image_flag = Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1911-1920).svg
|image_flag = Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1911-1920).svg
|image_coat = Wappen Sachsen Coburg Gotha.png
|image_coat = Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg
|image_map =
|image_map = Lichtenberg.png
|image_map_caption =
|image_map_caption = '''Principality of Lichtenberg''' (in green)

|
|capital = [[Trier]]
|capital = [[Sankt Wendel]]
|national_motto =
|national_motto =
|national_anthem =
|national_anthem =
|common_languages = [[German language|German]]
|common_languages = [[German language|German]]
|stat_year1 = 1815-1834
|stat_area1 = 543.89748
|stat_pop1 =
}}
}}


The '''Principality of Lichtenberg''' ({{langx|de|Fürstentum Lichtenberg}}) on the [[Nahe (Rhine)|Nahe River]] was an exclave of the Duchy of [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] from 1816 to 1826 and the Duchy of [[Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]] from 1826 to 1834, when it was sold to the [[Kingdom of Prussia]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Lichtenberg}}</ref> Today its territories lie in two [[States of Germany]]: the [[Sankt Wendel (district)|District of St. Wendel]] in [[Saarland]] and the [[Birkenfeld (district)|District of Birkenfeld]] in [[Rhineland-Palatinate]].
The '''Principality of Lichtenberg''' was a small state of the [[German Confederation]] owned by a branch of the Saxe-Coburgs which was sold to Prussia and incorporated into the Rhine Province in 1834<ref>http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Lichtenberg</ref>

==History==
Before the [[French Revolution]] and the [[Napoleonic wars]], most of the future Principality of Lichtenberg was held by the [[Palatinate-Zweibrücken|Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken]]. The area of [[St. Wendel]] was held by the [[Electorate of Trier|Prince-Bishops of Trier]] while the [[Princes of the Holy Roman Empire|Princes]] [[House of Salm|von Salm]], as the {{lang|de|{{ill|Rheingrafschaft|lt=Rheingrafen|de}}}} (Counts of the Rhine), had [[Grumbach]] and the lands west of it. The rest of the area belonged to the [[Margraviate of Baden|Margraves of Baden]] (as the [[County of Sponheim|Counts of Sponheim]]), the [[Imperial Count]]s [[House of Leyen|von den Leyen]], and the Princes of [[Nassau-Usingen]].<ref>Thomas Höckmann, [http://www.hoeckmann.de/geschichte/nrwhist.htm Historical Map of Rhenania-Palatinate 1789], ''Historical Maps – Germany at the end of the 18th century''. The future Principality is in the middle of the bottom of the map, in the light green lands of "{{lang|de|Hztm. Pfalz-Zweibrücken}}" and the brown lands of "{{lang|de|Rheingraftschaft}}".</ref>

In the [[War of the First Coalition]] [[Napoleon]] and his {{lang|fr|[[Grande Armée]]}} overran the whole [[Left Bank of the Rhine]], which was formally ceded by Holy Roman Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]] in the 1797 [[Treaty of Campo Formio]]. At first an attempt was made to establish a [[Cisrhenian Republic|Cisrhenian]] [[sister republic]] but in 1801 (in the [[Treaty of Lunéville]]) the land was annexed to the [[First French Republic]], which became the [[First French Empire]] in 1804. The future Lichtenberger lands became part of the {{lang|fr|[[Sarre (department)|Département de la Sarre]]}} in 1798. The new {{lang|fr|Département}} lasted until the 1814 defeat of Napoleon at the [[Battle of Waterloo]].

At the [[Congress of Vienna]] (1815), most of the Left Bank went to [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]] ({{lang|de|[[Rheinkreis]]}}), [[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse]] ([[Rhenish Hesse]]) and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] (initially as the [[Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine]] and [[Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg]]; these became the [[Rhine Province]] in 1822). However, three smaller territories were also established between the Prussian and Bavarian territories: [[Principality of Birkenfeld|Birkenfeld]] went to [[Grand Duchy of Oldenburg|Oldenburg]], [[Meisenheim]] went to [[Hesse-Homburg]] and what would become the Principality of Lichtenberg was given to Duke [[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Ernest III]] of [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]. He received as a reward for his services as a general in the battles against Napoleon, a large estate of {{convert|8.25|sqmi}} and approximately 22,000 residents of St. Wendel and [[Baumholder]], at first under the name of {{lang|de|[[Herrschaft (territory)|Herrschaft]] Baumholder}}. On 11 September 1816 the possession was made official.

