Amt Barmstedt
Vogtei Barmstedt and Vogtei Elmshorn
Barmstedt may have been settled as early as 1000 and it joined Holstein-Pinneberg in 1322, becoming an Amt. After the Schaumburgian line died out in 1640, Amt Barmstedt did not become part of Herrschaft Pinneberg. Instead it was assigned to the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp and in 1649 was sold to Christian Rantzau (a Danish subject), who established the County of Rantzau.
While part of the County of Rantzau, the former Amt Barmstedt was divided into two Vogteien—the larger one in Barmstedt itself, and a smaller one consisting of Elmshorn and a few surrounding villages. After reversion to Holstein-Glückstadt in 1726, the former county assumed a status parallel to that of Herrschaft Pinneberg, becoming known as Grafschaft Rantzau, and the two Vogteien remained in place. (This is one of the rare occasions in which my convention of naming countries in English and subdivisions in German causes some confusion. “County” and “Grafschaft” mean the same thing.)
List of villages in Grafschaft Rantzau, Vogtei Barmstedt
- Aspern 1726 - 1864
- Barkhörn 1726 - 1864
- Barmstedt 1726 - 1864
- Bevern 1726 - 1864
- Bokel [Hörnerkirchen] 1726 - 1864
- Bokelseß 1726 - 1864
- Bokholt [Rantzau] 1726 - 1864
- Brande 1726 - 1864
- Bullenkuhlen 1726 - 1864
- Ekholt 1726 - 1864
- Ellerhoop 1726 - 1864
- Groß Offenseth 1726 - 1864
- Großendorf 1726 - 1864
- Hanredder 1726 - 1864
- Heede 1726 - 1864
- Hemdingen 1726 - 1864
- Hörnerkirchen 1726 - 1864
- Klein Offenseth 1726 - 1864
- Kölln 1726 - 1864
- Langeln [Rantzau] 1726 - 1864
- Lutzhorn 1726 - 1864
- Offenau 1726 - 1864
- Osterhorn 1726 - 1864
- Reiseik 1726 - 1864
- Seeth 1726 - 1864
- Sparrieshoop 1726 - 1864
- Thiensen 1726 - 1864
- Voßloch 1726 - 1864
- Westerhorn 1726 - 1864
List of villages in Grafschaft Rantzau, Vogtei Elmshorn
- Besenbek 1726 - 1864
- Elmshorn 1726 - 1864
- Kaltenweide 1726 - 1864
- Raa 1726 - 1864
- Spiekerhörn 1726 - 1864
Between the years between 1649 and 1726, when the County of Rantzau was independent, the lists for the two Vogteien were identical, but the subdivision names omitted “Grafschaft Rantzau” because it was redundant with the name of the country. Prior to 1649, the villages in both Vogetien were part of Amt Barmstedt.
Chronological list of countries to which the villages in Amt Barmstedt belonged
- County of Holstein-Pinneberg 1485 - 1640
- Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp 1640 - 1649
- County of Rantzau 1649 - 1726
- Duchy of Holstein (-Glückstadt) 1726 - 1773
- Duchy of Holstein (unified) 1773 - 1864