County of Veldenz
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The County of Veldenz was a former principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. County was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the so-called Erzstift Trier. Counts of Veldenz came apart in 1112 from the family Wildgraves of Kyrburg and Schmidburg. Direct male line of the first comital house broke in 1260 with the death of Gerlach V of Veldenz and county inherited in 1260 his daughter Agnes of Veldenz. Her husband Henry of Geroldseck became the founder of the second line of counts of Veldenz or House of Veldenz-Geroldseck (Hohengeroldseck).
In 1444 county received Count palatine Stefan of Pfalz-Simmern-Zweibrücken by way of marriage with Anna of Veldenz, the only heiress of Count Frederick III of Veldenz. From 1514 to 1684 county belong to the line Pfalz-Veldenz, later returned to Palatinate. In 1801 was included into Saardepartement of the First French Empire. Congress of Vienna divided county between Prussia and Bavaria. An Hauptort of the same name Veldenz and the Castle Veldenz located in the district Bernkastel-Wittlich.
[edit] Counts of Veldenz
- Emicho of Kyrburg and Schmidburg 1086-1113
- Gerlach I of Veldenz 1112-1146
- Gerlach II of Veldenz 1146-1186
- Gerlach III of Veldenz 1186-1214
- Gerlach IV of Veldenz 1214-1254
- Gerlach V of Veldenz 1254-1260
- Agnes of Veldenz 1260-1277
- Henry of Geroldseck 1277-1298
- Walter of Veldenz 1298-1327
- Georg I of Veldenz 1327-1347
- Henry II 1347-1378
- Frederick II of Veldenz 1378-1396
- Henry III of Veldenz 1378-1389
- Henry IV of Veldenz 1389-1393
- Frederick III of Veldenz 1393-1444
