Herrschaft Beilstein

Herrshaft Beilstein grew out of the Kalenberger Zent, which initially consisted of the parishes of Beilstein and Nenderoth and the village of Obershausen—later joined by the rest of the parish of Niedershausen. The Zent had been passed among different countries since the 11th century, but in 1343 became part of the Ottonian County of Nassau-Beilstein. In 1561, Beilstein became the last of the Ottonian counties to be absorbed by Dillenburg into a unified county.

 

Within the unified county, the former Beilstein territory was divided into two judicial districts. The eastern district, which I call “Herrschaft Beilstein”, consisted of the parishes formerly part of the Kalenberger Zent along with the parish of Mengerskirchen. When the Ottonian lands were partitioned in 1607, the County of Beilstein reemerged. For lack of better information, I retain “Herrschaft Beilstein” as a subdivision thereof. When the Beilstein line died out in 1620, most of its territory fell to the County of Dietz, where it became Amt Beilstein. The exception was the Mengerskirchen parish, which was transferred in stages (half in 1620 and half in 1628) to the County of Hadamar. I treat the rest of Herrschaft Beilstein as a subdivision of Amt Beilstein.

 

The village of Rückershausen was added in 1773 as part of a trade with the County of Nassau-Weilstein (from the Walmerian line). When Amt Beilstein and its subdivisions were abolished in 1782 (after the Ottonian lands had again been reunited—this time under Dietz) the Beilstein parish was assigned to Amt Driedorf in Landesteil Dillenburg and the parishes of Nenderoth and Niedershausen were assigned to Amt Ellar-Mengerskirchen in Landesteil Hadamar.