Diepholz

Diepholz was a lordship of the Holy Roman Empire, centred on Diepholz between the Weser and Lake Dümmer. In 1337 Rudolf IV ruled its hereditary Saxon dynasty’s lands.

Rudolf founded the parish church in 1350, and his grandson Johann III granted the town its rights in 1380. Pressed by the bishops of Minden, Rudolf VIII surrendered sovereignty to Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1510. The Reformation followed in 1528; when Friedrich II died in 1585, most of the county passed to the Welf dukes and Auburg to Hesse.