county · Germany and Central Europe

County of Holstein

1111 CE – 1474 CE · capital Rendsburg

A north German county between the Elbe and the Eider, ruled by the Schauenburg counts, whose union with Schleswig shaped centuries of Danish-German history.

Origins

In 1111 Duke Lothair of Saxony granted the County of Holstein and Stormarn to Adolf I of Schauenburg. His successors pushed into Slavic Wagria, and Adolf II founded Lübeck in 1143. Holstein was lost to Denmark in 1201 but regained after the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227.

Rule and society

The county repeatedly divided into lines such as Holstein-Kiel, Holstein-Plön and Holstein-Rendsburg. Gerhard III the Great of Holstein-Rendsburg dominated Denmark in the 1330s, ruling Jutland until his murder in 1340. Holstein's counts gained the Duchy of Schleswig in 1386, binding the two lands together.

Decline and legacy

The Rendsburg line died out in 1459, and the estates of Schleswig and Holstein chose King Christian I of Denmark as ruler in 1460 under the Treaty of Ribe. In 1474 Emperor Frederick III raised Holstein to a duchy. The Schleswig-Holstein Question later troubled Europe until 1864.

Lineage

County of HolsteinDuchy of Holstein 1474 CE – 1864 CE

Connections (4)

More states of Germany and Central Europe →

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