The Ancient Feudal Principality, Princely County and Feudal County of Mansfeld

(by: Dr. Jacob von Zernickow)

Location: The seat of the feudal County of Mansfeld was situated in the modern day German town of the same name. Mansfeld was never a significant town and the nearby settlement of Eisleben enjoyed more prominence within the "Mansfeld Lander". Located in the former Prussian province of Saxony the "Mansfeld Lander" has been a major copper mining region since the 12th century. Silver was also mined there and coins were struck from metal found in the region.

In Mansfeld itself the remains of the castle and stronghold of the ancient feudal Counts of Mansfeld can be found. The castle was built at the end of the 11th century. To add to the prestige of the fief, it is recorded that Martin Luther the famous religious reformer spent his youth in Mansfeld, having moved there from his birthplace in Eisleben a small town southeast of Mansfeld. His father, Hans was a distinguished and successful smelting master and miner and leased the smelting works from the then Count of Mansfeld. Certain branches of the Counts of Mansfeld enjoyed a close relationship with the Luther family and the Reformation movement. Other members of the family enjoyed an equally zealous devotion to the Roman Catholic faith.

Mining which had become the monopoly of the Counts of Mansfeld in 1364 had declined by the 16th century. It revived somewhat after 1671 when the monopoly rights were abolished.

In 1894 the once famous Salziger See (Lake) which had an underground connection to the Mansfeld copper mines was as a consequence of this connection drained dry by the mine pumping works. The mines finally stopped production in 1969 some 770 years after mining commenced.

History of the County, Princely County and Principality

The feudal County of Mansfeld was founded in 1080 by Hoyer I. Hoyer was a strong supporter of the emperor, Henry V. He fought for Henry at Warnstadt against the Saxons and was killed in his service at Welfesholz. On his death in 1115 his only son Hoyer II succeeded to the fief. Mansfeld remained with the male descendants of Hoyer II until the death of Burkhard I in 1229. He died without male heir and the County was divided amongst his two daughters. His eldest daughter, Sophia received a portion of the County on her marriage to Burkhard II of Querfurt. The rest of the County went to his youngest daughter Gertrud who married Hermann the son of Burggraf Meinher of Misnia.

By 1304 the Misnian part of the County reverted to the Querfurt family once again uniting the County under a single owner. The first united feudal count of Mansfeld of this era was Burkhard V von Querfurt. Burkhard was the great-grandson of Sophia von Mansfeld.

Mansfeld remained as a single feudal entity in the hands of Burkhard V's descendants until Gunther II who died in 1474. On his death it was divided up between his two sons Albert III and Ernst I.

One of the most famous Counts of Mansfeld was Albert, who was the son of Ernst I. Albert, who lived from 1480 until 1560 was an intimate friend of Martin Luther and was one of the foremost supporters of the Reformation. Albert was instrumental in crushing a peasant uprising under Thomas Munzer in 1525 and was a prominent member of the Schmalkden League, which took part in the Protestant opposition to Emperor Charles V.

By 1570 the County was once again the subject of subdivision. The various parts came under the suzerainty of Saxony, Magdeburg and Halberstadt respectively. The County at this stage was elevated to "Princely County". The parts under the control of Magdeburg and Halberstadt later passed to Brandenburg.

Another prominent member of the family was Peter-Ernst (a cousin of Albert) who as governor of Luxembourg was loyal to Emperor Charles V. He fought with the emperor in France and accompanied him to Tunis. He was elevated to the dignity of Prince of Mansfeld by the emperor in 1594. He was also loyal to Charles's son Philip II and fought with him at the battle of Montacour. Another member of his family Count Wolrad von Mansfeld fought for the opposition Huguenot forces. He died in 1604 without legitimate heirs. He did however have an illegitimate son, Peter-Ernst (II), Count of Mansfeld who was to play a prominent role in the Religious conflict.

During the Thirty Years War the Peter-Ernst (II), Count of Mansfeld played a leading role as he was one of the three important "princes" who refused to sign the Mainz Accord. Under the Mainz Accord of 1621 the Protestant Union in opposition to Emperor Ferdinand (Who was a devout Roman Catholic) was dissolved.

The Count of Mansfeld who actually remained a Roman Catholic throughout his life, took over the remains of the Protestant Union's army and with the help of the English king, James I was able to defy the emperor. With his army of "English rabble" he was however eventually routed by Wallenstein in 1626 at Dessau. He died later in that year while travelling to Venice.

With his death, that line of the Mansfelds as well as the line of Ernst died out and all titles passed to the descendants of a different line of afore-mentioned Albert III. The titles of Count and Princely Count of Mansfeld were now held by Bruno III who was a distant cousin of Peter-Ernst (II). He died in 1644 and was succeeded to the Mansfeld fiefs by his son Franz-Maximilian. Π

This line of Counts was predominantly under Saxon suzerainty and remained under the control of the Querfurt family. In 1715 Mansfeld was once again elevated to princely status under Karl-Franz (son of Franz-Maximilian) as the Prince of Querfurt-Mansfeld. This line died out in 1780 with the death of Joseph-Wenzel in that same year.

In 1807 the Brandenburg portion of Mansfeld went to Westphalia which was ruled by its French ruler, Jerome Bonaparte. In 1808 the Saxon part also passed to Westphalia. By 1815 with the defeat of the French at Waterloo, Mansfeld passed in its entirety to Prussia coming under the control of the Royal family.

By the twentieth century the titles of feudal Count of Mansfeld, Princely Count of Mansfeld and Prince of Mansfeld had long been in disuse because of the loss of all of the feudal territories of the fiefs. However, the titles as incorporeal heriditaments or intangible property subsisted and continues to exist as legal property and they were held by the Hohenzollern Family Trust until 1984 when they were relinquished by deed of conveyance to the investment portfolio of a merchant bank from whom the present owners derived their ownership.