The
Counts of Wernigerode had become extinct in 1429 and their lands were inherited through
Salic law by the
Counts of Stolberg, sovereign counts of the Empire since the early 11th century. On 31 May 1645, the Harz line of
Stolberg-Stolberg was divided between a senior Stolberg-Wernigerode line and a junior Stolberg-Stolberg line. Because Wernigerode was heavily damaged by the
Thirty Years' War, the Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode also resided in the castle of
Ilsenburg. The town of
Gedern in
Hesse, acquired in 1535, became the seat of the cadet branch of
Stolberg-Gedern in 1677. This junior line, raised to an imperial principality by Emperor
Charles VII of Wittelsbach in 1742, was reacquired by Stolberg-Wernigerode in 1804. The Wernigerode line also re-acquired
Stolberg-Schwarza on 14 September 1748. In 1714, Count Christian Ernest surrendered his military and the fiscal independence of Stolberg-Wernigerode to King
Frederick William I of Prussia, although he still maintained subordinated rule over his territories as a count. The county was
mediatised in 1807 and made part of the
Kingdom of Westphalia. In the 1815
Congress of Vienna, Stolberg-Wernigerode was granted to
Prussia, although successive counts retained sovereign rights until 1876. The territory was incorporated into the Prussian
Province of Saxony in 1815. The Counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode were considered
Reichsfrei. The children of
Fürsten,
Fürstinnen and
Erbprinzen (Princes and Princesses) zu Stolberg-Wernigerode bore the title of Prince(ss) zu Stolberg-Wernigerode and were
styled as
Serene Highness. Other members of this line bore the equal title of
Graf/Gräfin zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (not to be confused with ordinary Counts) and were styled as
Illustrious Highness. ==Rulers of Stolberg-Wernigerode==