County of Katzenelnbogen
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The County of Katzenelnbogen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Rhine area which existed between 1095 and 1479.
[edit] History
The first documentary mention of the counts of Katzenelnbogen was in the 11th Century with Diether I (c. 1065 - 1095). After the construction of the castle of Katzenelnbogen, they also built Burg Rheinfels and Burg Neukatzenelnbogen on the Rhine rebuilt the Marksburg and acquired highly lucrative customs rights on the river. In almost four centuries the County grew bit by bit, from the river Neckar to the river Mosel. The main parts were the Untergrafschaft ("lower county"), the Obergrafschaft ("upper county") and parts of the Kraichgau. The counts founded many cities. The biggest of them is Darmstadt. For centuries or decades they owned others like Offenbach, Giessen, Diez and Limburg. After the death of the son of Philipp of Katzenelnbogen in 1453 he was called Count of Katzenelnbogen-Diez. When he died in 1479, the male line of the Katzenelnbogens became extinct. The "Obergrafschaft" was passed to the Landgraves of Hesse by virtue of the 1458 marriage of Henry III of Upper Hesse to Anna of Katzenelnbogen. Thereafter, the Landgraves of Hesse added to their title "Count of Katzenelnbogen".
[edit] History of Wine
In 1435 Count John IV of Katzenelnbogen was building his last castle in Rüsselsheim. He ordered to grow the famous Riesling. This is the first documentation of Riesling in history. There are hundreds of documented vineyards. A lot still existing. Among them the famous rock Loreley documented in 1395.
