County/Duchy of Oldenburg

The County of Oldenburg emerged in the 12th century around the city of the same name, becoming the core of Oldenburgian Germany. It expanded its territory after the Stedinger War in 1234 and again in 1514 with the acquisition of Stadland and Butjadingerland. All of those new territories underwent extensive diking over the centuries to create more habitable land. I begin the database for Oldenburg in 1529, when the first Protestant count began his rule. After that, territory was gained and lost as follows:

 

• In 1577, Oldenburg spun off Amt Varel, Hausevogtei Delmenhorst, and the Vogteien of Berne, Altenesch, and Stuhr as the nonsovereign County of Delmenhorst. That county reverted to Oldenburg in 1647.
• In 1654, the Count of Oldenburg gave administrative responsibilities (but not sovereignty) over Amt Varel to his illegitimate son, who went on to found the Aldenburg line. I name the resulting nonsovereign country Oldenburg-Aldenburg. It was enlarged the following year by the addition of Vogtei Jade. When the County of Oldenburg became Danish in 1667, the Aldenburg lands were excluded, becoming subdivisions of a fully sovereign Lordship of Kniphausen.
• In 1669, Oldenburg traded Vogtei Schwei to Kniphausen in exchange for ownership of various estates scattered throughout Oldenburg.
• In 1678, Oldenburg gave administrative responsibilities for Vogtei Rastede to Kniphausen (creating the country of Oldenburg-Kniphausen).
• In 1680, after the death of the Count of Aldenburg, Oldenburg reasserted its claims over all Kniphausen territory that had been under Oldenburg sovereignty prior to 1667. A 1693 treaty confirmed Oldenburg’s sovereignty claims, but left administrative responsibility for Amt Varel with Kniphausen (perpetuating the country of Oldenburg-Kniphausen, albeit with entirely different territory).
• Between 1711 and 1731, the Electorate of Hannover had administrative responsibility for the Vogteien of Hatten, Wardenburg, Wüstenland, and Zwischenahn (creating the country of Oldenburg-Hannover).

 

In 1699, Denmark implemented a reform of the local governments. Some units were consolidated and others were retained, but placed under higher-level entities. In 1773, the entire county was traded by Denmark to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in exchange for his Holstein lands. That trade returned the county to Oldenburgian Germany and unified Holstein in Danish Germany. The following year, Oldenburg was raised to a duchy, with Grafschäfte Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (the former counties) as subdivisions. The local government structure under those subdivisions, however, remained unchanged.

 

In 1803, Amt Wildeshausen was added from the Electorate of Hannover and the Ämter of Vechta and Cloppenburg were added from the former Bishopric of Münster. The latter two will be processed as part of the Lower Münster region. The duchy also entered into a personal union with the newly-created Principality of Lübeck (the secularized Bishopric of Lübeck), which was located in Holstein (country name—Lübeck-Oldenburg). The database for Oldenburg ends in 1811 with the French occupation.

 

After the Napoleonic Wars, Oldenburg was raised to a Grand Duchy and enhanced with the following territory:

• The core Landesteil (the territory of the former duchy) received the territory of the former Lordships of Jever and Kniphausen.
• The Principality of Lübeck was fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy as a remote Landesteil.
• The Principality of Birkenfeld was created and fully incorporated into the Grand Duchy as a remote Landesteil.

In 1871, the Grand Duchy became a constituent state of the German Empire. It was converted to a Free State in 1918, when the Weimar Republic was created. After World War II, Oldenburg was incorporated into the State of Lower Saxony.