By the decree of Ernest III, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, on 6 March 1819, the area would be renamed as the Principality of Lichtenberg after [[Lichtenberg Castle (Palatinate)|Lichtenberg Castle]] (between [[Baumholder]] and [[Kusel]]).

St. Wendel was the seat of government. It was also the residence of [[Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]] (Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld), who lived there from 1824 until her death in 1831. Divorced in 1826, she was the mother of [[Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha|Prince Ernest]], the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]], the future husband of [[Queen Victoria]], who both spent some of their childhood in St. Wendel.

In 1817, the territories were divided into three [[canton (country subdivision)|canton]]s and 15 {{lang|de|Burgermeistereien}} (mayoralties).

In 1826, the Principality of Lichtenberg went from one duchy to another, during the extensive rearrangement of the [[Ernestine duchies]] and Ernest III, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield, became Ernest I, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Because of political unrest in St. Wendel on 31 May 1834 and the great distance from the rest of the Duchy, the Duke, Ernest I, sold the Principality to Prussia on 15 August 1834 for the annuity of 80,000 [[Thaler|taler]]s. Most of the proceeds were used for the expansion of the ducal possessions in [[Grein, Austria|Grein]] ([[Upper Austria]]). The Kingdom of Prussia annexed the lands as {{lang|de|[[Districts of Prussia|Kreis]] Sankt Wendel}} (District; {{lit|Circle}}), which became part of the [[Trier (region)|Trier region]] ({{lang|de|[[Regierungsbezirk]]}}) of the Rhine Province.

==Territories==
* Area: 537&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (207.34&nbsp;mi<sup>2</sup>)
* Population: {{circa|25,000}}
* Communities: There were about a hundred municipalities in the Principality.<ref>{{in lang|de}} Names of the municipalities from: ''[http://www.gemeindeverzeichnis.de/gem1900/gem1900.htm?rheinprovinz/sankt-wendel.htm Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland 1900]'' [Directories of the Communities of Germany] - ''Königreich'' [Kingdom of] Preußen - ''Rheinprovinz'' - ''Regierungsbezirk'' Trier - ''Landkreis'' Sankt Wendel, from: gemeindeverzeichnis.de; Locations of the same municipalities from: ''Planungsatlas Rheinland-Pfalz'' [''Planning Atlas of Rhineland-Palatinate''] (''Deutscher Planungsatlas Band VII'' [German Planning Atlases, Volume VII]), edited by the ''Akademie für Raumforschung und Landespflege'' [Academy of Regional Research and Preservation], Hanover, in cooperation with the ''Staatskanzlei Rheinland-Pfalz'' [State Chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate] (Hanover: ''Gebruder'' [The Brothers] Jänecke, 1965), ''Karte'' [Map] IX-2</ref>

Today the territories are in the following States of Germany:

In the Saarland

* The City of St. Wendel without, until 1947, the Palatinate localities of Bubach, Hoof, Marth, Niederkirchen, Osterbrücken and Saal;
* The Municipality of [[Freisen]] without the localities of Asweiler and Eitzweiler;
* The Municipality of [[Marpingen]] without the locality of Berschweiler;
* The Municipality of [[Namborn]] without the locality of Hirstein;
* The Municipality of [[Oberthal, Saarland|Oberthal]] without the locality of Steinberg-Deckenhardt;
* From the City of [[Ottweiler]], the ward of Fürth with Wetschhausen, Mainzweiler and Steinbach.

In Rhineland-Palatinate:
* The whole ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (municipal association of) Baumholder;
* all the now-defunct municipalities in the area of the military training base of Baumholder;
* From the city of [[Idar-Oberstein]], the wards of Hammerstein, Kirchen-, Mittel- and Nahbollenbach as well as Weierbach;
* From the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' [[Herrstein]], the Municipalities of [[Dickesbach]], [[Mittelreidenbach]], [[Oberreidenbach]], [[Schmidthachenbach]], [[Sien, Germany|Sien]] (with Sienerhöfe), [[Sienhachenbach]];
* From the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Kusel, the local municipalities of [[Pfeffelbach]], [[Reichweiler]], [[Ruthweiler]] and [[Thallichtenberg]] (with Burglichtenberg);
* From the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' [[Lauterecken]], the Municipalities of [[Buborn]], [[Deimberg]], [[Grumbach]], [[Hausweiler]], [[Herren-Sulzbach]], [[Homberg, Kusel|Homberg]], [[Kappeln]], [[Kirrweiler]], [[Langweiler, Kusel|Langweiler]], [[Merzweiler]], Niederalben, [[Unterjeckenbach]] and [[Wiesweiler]]
* From the local municipality of [[Offenbach-Hundheim]], the locality of Offenbach and
* From the local municipality of [[Glanbrücken]], the locality of Niedereisenbach.

