principality · France and the Low Countries
Principality of Salm
Origins
The counts of Salm, a branch of the Wild- and Rhinegraves, held lands in the Vosges around Senones and Badonviller. In 1623 Philip Otto of Salm was made a prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and the territory became a principality.
Rule and society
The principality was a small mountain land of forests, ironworks and later textile workshops. Its life centred on Senones and its Benedictine abbey, whose abbot Dom Augustin Calmet was a celebrated scholar. In 1751 the territory was reorganised and Senones became the princes' residence, with a modest court.
Decline and legacy
Surrounded by Revolutionary France and cut off by its blockade, the inhabitants voted to join France, and the French First Republic annexed the principality in 1793. The Salm-Salm princes received compensation in Westphalia.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Principality of Salm was part of Holy Roman Empire1623 CE – 1793 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Salm. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-salm
- MLA
- “Principality of Salm.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-salm. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Salm.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-salm.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Salm’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-salm (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