Kreis Ermsleben:

Ämter and Gerichte

that were never part of Regenstein

In the 13th century, Ermsleben and the surrounding territory were part of an Ascanian principality seated in Aschersleben. In 1322, after that Ascanian line had died out, the Bishop of Halberstadt acquired the territory. Some of it was organized into Amt Ermsleben, but the portion that was owned by other parties remained outside the system of Ämter. Falkenstein (named after a County that predated the Ascanians) was controlled by one family; Westdorf was controlled by another.

 

At some point after Halberstadt’s 1701 absorption into the Kingdom of Prussia (I estimate 1775), the various Ämter were organized into Kreise. Amt Ermsleben and the surrounding Gerichte (and Amt Winningen, north of Aschersleben) were assigned to Kreis Ermsleben, where they remained until the end of the Holy Roman Empire, when the Ermsleben area was assigned to the Kingdom of Westphalia (a Napoleonic client state).

 

In 1815, beyond the scope of this project, Westdorf was assigned to Kreis Aschersleben, where it remained until 1901. The villages of the former Amt Ermsleben and Gericht Falkenstein were assigned to the Mansfelder Gebirgskreis, where they remained until after World War II.