Landschaft Süderdithmarschen

After the Danes overthrew the Peasant Republic of Dithmarschen in 1559, the territory was divided along a north-south axis among the King, the Duke of Gottorp, and the Duke of Hadersleben. (The partition took nearly 10 years to finalize, but I apply it retroactively to 1559.) Süderdithmarschen (which was not a formal name at the time—merely a description of its location on the north-south axis) was awarded to the King.

 

After the Duke of Hadersleben’s death, his territory (Mitteldithmarschen) was repartitioned in 1581 between the King and the Duke of Gottorp by maintaining the same north-south concept used in the original partition. At that point, Süderdithmarchen was formally organized as a Landschaft (functionally equivalent to an Amt). The Landschaft expanded slightly over the years as additional land was reclaimed.