Zweibrucken-Bitsch

When the lands of Zweibrucken were divided between the sons of Count Henry II of Zweibrucken, the district of Lemberg and Lemberg Castle passed to the eldest son Eberhard I from 1286 . Its lands also included Morsberg , Linder and Saargemünde . In 1297, he exchanged these three castles with the Duke of Ferry III of Lorraine, and in return received the castle and the barony of Bitsch. This exchange of territories was again confirmed in 1302 . Since then, Eberhard called himself Count Zweibrucken and Baron Bitsch. As he and his descendants bore this title, the new territory became known as Zweibrucken-Bitsch.

Initially, other lands were ruled by Eberhard I and his younger brother Walram I, who was given power over the Zweibrucken lands. They were not finally assigned to him until 1333 . Walram inherited the Stauf Castle, Bergzabern , the city and abbey of Hornbach . Eberhard received Talayshweiler, Pirmasens and partial ownership of the Landeck and Lindelbrunn castles. In the subsequent period, Bitsch managed to acquire several other lands, but only in the immediate vicinity. In 1394, cousins ​​from the Zweibrucken family received part of the inheritance of their deceased relatives, with the exception of Zweibrucken , since his last count sold Zweibrucken in 1385 to Kurpfalz .

In the sixteenth century, Count Jacob was last able to establish a clear concentration of power in northern Alsace and the southern Palatinate : in 1559 he received the barony of Oksenstein, because the Zweibrucken-Bitsch-Oksenstein lateral line, which had existed since 1485, was cut short. However, since Jacob and his brother Simon V Wecker (died 1540 ) had only daughters, a dispute arose between cousin husbands in 1570 after the death of Jacob, Count Philip I of Leningen-Westerburg and Count Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg . While Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg was able to defeat Philip I, the rapid rooting of the Lutheran faith during the Reformation on the lands he ruled made him an enemy of the powerful Roman Catholic Duchy of Lorraine , namely Duke Charles III , who was overlord of Bitsch. In July 1572, the troops of Lorraine occupied the region. Since Philip V could not compare with the military power of Lorraine , he sought legal assistance. ^[one]

During a subsequent trial in the imperial cameral court, Lorraine was able to point out both the 1302 exchange agreement and the fact that in 1573 it acquired the inheritance rights of the counts of Leiningen.

In 1604, a contractual agreement was concluded between Ganau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine . This led to the fact that the Lemberg district was included in the county of Ganau-Lichtenberg, and Bitsch - in the Duchy of Lorraine .

• May 13, 1297-1321: Eberhard I
• 1321–1355: Simon I ⚭ Agnes von Lichtenberg
• 1355-1400: Johannes (Hahnemann) I
• 1400-1418: Johannes (Hahnemann) II
• 1418-1474: Friedrich
• 1474-1499: Simon IV Wecker за Elizabeth von Lichtenberg: * 1444, † 1495, heiress
• 1499-1532: Reinhard, Herr von Lichtenberg and Bitsch, Count von Zweibrucken ⚭ Anna von Down, daughter of Johann VI, Wild-Reinraf zu Down and Kirburg (* 1470; † December 25, 1499) and Johann von Salm; four children:
  • Wilhelm (* December 8, 1507)
  • Elizabeth ⚭ Johann Ludwig I von Sulz
  • Jacob (* July 19, 1510) ⚭ Katarina von Honstein-Klettenberg
  • Johanna (* June 10, 1517) ⚭ Conrad V Tübingen-Lichtenek
• 1532-1540: Simon V Wecker

• 1540-1570: Jacob (* July 19, 1510, † March 24, 1570 in Stürzelbronn)

• Hans-Walter Herrmann: Die Grafschaft Zweibrücken-Bitsch . In: Kurt Hoppstädter, Hans-Walter Herrmann (ed.): Geschichtliche Landeskunde des Saarlandes . Vol. 2: Von der fränkischen Landnahme bis zum Ausbruch der französischen Revolution. Saarbrücken, 1977, pp. 323-332. ISBN 3-921870-00-3
• Johann Georg Lehmann: Urkundliche Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg . Mannheim, 1862.
• Detlev Schwennicke: Europäische Stammtafeln, Vol. XVII - Zwischen Maas und Rhein . Frankfurt, 1998, pp. 148-149.