The first known count of Oldenburg was
Elimar I (d. 1108). Elimar's descendants appear as vassals, though sometimes rebellious ones, of the dukes of
Saxony; but they attained the dignity of
princes of the empire when the emperor
Frederick I dismembered the Saxon duchy in 1180. At this time, the county of
Delmenhorst formed part of the dominions of the counts of Oldenburg, but afterwards it was on several occasions separated from them to form an
appanage for younger branches of the family. This was the case between 1262 and 1447, between 1463 and 1547, and between 1577 and 1617. During the early part of the 13th century, the counts carried on a series of wars with independent, or semi-independent,
Frisian princes to the north and west of the county, which resulted in a gradual expansion of the Oldenburgian territory. The
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and the
bishop of Münster were also frequently at war with the counts of Oldenburg. In 1440, Christian succeeded his father
Dietrich, called '''', as Count of Oldenburg. In 1448 Christian was elected king of
Denmark as
Christian I, partly based on his maternal descent from previous Danish kings. Although far away from the Danish borders, Oldenburg was now a Danish
exclave. The control over the town was left to the king's brothers, who established a short reign of tyranny. In 1450, Christian became
king of Norway and in 1457,
king of Sweden. In 1460, he inherited the
Duchy of Schleswig and the
County of Holstein, an event of high importance for the future history of Oldenburg. In 1454, he handed over Oldenburg to his brother
Gerhard (about 1430–99), a wild prince, who was constantly at war with the
prince-bishop of Bremen and other neighbors. In 1483, Gerhard was compelled to abdicate in favor of his sons, and he died while on
pilgrimage in
Spain. Early in the 16th century, Oldenburg was again enlarged at the expense of the Frisians.
Lutheranism was introduced into the county by
Anthony I (1505–73, r. from 1529), who also suppressed the monasteries; however, he remained loyal to
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the
Schmalkaldic War, and was able thus to increase his territories, obtaining
Delmenhorst in 1547. One of Anthony's brothers,
Christopher (about 1506–60), won some reputation as a soldier. Anthony's grandson,
Anthony Günther (1583–1667), who succeeded in 1603, considered himself the wisest prince who had yet ruled Oldenburg.
Jever had been acquired before he became count, but in 1624 he added
Kniphausen and
Varel to his lands, with which in 1647 Delmenhorst was finally united. By his neutrality during the
Thirty Years' War and by donating valuable horses to the warlord, the
Count of Tilly, Anthony Günther secured for his dominions an immunity from the terrible devastation to which nearly all the other states of Germany were exposed. He also obtained from the emperor the right to levy
tolls on vessels passing along the
Weser, a lucrative grant which soon formed a material addition to his resources. In 1607 he erected
a schloss in the
Renaissance architectural style. After the death of Anthony Günther, Oldenburg fell again under Danish authority. Under the 1773
Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo,
Christian VII of Denmark surrendered the county to
Catherine the Great in exchange for her son and heir
Paul's share in the condominial royal-ducal government of the
Duchy of Holstein and his claims to the ducal share in the government of the
Duchy of Schleswig; Oldenburg went to
Frederick August, Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, the representative of a younger branch of the family, and in 1777 the
county was raised to the rank of a
duchy. The duke's son
William, who succeeded his father in 1785, suffered from mental illness, and his cousin
Peter, Administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, acted as regent and eventually, in 1823, inherited the throne, holding the
Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck and Oldenburg in
personal union. By the
German Mediatisation of 1803, Oldenburg acquired the
Oldenburg Münsterland and the Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck. Between 1810 and 1814, Oldenburg was occupied by
Napoleonic France. Its annexation into the
French Empire, in 1810, was one of the causes for the diplomatic rift between former allies France and
Russia, a dispute that would lead to war in 1812 and eventually to Napoleon's downfall.
Jewish history The oldest documentation of
Jews living in the Duchy of Oldenburg is dated to the Middle Ages. The
Jewish grand community of the Duchy consisted of the
Delmenhorst,
Jever,
Varel,
Vechta and
Wildeshausen communities. Other documentations report of a
Jewish deportation from
Wildeshausen at around 1348, during the time of the
Black death, though they came back short after, as mentioned in other documents
Jewish presence continued to be reported, especially in the main city of
Oldenburg but also in the villages surrounding it, and the total
Jewish community of the area of the duchy in 1900 raised to 1359, but declined to 1015 in 1925. By 1933, only 279
Jews were left in the area, and most of them were annihilated during the
Holocaust, though some survived and returned after the war. ==Aftermath==