==Government==
* Christoph Arzberger (1772-1822), astronomer, educator, professor of mathematics at the [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] [[Casimirianum Coburg|Casimirianum]] in Coburg, Privy Councilor and President of the Administration of the Principality of Lichtenberg 1821-1822 and ''Kammerpräsident'' [President of the Cabinet] of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 1821-1822


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{in lang|de}} Gerhard Köbler, ''Historisches Lexikon der Deutschen Länder: die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart'' [''Historical Dictionary of the German States: The German Territories from the Middle Ages to the Present''] ([[Munich]]: Verlag [[C.H. Beck]], 2007), {{ISBN|978-3-406-54986-1}}, p.&nbsp;375.
* {{in lang|de}} Friedrich August Lottner, ''Sammlung der für das Fürstenthum Lichtenberg vom Jahre 1816 bis 1834 ergangenen herzoglich Sachsen-Coburg-Gothaischen Verordnungen'' [''Collection of the Orders Issued to the Principality of Lichtenberg between the years 1816 and 1834 by the Ordinances of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha''] ([[Berlin]]: ''Sandersche Buchhandlung'' [Sander Bookshop], 1836) [https://books.google.com/books?id=Sn1DAAAAcAAJ (Google Books)]

==External links==
* {{in lang|de}} Bibliography about the [http://swb.bsz-bw.de/DB=2.306//SRCH?IKT=29&TRM=F%C3%BCrstentum+Lichtenberg&COOKIE=U998,Pbszgast,I17,B0728+,SY,NRecherche-DB,D2.306,E84ba22bf-0,A,H,R193.197.31.15,FY Principality of Lichtenberg] in the ''Saarländischen Bibliographie'' [Bibliography of the Saarland]

{{coord|49|36|N|7|17|E|type:country_region:DE_dim:50000|display=title}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate]]
[[cs:Knížectví Lichtenberg]]
[[de:Fürstentum Lichtenberg]]
[[el:Πριγκιπάτο Λίχτενμπεργκ]]
[[nl:Vorstendom Lichtenberg]]

Latest revision as of 13:17, 28 October 2024

Principality of Lichtenberg
Fürstentum Lichtenberg
1815–1834
Flag of Lichtenberg
Flag
Coat of arms of Lichtenberg
Coat of arms
Principality of Lichtenberg (in green)
Principality of Lichtenberg (in green)
CapitalSankt Wendel
Common languagesGerman
GovernmentMonarchy
Prince 
• 1815-1834
Ernst
History 
1815
• sold to Prussia
1834
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
First French Empire
Rhine Province (Prussia)

The Principality of Lichtenberg (German: Fürstentum Lichtenberg) on the Nahe River was an exclave of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld from 1816 to 1826 and the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1826 to 1834, when it was sold to the Kingdom of Prussia.[1] Today its territories lie in two States of Germany: the District of St. Wendel in Saarland and the District of Birkenfeld in Rhineland-Palatinate.

History

[edit]

Before the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, most of the future Principality of Lichtenberg was held by the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken. The area of St. Wendel was held by the Prince-Bishops of Trier while the Princes von Salm, as the Rheingrafen [de] (Counts of the Rhine), had Grumbach and the lands west of it. The rest of the area belonged to the Margraves of Baden (as the Counts of Sponheim), the Imperial Counts von den Leyen, and the Princes of Nassau-Usingen.[2]

In the War of the First Coalition Napoleon and his Grande Armée overran the whole Left Bank of the Rhine, which was formally ceded by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II in the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio. At first an attempt was made to establish a Cisrhenian sister republic but in 1801 (in the Treaty of Lunéville) the land was annexed to the First French Republic, which became the First French Empire in 1804. The future Lichtenberger lands became part of the Département de la Sarre in 1798. The new Département lasted until the 1814 defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

At the Congress of Vienna (1815), most of the Left Bank went to Bavaria (Rheinkreis), Hesse (Rhenish Hesse) and Prussia (initially as the Grand Duchy of the Lower Rhine and Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg; these became the Rhine Province in 1822). However, three smaller territories were also established between the Prussian and Bavarian territories: Birkenfeld went to Oldenburg, Meisenheim went to Hesse-Homburg and what would become the Principality of Lichtenberg was given to Duke Ernest III of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He received as a reward for his services as a general in the battles against Napoleon, a large estate of 8.25 square miles (21.4 km2) and approximately 22,000 residents of St. Wendel and Baumholder, at first under the name of Herrschaft Baumholder. On 11 September 1816 the possession was made official.

