Mediatized Houses

The Mediatized Houses (German: Standesherren) were ruling princely and comital-ranked houses which were mediatized in the Holy Roman Empire during the period of 1806–15 as part of the German Mediatization, and were later recognised in 1825-29 by the German ruling houses as possessing considerable rights and rank. With few exceptions, these houses were those whose heads held a seat in the Imperial Diet when mediatized during the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806–07 by France in 1810, or by the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15. The Mediatised Houses were organised into two ranks: the Princely houses predicated with Durchlaucht ("Serene Highness"), which previously possessed a vote in the Bench of Princes; and the Comital houses predicated with Erlaucht ("Illustrious Highness"), which previously possessed a vote in one of the four Benches of Counts. Whilst mediatization occurred in other countries such as France, Italy and Russia, only the certain houses within the former Holy Roman Empire comprised the Mediatized Houses.

Mediatized houses generally possessed greater rights than other houses. Whilst they lost sovereignty and certain rights (such as legislation, taxation, final jurisdiction, and control over policing and conscription) over their territories, they still often retained their private estates and feudal rights, which may have included rights over forestry, fishing, mining, hunting, jurisdiction over policing, and lower jurisdiction over civil and criminal court cases. Mediatised Houses also possessed the right to settle anywhere within the German Confederation. The Congress of Vienna specified that the Mediatised Houses were recognised as the first vassals in their respective states, and were equal in rank to the ruling houses. However the Congress of Vienna did not specify which houses were considered mediatised.

Mediatised sovereign houses possessed a rank higher than other aristocratic houses of equal or higher rank, within the princely or comital rank they possessed.^[1] For example, a prince of a mediatized house ranked higher than a duke of a house that never possessed immediacy, even though nominally a duke is of a higher rank than a prince. In effect, this gave the mediatised Princely houses the same rank as the sovereign houses of Europe. This had practical effects in determining whether a marriage was considered morganatic or not and the rights the children of such a marriage would possess.

It was ultimately left up to each of the sovereign states to determine which families were counted as part of the Mediatized Houses and which were not, leading to discrepancies between the roster of the Imperial Diet in 1806 and the houses counted amongst the Mediatized houses. Prior to 1806, the term "exemption" was used to refer to states which surrendered their immediacy and high jurisdiction rights to another state but retained their votes in the Imperial Diet. Not all exempt houses were counted amongst the Mediatized Houses. Further discrepancies exist because the houses were mediatized between 1806–14 and the rosters of the Princely and Comital mediatized houses were not drawn up until 1825 and 1829 respectively, during which period some families had become extinct or divested their mediate rights to the territories in question.

From 1836 the Almanach de Gotha began listing the Mediatised Houses in a separate category to both the ruling houses of Europe, and the lower nobility.

The rights of the Mediatised Houses in Austria and Czechoslovakia were abolished in 1919 following the defeat of Austria-Hungary in World War I and the establishment of republics in those countries. Rights were also abolished in Germany in 1919, however the abolition was not enforced.

The following lists are exhaustive, containing all of the mediatised houses.

List of Princely Mediatized Houses (Durchlaucht)

