Altes Land (Ecclesiastical, Royal, and Noble)

Altes Land consists of marshland along the Elbe River between Hamburg and Stade that was reclaimed by colonists from Holland in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was originally part of the County of Stade, but was acquired by the Archbishopric of Bremen in 1226. It was informally divided into three “miles”, each delimited by rivers emptying into the Elbe.

 

Altes Land had formal subdivisions—primarily 12 Hauptmannschaften and 6 Vogteien. However, the boundaries of those subdivisions are unclear and there seem to have been other subdivisions that overlapped with the above. I have not attempted to assign places to any of the smaller subdivisions. Instead, I divide them according to whether they were under the control of the Archbishop (prior to 1648), the crown (thereafter), or members of the nobility.

 

• The 6 Vogteien seem to have been under control of nobles rather than the Archbishop or the crown. They are located in the eastern part of the territory and I have designated them as Samtgericht (collective court) Altes Land Ost, with a simplified name of Altes Land (Noble). The seats of the 6 Vogteien can be identified below by the “[*]” notation.
• The Hauptmannshaften, in contrast, I have designated as Gericht Altes Land, with a simplified name of Altes Land (Ecclesiastical) prior to 1648 and Altes Land (Royal) thereafter. The seats of the Haupmannschaften can be identified below by the “[*]” notation.