The
County of Schaumburg originated as a
medieval county, which was founded at the beginning of the 12th century. It was named after
Schauenburg Castle, near
Rinteln on the
Weser, where the owners started calling themselves
Lords (from 1295
Counts) of Schauenburg.
Adolf I probably became the first
Lord of
Schauenburg in 1106. In 1110,
Adolf I, Lord of Schauenburg was appointed by
Lothair, Duke of Saxony to hold
Holstein and
Stormarn, including
Hamburg, as
fiefs. In a battle with Denmark, however,
Adolf III became prisoner of the king
Valdemar II, to whom he had to give Holstein in exchange for his freedom. In 1227 Adolf III's son,
Adolf IV, recovered the lost lands from Denmark. Subsequently, the
House of Schaumburg were also counts of Holstein and its partitions
Holstein-Itzehoe,
Holstein-Kiel,
Holstein-Pinneberg (till 1640),
Holstein-Plön,
Holstein-Segeberg and
Holstein-Rendsburg (till 1460) and through the latter at times also the dukes of
Schleswig.
Partitions of Holstein Holstein partitions of 1261 and 1273 After 1261 the previously jointly ruling brothers
Gerhard I and the elder
John I divided the Counties of Holstein and Schauenburg (Schaumburg). Gerhard I received the Counties of
Holstein-Itzehoe and Schaumburg, whereas John received the County of
Holstein-Kiel. After the death of John I, his sons Adolphus V and John II reigned jointly in Holstein-Kiel. In 1273 they partitioned Holstein-Kiel and John II continued ruling over Kiel; Adolphus V
the Pomeranian then received
Segeberg (aka County of
Stormarn). After the death of Adolphus V, Holstein-Segeberg was reincorporated into Holstein-Kiel.
Holstein partition of 1290 and reversions of 1350 and 1390 After Gerhard I's death in 1290 his three younger sons partitioned Holstein-Itzehoe and Schaumburg into three branches, with
Adolph VI the Elder, the third brother, getting Holstein-
Pinneberg and
Schaumburg south of the Elbe, the second brother
Gerhard II the Blind getting Holstein-
Plön, and the fourth
Henry I receiving Holstein-
Rendsburg. The eldest brother John was
Canon at the
Hamburg Cathedral. After the death of Gerhard II his sons
Gerhard IV and his younger half-brother
John III the Mild inherited and ruled in Holstein-Plön together. In 1316 the brothers militarily seized the possessions of
John II the One-Eyed (d. 1321) in Holstein-Kiel, whose sons had been killed. John III
the Mild, before a second-born co-ruling count in Plön, then received Kiel from the deposed John II
the One-Eyed, a cousin of his father Gerhard II
the Blind. Gerhard IV continued ruling Holstein-Plön as sole count. After the death of John III's nephew
Gerhard V, Count of Holstein-Plön in 1350, who had succeeded Gerhard IV, the Plön line became extinct and John III re-inherited their possessions. In 1390 his son
Adolphus IX (aka VII) ruling since 1359 Kiel including Plön, died without issue and thus
Nicholas (Claus) of Holstein-Rendsburg and his nephews
Albert II and
Gerhard VI (jointly ruling till 1397) succeeded to the territories of Holstein-Kiel and Holstein-Plön.
Holstein partition of 1397 and the extinction of the Rendsburg line in 1459 In 1390 the
Holstein-Rendsburg line had assembled the larger part of the partitioned Holstein counties, to wit Kiel, Plön and Segeberg, but not
Holstein-Pinneberg, which existed until 1640. Members of the Rendsburg family branch were often also simply titled as
Counts of Holstein after 1390. For the Pinneberg family branch, usually residing in the County of Schaumburg, the titling after Schaumburg started to prevail. In 1397 after the death of their uncle
Nicholas (Claus), with whom the nephews
Albert II and the elder
Gerhard VI had jointly ruled Holstein-Rendsburg, they partitioned Holstein-Segeberg (aka county of Stormarn) from Holstein-Rendsburg, with Albert receiving the new branch county in return for waiving his co-rule in Rendsburg. After Albert's death in 1403 Segeberg reverted to Rendsberg. In 1459, with the death of
Adolphus XI (aka VIII), the Rendsburg branch was extinct in the male line and the nobility of Holstein-Rendburg and of Schleswig then assigned the succession to his sister's son King
Christian I of Denmark,
House of Oldenburg.
The last Schauenburg line ruling Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg till 1640 After King
Christian I of Denmark,
House of Oldenburg had been chosen as heir to the County of Holstein-Rendsburg Christian ascended to the comital throne in 1460. In 1474
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, elevated Christian I from Count of Holstein-Rendsburg to Duke of Holstein. For his succession in the Duchy of Holstein see List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein#House of Oldenburg (1460–1544). The Schauenburg line in the Counties of Holstein-Pinneberg and Schaumburg persisted until its extinction in the male line in 1640. This line is also known as
Holstein-Schauenburg. The Counts were elevated to Princes of Schaumburg in 1619/1620, however, the Dukes of Holstein opposed the transition of that title to the County of Holstein-Pinneberg.
Schaumburg partition of 1640 After the death in 1640 of Count Otto V without children, the rule of the
House of Schaumburg ended in Holstein. The County of Holstein-Pinneberg was merged under
Christian IV with his
royal share in the Duchy of Holstein, which is now part of the state of
Schleswig-Holstein. For Christian IV and his successors see List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein#House of Oldenburg (1640–1713) The Principality of Schaumburg proper, however, was partitioned among the
agnatic Schauenburg heirs into three parts, one incorporated into the
Principality of Lüneburg of the
Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, the second becoming the County of
Schaumburg-Lippe and the third continuing the name
County of Schaumburg, ruled in
personal union by
Hesse-Cassel. All the three are now part of the state of
Lower Saxony. The
Sovereign Lordship of
Gemen, in 1531 acquired for Schaumburg through marriage by
Jobst I, and ruled by his second-born son of
Jobst II (ca. 1520–1581, regnant since 1531), passed on to the family of
Limburg Stirum. Gemen is in today's
North Rhine-Westphalia. ===
House of Schauenburg===
Partitions of Holstein and Schauenburg under Schauenburg rule Table of rulers ==See also==