County of Sayn

Origins

The counts of Sayn appear in 1139 with a castle above Bendorf, near Koblenz. Count Henry III of Sayn, who ruled until 1247, built up a large territory in the Westerwald and Siegerland, and was accused of heresy by Konrad of Marburg in 1233 but cleared at an imperial diet in Mainz.

Rule and society

After Henry III's death the lands passed through his sister to the Sponheim family, forming Sayn and Sayn-Wittgenstein lines. The counts ruled hilly lands with iron mines and abbeys such as Sayn Abbey and Marienstatt. They adopted the Reformation in the 16th century.

Decline and legacy

With the death of Count Henry IV in 1606 the main line ended, and the county was divided after long disputes between heirs and the Archbishopric of Trier. Sayn-Hachenburg and Sayn-Altenkirchen later passed to Nassau and Prussia. The Sayn-Wittgenstein princes survive.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.