Grafschaft Delmenhorst

In the early 13th century, settlers along the Weser River (known as “Stedinger”) rebelled against their nominal ruler, the Archbishop of Bremen. The Archbishop recruited the Count of Oldenburg to help subdue the Stedinger and they succeeded in 1234. Thereafter, the Archbishop largely withdrew from the west bank of the Weser. Delmenhorst castle was built shortly after the Stedinger War and served as the seat of a county of the same name. The core of that county became known as Hausvogtei Delmenhorst. The parish of Stuhr, southeast of the castle, formed a separate Vogtei, which thereafter remained attached to Delmenhorst. Stadt Delmenhorst received city rights in 1371.

 

The core of the former Stedinger territory was organized into two Vogteien (Berne and Altenesch) that shifted back and forth between Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. Between 1414 and 1447, Delmenhorst was administered by the Archbishopric and it seems likely that Berne and Altenesch were part of that arrangement. Between 1476 and 1547, the Bishop of Münster controlled Delmenhorst, but Berne and Altenesch were likely attached to Oldenburg during that period. In 1547 (when the database starts), the Oldenburg and Delmenhorst entered into a personal union. After that, Berne and Altenesch were assigned strictly to Delmenhorst, even between 1577 and 1647 when Delmenhorst was spun off as a nonsovereign county.

 

When Oldenburg became a duchy in 1774, the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst retained their identities as subdivisions of the duchy. However, because I render subdivision names in German, the Delmenhorst subdivision is “Grafschaft Delmenhorst”, in contrast to the prior country name of “County of Delmenhorst”.