Holstein

Coats of arms of counts of Holstein

Holstein (Hol-shtayn) (Low German: Holsteen, Danish: Holsten, Latin and historical English: Holsatia) is the southern part of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, between the rivers Elbe and Eider. The capital of Holstein is Kiel. The city of Hamburg lies directly to the South.

Its name came from the Low German equivalent of Anglo Saxon Holt-sǣtan = "dwellers in the wood".

Holstein - basically the part of Saxony that was situated north of the river Elbe - was conquered by Charlemagne around the year 800. From 804 it was a sovereign country, under few terms the sovereign family gave up the land, not the style and titles, in 1110. It was from 1111–1474 a County of the Holy Roman Empire, although occupied by Denmark during the early years of the 13th century, and thereafter an Imperial (reichsunmittelbar) Duchy until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806. Since 1460 Holstein was, along with the Danish Duchy of Schleswig, inherited by the Kings of Denmark, who reigned the territories as Dukes (and not as kings). The two duchies were both further divided after they were inherited by the Kings of Denmark, with some parts under the control of the Kings of Denmark, and other parts under the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet line of the family. The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp was forced to give up his lands in Schleswig to the Kings of Denmark following the Great Northern War in 1720, but he moved to Kiel and retained his lands in Holstein until 1773. But the Danes were eager to round out their possessions, especially after the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp became Emperor of Russia in 1762 as Peter III and was planning an attack on Denmark to recover the lost Gottorp lands in Schleswig. Although Peter was soon overthrown by his wife, Catherine the Great, the Danes determined to rid themselves of this problem. In 1773, they exchanged the County of Oldenburg for the Gottorp lands in Holstein, bringing all of Holstein under their control.

From 1815 to 1864 the Duchy of Holstein was part of the German Confederation, though still in personal union with Denmark (the King of Denmark being also Duke of Holstein). Following the death of King Frederick VII of Denmark in 1863, the inheritance of Schleswig and Holstein was disputed. The new king, Christian IX, made his claim to the Danish throne through a female line. The Duke of Augustenborg, a minor scion from another line of the family, claimed the Duchies, and soon the German Confederation, led by Prussia and Austria, went to war with Denmark, quickly defeating it in 1864 and forcing it to cede the duchies. However, the duchies were not given to the Duke of Augustenborg. In 1865 an arrangement was worked out between Prussia and Austria where the Austrians occupied and administered Holstein, while the Prussians did the same in Schleswig. This arrangement came to an end with the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which resulted in Schleswig and Holstein both being incorporated into Prussia.

External links

* Map of Schleswig-Holstein in 1730