County of Löwenstein-Wertheim

Origins

The counts of Löwenstein descended from Elector Frederick I of the Palatinate and his morganatic wife Clara Tott. Count Ludwig III of Löwenstein married Anna of Stolberg, heiress to the county of Wertheim, and in 1574 the couple took possession of Wertheim, creating Löwenstein-Wertheim.

Rule and society

The counts ruled lands on the Main around Wertheim and elsewhere in Franconia from the castle above the town. In 1611 the family split into a Protestant line, later called Löwenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg and then Freudenberg, and a Catholic line, Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort, raised to princes in 1711, which shared Wertheim. The territory belonged to the Franconian Circle.

Decline and legacy

In 1806 both lines were mediatised and their lands divided mainly between Baden and Bavaria. The princely families survive, and the ruined castle above Wertheim and the palace at Kleinheubach remain their landmarks.