Kloster(amt)/Amt Zeven

Samtgericht Rhade & Gerichte Gyhum, Kuhmühlen, and Ober Ochtenhausen

An abbey (Kloster) was established in Heeslingen in the late 10th century under the authority of the Archbishop of Bremen. Its secular holdings eventually constituted a “Börde”. In the 12th century, the Kloster moved to what became the town of Zeven. The town itself and a few surrounding villages were considered outside of Börde Heeslingen, but did not themselves constitute a separate Börde. I characterize them as Quasi-Börde Zeven. As a result of the Thirty-Years War, the Kloster was secularized. The territory of both Zeven and Heeslingen was turned over to a series of Swedish citizens (one of whom was a former queen) and given the status of Klosteramt. In 1689, it reverted to the crown and was established as a formal Amt.

 

In 1728, three new Börden—Elsdorf, Selsingen, and Sittensen—were transferred to Amt Zeven from Amt Bremervörde. The motive was apparently to even out the territory of Amt Zeven with its neighboring Ämter. (The territory of Quasi-Vogtei Zeven was never recharacterized as either a formal Börde or Vogtei. After the creation of the Amt, however, I recharacterize it as a Hausvogtei–a term that seems never to have been applied to it, but was applied to analogous territories in Amt Harsefeld and Amt Bremervörde.)

 

Two of the Börden added to Amt Zeven had already undergone some changes. In 1639, two villages had left Börde Sittensen to become the noble Gericht of Kuhmühlen. It was never reintegrated into Amt Zeven. In 1711, the village of Ober Ochtenhausen had left Börde Selsingen to become a noble Gericht. It was reintegrated into Amt Zeven in 1768.

 

West of Zeven is the noble multi-village Gericht of Rhade and the noble single-village Gericht of Badenstedt, which I combine into Samtgericht Rhade. (The Gericht status of Badenstedt is signified by the [*] notation.) Gericht Gyhum is located south of Zeven.