Katzenelnbogen, County of
Company | Defunct
1095 CE to 1479 CE
The County of Katzenelnbogen (named after Chatti Melibokus) is an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire.
It exists between 1095 and 1479, when it is inherited by the Landgraves of Hesse.The estate comprises two separate territories.
The main parts are the original Untergrafschaft ("lower county") with its capital at Katzenelnbogen in the Middle Rhine area and the Obergrafschaft ("upper county") south of the Main River around Darmstadt, predecessor of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt.
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The name Darmstadt first appears towards the end of the eleventh century, then as Darmundestat.
Literally translated, Darmstadt means "Gut City", but this is just a coincidence.
Pronounced in the local dialect the city is called "Dammstad" which means "Embankment City" in English, however, this is also without any relevance.
The origins of the name are unknown.
'Dar-mund' in Middle Low German is translated as "Boggy Headlands", but it could be a misspelling in local dialect of another name.
Even locals often believe, incorrectly, that the name derives from the 'Darmbach' (a small stream formerly running through the city).
In fact the stream received its current name much later, after the city, not vice versa.
Darmstadt had been chartered as a city by the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian in 1330, at which time it belonged to the counts of Katzenelnbogen.
The city, then called Darmstait, became a secondary residence for the counts, with a small castle established at the site of the current, much larger edifice.
When the house of Katzenelnbogen becomes extinct in 1479, the city is passed to the Landgraviate of Hesse.