Name	Title	Listed by	Notes
Arenberg	Duke	Austria, Prussia, Hanover	The territories of Arenberg were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the counties of Vest Recklinghausen and Meppen in 1803. Joined the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806. Annexed by France and the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1810. Not restored by the Congress of Vienna
Auersperg	Prince	Austria	The county of Thengen mediatized by Baden in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1811. Held mediate to Austria the duchy of Gottschee and the princely county of Wels, and several minor territories
Bentheim and Steinfurt	Prince Count before 1817	Austria, Hanover, Prussia	County of Steinfurt mediatized by Berg in 1806. Annexed by France in 1810. Awarded to Hanover 1815 (Bentheim-Bentheim and Bentheim-Steinfurt, which were under personal union were united into the singular house)
Bentheim-Tecklenburg	Prince Count before 1817	Austria, Hanover, Prussia	County of Limburg and lordship of Rheda mediatized by Berg in 1806. Awarded to Prussia 1815
Castell-Castell	Prince Count before 1901	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Castell-Rüdenhausen	Prince Count before 1901	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Colloredo-Mansfeld	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Purchased lordship of Limpurg-Gröningen in 1804. Mediatized by Württemberg in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1837. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Croÿ	Duke	Austria, Prussia	The territories of Croÿ were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Dülmen in 1803. Mediatized to Arenberg in 1806. Annexed by France 1810. Awarded to Prussia 1815
Dietrichstein	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Lordship of Tarasp, exempt under Austria, ceded to Graubünden in 1801. Received the lordship of Neu-Ravensburg in 1803. Mediatized by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1864
Erbach-Schönberg	Prince Count before 1903	Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatized by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Esterházy de Galántha	Prince	Austria, Bavaria	Obtained princely county of Edelstetten in 1804. Mediatized to Bavaria in 1806. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories. Held mediate in Baden the lordship of Gallingen but not predicated as mediatized
Fugger-Babenhausen	Prince	Austria, Bavaria	Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine
Fugger-Glött	Prince Count before 1913	Bavaria	Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine
Fürstenberg	Prince	Austria, Baden, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Württemberg	Mostly mediatized by Baden in 1806. Lordship of Trochtelfingen mediatized by Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1806. Lordships of Gundelfingen and Neufra mediatized by Württemberg in 1806
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Ingelfingen	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Kirchberg	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Langenburg	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Bartenstein	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Kaunitz-Rietberg	Prince	Austria, Prussia	Mediatised by Westphalia in 1807. Extinct 1848
Khevenhüller-Metsch	Prince	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Leiningen	Prince	Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatised by Baden in 1806
Leyen	Prince	Austria, Baden	Mediatised by Austria in 1815. Ceded to Baden in 1819
Lobkowicz	Prince	Austria	Princely county of Störnstein mediatised by Bavaria in 1807, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1814. Held mediate to Austria the duchy of Raudnitz and several minor territories
Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg	Prince	Baden, Bavaria, Württemberg	County of Virneburg annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Mediatised by Baden, Prince-Primate and Württemberg in 1806
Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg	Prince	Austria, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg	Mediatised by Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prince-Primate and Württemberg in 1806
Looz-Corswarem	Duke	Austria, Hanover, Prussia	The territories of Looz-Corswarem were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordships of Rheina and Wolbeck in 1803. Mediatised by the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1806
Metternich-Winneburg	Prince	Austria	Lordship of Winneburg and Beilstein annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Ochsenhausen in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1825. Held mediate to Austria the county of Köningswart and several minor territories
Orsini and Rosenberg	Prince	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Öttingen-Spielberg	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Öttingen-Wallerstein	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Quadt-Isny	Prince Count before 1901	Württemberg	Lordship of Wykradt annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Isny in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Salm-Kyrburg	Prince	Austria, Prussia	The territories of Salm-Kyrburg were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received part of the Bishopric of Münster in 1803. Mediatised the lordship of Gemen (held by Boyneburg-Bömelberg) in 1806. Annexed by France in 1810. Not restored by the Congress of Vienna. Extinct 1905
Salm-Horstmar	Prince Count before 1817	Austria, Prussia	Formerly the county of Salm-Grumbach. Mediatised by Berg in 1806
Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck	Prince Count before 1816	Austria, Baden, Prussia	Lordships of Dyck and Reifferscheid were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received lordship of Baindt in 1803. Mediatised to Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1888
Salm-Reifferscheid-Krautheim	Prince Count before 1804	Austria, Baden	Lordships of Dyck and Reifferscheid were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. In 1806 territory south of the Jagst mediatised by Württemberg and territory north by Baden, and territory north by Baden, and rights to this territory sold to them in 1829/37
Salm-Reifferscheid-Raitz	Prince	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Salm-Salm	Prince	Austria, Prussia	The territories of Salm-Salm were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received part of the Bishopric of Münster in 1803. Annexed by France in 1810. Not restored by the Congress of Vienna
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg	Prince	Austria, Prussia	Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1815
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein	Prince	Austria, Prussia, Württemberg	County of Hohnstein exempt to Prussia from 1714, annexed by Westphalia in 1806, returned to Prussia in 1813. Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1815
Schönburg-Hartenstein	Prince	Austria, Saxony	Exempt to Saxony from 1740
Schönburg-Waldenburg	Prince	Austria, Saxony	Exempt to Saxony from 1740
Schwarzenberg	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg	Principality of Schwarzenberg and barony of Seinsheim mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Landgraviate of Klettgau mediatised by Baden in 1806. The county of Sulz mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Held mediate to Austria the duchy of Krumau and several minor territories
Solms-Braunfels	Prince	Austria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia, Württemberg	Mediatised by Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1813
Solms-Hohensolms-Lich	Prince	Austria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia, Württemberg	Mediatised by Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg in 1806. Ceded to Prussia in 1813
Starhemberg	Prince	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Stolberg-Rossla	Prince Count before 1893	Hesse-Darmstadt, Prussia	Exempt to Prussia in 1714
Stolberg-Stolberg	Prince Count before 1893	Hanover, Prussia	Exempt to Saxony in 1738. Ceded to Prussia in 1815
Stolberg-Wernigerode	Prince Count before 1890	Hesse-Darmstadt, Hanover, Prussia	Exempt to Saxony in 1738. Ceded to Prussia in 1815
Thurn and Taxis	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Württemberg	Mediatised to Bavaria, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Württemberg in 1806
Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg	Prince	Austria	County of Umpfenbach mediatised by Baden in 1806, and rights to this territory sold to it in 1812. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Waldburg-Zeil-Trauchburg	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806; Lordship of Alt-Trauchburg by Bavaria in 1806
Waldburg-Zeil-Wurzach	Prince	Austria, Bavaria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806; Lordship of Marstetten east of the Iller (Ferthofen) by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1903
Wied-Neuwied	Prince	Austria, Nassau, Prussia	Lordship of Runkel east of the Lahn mediatised by Berg in 1806; rest mediatised by Nassau in 1806
Windisch-Grätz	Prince	Austria, Württemberg	County of Eglofs mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Ysenburg and Büdingen	Prince	Austria, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt	Formerly the principality of Isenburg-Birstein. Mediatised by Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt in 1815
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Büdingen	Prince Count before 1840	Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt	Formerly the county of Isenburg-Büdingen. Mediatised by Isenburg-Birstein in 1806
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Wächtersbach	Prince Count before 1865	Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt	Formerly the county of Isenburg-Wächtersbach. Mediatised by Isenburg-Birstein in 1806

