Hals

The County of Hals was an imperial-immediate lordship in the Bavarian Forest, named after Hals Castle on the Ilz near Passau. In 1337 Count Johann of Hals ruled the lands guarding the trade route into Bohemia.

The family died out in 1375, and Landgrave Johann of Leuchtenberg gained the fief over Count Henry IV of Ortenburg with Emperor Charles IV’s favour. Debt later broke up the county, whose remaining shares were sold to the Wittelsbachs in 1517.