county · Germany and Central Europe

County of Diepholz

1085 CE – 1585 CE (approx.) · capital Diepholz

A small Lower Saxon county of moors and lakes south of Bremen, held by the noble lords of Diepholz until their line died out in 1585.

Origins

The lords of Diepholz are first recorded around 1085 as noble lords on the Hunte river, between Osnabrück and Bremen. Their territory lay among moors around the Dümmer lake, with a castle at Diepholz controlling a route across the marshes.

Rule and society

The lords, later counts from 1531, ruled a small, poor territory of moorland villages. They were vassals of several overlords and balanced between the bishops of Minden and Osnabrück and the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The Reformation was introduced in the 16th century.

Decline and legacy

When Count Friedrich II died without heirs in 1585, Diepholz passed by feudal right to the Brunswick-Lüneburg dukes of Celle, and later to the Electorate of Hanover. It is now part of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

County of DiepholzPrincipality of Lüneburg 1269 CE – 1705 CE

Connections (1)

More states of Germany and Central Europe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Diepholz. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-diepholz
MLA
“County of Diepholz.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-diepholz. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “County of Diepholz.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-diepholz.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Diepholz’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-diepholz (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