By the decree of Ernest III, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, on 6 March 1819, the area would be renamed as the Principality of Lichtenberg after Lichtenberg Castle (between Baumholder and Kusel).

St. Wendel was the seat of government. It was also the residence of Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld), who lived there from 1824 until her death in 1831. Divorced in 1826, she was the mother of Prince Ernest, the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Prince Albert, the future husband of Queen Victoria, who both spent some of their childhood in St. Wendel.

In 1817, the territories were divided into three cantons and 15 Burgermeistereien (mayoralties).

In 1826, the Principality of Lichtenberg went from one duchy to another, during the extensive rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies and Ernest III, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield, became Ernest I, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Because of political unrest in St. Wendel on 31 May 1834 and the great distance from the rest of the Duchy, the Duke, Ernest I, sold the Principality to Prussia on 15 August 1834 for the annuity of 80,000 talers. Most of the proceeds were used for the expansion of the ducal possessions in Grein (Upper Austria). The Kingdom of Prussia annexed the lands as Kreis Sankt Wendel (District; lit. 'Circle'), which became part of the Trier region (Regierungsbezirk) of the Rhine Province.

Territories

[edit]
  • Area: 537 km2 (207.34 mi2)
  • Population: c. 25,000
  • Communities: There were about a hundred municipalities in the Principality.[3]

Today the territories are in the following States of Germany:

In the Saarland

  • The City of St. Wendel without, until 1947, the Palatinate localities of Bubach, Hoof, Marth, Niederkirchen, Osterbrücken and Saal;
  • The Municipality of Freisen without the localities of Asweiler and Eitzweiler;
  • The Municipality of Marpingen without the locality of Berschweiler;
  • The Municipality of Namborn without the locality of Hirstein;
  • The Municipality of Oberthal without the locality of Steinberg-Deckenhardt;
  • From the City of Ottweiler, the ward of Fürth with Wetschhausen, Mainzweiler and Steinbach.

In Rhineland-Palatinate:

Government

[edit]
  • Christoph Arzberger (1772-1822), astronomer, educator, professor of mathematics at the Gymnasium Casimirianum in Coburg, Privy Councilor and President of the Administration of the Principality of Lichtenberg 1821-1822 and Kammerpräsident [President of the Cabinet] of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld 1821-1822

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lichtenberg" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Thomas Höckmann, Historical Map of Rhenania-Palatinate 1789, Historical Maps – Germany at the end of the 18th century. The future Principality is in the middle of the bottom of the map, in the light green lands of "Hztm. Pfalz-Zweibrücken" and the brown lands of "Rheingraftschaft".
  3. ^ (in German) Names of the municipalities from: Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland 1900 [Directories of the Communities of Germany] - Königreich [Kingdom of] Preußen - Rheinprovinz - Regierungsbezirk Trier - Landkreis Sankt Wendel, from: gemeindeverzeichnis.de; Locations of the same municipalities from: Planungsatlas Rheinland-Pfalz [Planning Atlas of Rhineland-Palatinate] (Deutscher Planungsatlas Band VII [German Planning Atlases, Volume VII]), edited by the Akademie für Raumforschung und Landespflege [Academy of Regional Research and Preservation], Hanover, in cooperation with the Staatskanzlei Rheinland-Pfalz [State Chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate] (Hanover: Gebruder [The Brothers] Jänecke, 1965), Karte [Map] IX-2

Bibliography

[edit]
  • (in German) Gerhard Köbler, Historisches Lexikon der Deutschen Länder: die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart [Historical Dictionary of the German States: The German Territories from the Middle Ages to the Present] (Munich: Verlag C.H. Beck, 2007), ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1, p. 375.
  • (in German) Friedrich August Lottner, Sammlung der für das Fürstenthum Lichtenberg vom Jahre 1816 bis 1834 ergangenen herzoglich Sachsen-Coburg-Gothaischen Verordnungen [Collection of the Orders Issued to the Principality of Lichtenberg between the years 1816 and 1834 by the Ordinances of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha] (Berlin: Sandersche Buchhandlung [Sander Bookshop], 1836) (Google Books)
[edit]

49°36′N 7°17′E / 49.600°N 7.283°E / 49.600; 7.283

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