List of Comital Mediatized Houses (Erlaucht)

Name	Title	Listed by	Notes
Bentinck	Count	Oldenburg	Mediatised by Oldenburg in 1807. Obtained 'Erlaucht' recognition in 1845
Erbach-Erbach	Count	Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg	Mediatized by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Erbach-Fürstenau	Count	Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatized by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Fugger-Kirchberg-Weissenhorn	Count	Bavaria	Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine
Fugger-Kirchheim	Count	Bavaria	Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine
Fugger-Nordendorf	Count	Bavaria	Exempted under Bavaria 1806, weeks before the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine
Giech	Count	Bavaria	Inherited half of Wolfstein in 1740. Exempt to Prussia in 1791. Annexed by Bavaria in 1806
Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen	Count	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories. Extinct 1886
Königsegg-Aulendorf	Count	Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Küfstein-Greillenstein	Count	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Leiningen-Billigheim	Count	Baden	Formerly the county of Leiningen-Guntersblum. Annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Billigheim in 1803. Mediatised by Baden in 1806
Leiningen-Neudenau	Count	Baden	Formerly the county of Leiningen-Heidesheim. Annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Neudenau in 1803. Mediatised by Baden in 1806
Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen	Count	Hesse-Darmstadt	Received the lordship of Ilbenstadt in 1803. Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen	Count	Nassau	Received the lordship of Engelthal in 1803. Mediatised by Berg in 1807. Ceded to Nassau in 1815
Neipperg	Count	Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Ortenburg-Tambach	Count	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Pappenheim	Count	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Was not a member of the Imperial Diet; recognised by Bavaria as a mediatised house in 1831
Platen-Hallermund	Count	Hanover	Mediatised by Westphalia in 1807. Ceded to Hanover in 1813
Pückler and Limpurg	Count	Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Rechberg and Rothenlöwen	Count	Württemberg	Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Was not a member of the Imperial Diet; recognised by Württemberg as a mediatised house
Rechteren-Limpurg	Count	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Schaesberg-Tannheim	Count	Württemberg	County of Kerpen and Lommersum annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Tannheim in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Schlitz genannt von Görtz	Count	Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Schönborn-Buchheim	Count	Austria, Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Schönborn-Wiesentheid	Count	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806
Schönburg-Hinterglauchau	Count	Saxony	Exempt to Saxony from 1740
Schönburg-Rochsburg	Count	Saxony	Exempt to Saxony from 1740
Schönburg-Wechselburg	Count	Saxony	Exempt to Saxony from 1740
Solms-Laubach	Count	Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Solms-Rödelheim	Count	Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Solms-Wildenfels	Count	Hesse-Darmstadt	Mediatised by Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806
Stadion-Thannhausen	Count	Bavaria	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1908
Stadion-Warthausen	Count	Austria, Württemberg	Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Was not a member of the Imperial Diet; recognised by Austria and Württemberg as a mediatised house. Extinct 1906
Starhemberg	Count	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Sternberg-Manderscheid	Count	Austria, Württemberg	Counties of Blankenheim, Gerolstein, Kayl and Manderscheid annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the counties of Schussenried and Weissenau in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1830
Törring-Gutenzell	Count	Württemberg	County of Gronsfeld annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Gutenzell in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1860; collateral branch given mediatised rights in 1888
Waldbott von Bassenheim	Count	Bavaria, Nassau, Württemberg	County of Pyrmont annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Heggbach in 1803. Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Inherited Buxheim in 1809
Waldeck-Pyrmont	Count	Württemberg	Waldeck-Limpurg mediatised by Württemberg in 1806
Wallmoden-Gimborn	Count	Mecklenburg	Lordship of Gimborn-Neustadt mediatised by Berg in 1807
Wurmbrand-Stuppach	Count	Austria	Held mediate to Austria several minor territories
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Meerholz	Count	Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Württemberg	Formerly the county of Isenburg-Meerholz. Mostly mediatised by Isenburg-Birstein in 1806. 1/4 portion of the Solms-Assenheim part of Limpurg-Gaildorf meditised to Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1939
Ysenburg and Büdingen in Philippseich	Count	Hesse-Darmstadt	Appanage branch of the princely line of Isenburg-Birstein. Recognised by Hesse-Darmstadt as a mediatised house despite not possessing immediacy or a vote in the Imperial Diet

