county · Germany and Central Europe
County of Solms-Braunfels
Origins
The counts of Solms, named after a stream near Wetzlar, divided their lands around 1258. One line took Braunfels castle above the Lahn as its seat and became the counts of Solms-Braunfels, ruling lands between Wetzlar and the Taunus, held directly from the Empire.
Rule and society
The county was small and rural, with farming, forests and some iron mining. Its counts, often serving as officers in foreign armies, inherited other Solms lands such as Greifenstein and Hungen. They adopted the Reformed Protestant faith. In 1742 the head of the family, Friedrich Wilhelm, was raised to the rank of imperial prince.
Decline and legacy
Solms-Braunfels was mediatised in 1806 and divided between Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt, with the Nassau part passing to Prussia in 1815. In 1845 Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels led German settlers to Texas, founding New Braunfels.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- County of Solms-Braunfels was part of Holy Roman Empire1258 CE – 1806 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Solms-Braunfels. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-solms-braunfels
- MLA
- “County of Solms-Braunfels.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-solms-braunfels. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “County of Solms-Braunfels.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-solms-braunfels.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Solms-Braunfels’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-solms-braunfels (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