Kreis Halberstadt:

Gerichte and Samtgerichte

Villages that were not owned by the Bishop/Prince of Halberstadt were generally not included in the system of Ämter. I have grouped such villages that eventually were assigned to Kreis Halberstadt into two Gerichte and an artificial Quasi-Samtgericht. One Gericht, west of Halberstadt and consisting of Ströbek* and Aspenstedt*, was owned by the Halberstadt cathederal chapter. Another Gericht, southwest of Halberstadt, consists solely of the relatively large village of Langenstein. The other four small villages, two north (Aderstedt and Haus Nienburg) and two east (Emersleben and Dalldorf) of Halberstedt, make up the Quasi-Samtgericht.

 

At some point after Halberstadt’s 1701 absorption into the Kingdom of Prussia (I estimate 1753), the various Ämter and Gerichte were organized into Kreise. Gerichte Ströbek and Langenstein, and Quasi-Samtgericht Emersleben, like the nearby Ämter, were assigned to Kreis Halberstadt, where they remained until the end of the Holy Roman Empire, when the Halberstadt area was assigned to the Kingdom of Westphalia (a Napoleonic client state).

 

* One source places Ströbek in Amt Schneitlingen (also owned by the cathederal chapter) of Kreis Aschersleben. It places Aspenstedt in the Amt der Majorey of Kreis Halberstadt.

 

In 1816, beyond the scope of this project, the Kreise were reestablished. The village of Emersleben was restored to Kreis Halberstadt, but Langenstein was placed in Kreis Osterwieck and the rest were assigned to Kreis Oschersleben. In 1825, Langenstein, Aspenstedt, and Ströbek were restored to Kreis Halberstadt, which remained intact until 1932.