List of Houses not considered as part of the Mediatised Houses

Listed below are houses that for one reason or another were not counted amongst the Mediatized Houses. Usually this is because they became extinct before the formalisation of the Mediatised Houses in 1825/9, they divested their immediate territories just prior to the German Mediatisation in 1806, or they surrendered their mediate rights before 1825/9.

Name	Title	Notes
Abensperg and Traun	Count	Eglofs sold to Windisch-Grätz in 1804
Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym	Count	Mediatised by Nassau in 1806. Extinct 1812
Aspremont-Lynden	Count	Rekem (Reckheim) annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the county of Baindt in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Sold in 1812
Boyneburg-Bömelberg	Baron	Inherited the immediate lordship of Gemen in 1800, after extinction of the Limburg-Styrum-Gemen branch. Unclear however if the Imperial Diet vote associated to Gemen was also inherited (some state that it was transferred to the only surviving Limburg-Styrum branch, that of Styrum[2]). Mediatised by Berg in 1806. Extinct 1826/31
Heydeck-Bretzenheim	Prince	The lands of Bretzenheim were annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the principality of Lindau in 1803. Ceded to Austria in 1804. Extinct 1863
Limburg-Styrum	Count	Imperial Diet vote lost in 1800 (Gemen), but still possessed the immediate lordship of Styrum, which was mediatised in 1806 and which is formally cited in the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine. Nevertheless, Limburg-Styrum was not listed by any member of the German Confederation as a Mediatized House in 1825, given they had sold their German properties and left to their lands in the newly created kingdoms of the Netherlands and Belgium. The family is however generally counted as part of the mediatized houses.
Nesselrode	Count	Mediatised by Nassau in 1806. Extinct 1824
Nostitz-Rieneck	Count	Rieneck sold to Colloredo-Mansfeld in 1803
Ostein	Count	Myllendonk annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Buxheim in 1803. Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1809
Plettenberg-Mietingen	Count	Wittem annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the lordship of Mietingen and Sullmingen in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1813
Sinzendorf	Prince	Rheineck annexed by France and ceded by the Empire in the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Received the burgraviate of Winterrieden in 1803. Mediatised by Bavaria in 1806. Extinct 1822
Wartenberg-Roth	Count	Received the county of Roth in 1803. Mediatised by Württemberg in 1806. Extinct 1818
Wied-Runkel	Prince	Lordship of Runkel east of the Lahn mediatised by Berg in 1806; rest mediatised by Nassau in 1806. Extinct 1824

References and notes

1. http://www.almanachdegotha.org/id62.html
2. Duke and Prince Jean Engelbert d'Arenberg, "The Lesser Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in the Napoleonic Era" dissertation, Washington, DC, 1950, published as Les Princes du St-Empire à l'époque napoléonienne (Louvain, 1951)