county · Germany and Central Europe

County of Manderscheid-Blankenheim

1488 CE – 1794 CE (approx.) · capital Blankenheim

An Eifel county of the counts of Manderscheid, centred on Blankenheim castle at the source of the Ahr.

Origins

The lords of Manderscheid in the Eifel acquired Blankenheim and its castle by marriage in the 15th century and were raised to counts in 1457. In 1488 their lands were divided, creating the Manderscheid-Blankenheim line alongside other branches such as Manderscheid-Schleiden.

Rule and society

The counts ruled a small, wooded territory in the Eifel with iron mining and smelting, and belonged to the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle. They remained Catholic, and Johann of Manderscheid-Blankenheim served as bishop of Strasbourg from 1569. The later counts gathered a notable library and collection of Roman antiquities at Blankenheim.

Decline and legacy

The male line died out in 1780, and the lands passed by marriage to the Sternberg family of Bohemia. French occupation of the left bank of the Rhine in 1794 ended the county, which later became part of Prussia.

Connections (2)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