Landherrenschaft Bill- und Ochsenwärder

The Marschlande consist of various islands in the Elbe River (although dikes now connect many of them to the mainland). Many of them—Billwärder and Ochsenwärder being the largest—were acquired by Hamburg from Holstein in 1395. Shortly thereafter, they were combined into a “Landherrenschaft”, the name of which was “Bill- und Ochsenwärder—that being the shortest way of including the names of both of the largest islands. I find that to be too long for a simplified name, so I use “Marschlande”—the name that was adopted in 1830.

 

Not all of the Landherrenschaft was under Hamburg sovereignty at all times. Over different periods prior to 1768, Holstein or Holstein-Gottorp exercised sovereignty over three different parts, although Hamburg retained administrative responsibility. To accommodate those three exceptions, I create a quasi-Vogtei for each and one for the residual territory that was continually under Hamburg sovereignty and administration. After 1768, all places in the Landherrenschaft were definitively assigned to either Hamburg or Holstein-Gottorp, making the quasi-Vogteien unnecessary. The quasi-Vogteien were as follows (date ranges represent the period when either Holstein or Holstein-Gottorp was sovereign, but Hamburg exercised administrative responsibilities):

 

• Veddel (1544-1768; Hamburg sovereignty after 1768)
• Reitbrook (1724-1768; Holstein administration prior to 1724, Hamburg sovereignty after 1768);
• Kirchsteinbek (1750-1768); Holstein administration prior to 1750 and after 1768);
• Ochsenwärder; Hamburg sovereignty and administration throughout.