Holstein

Holstein lay between the Elbe and Eider rivers and was ruled by counts of the House of Schauenburg. The family's lands were divided among several branches.

By 1390 the Rendsburg line had inherited all but Holstein-Pinneberg. The estates chose Christian I of Denmark as count in 1460, and Emperor Frederick III made Holstein a duchy in 1474. Partitioned among Oldenburg branches in 1544, Holstein was reunited when the Gottorp lands passed to the Danish king in 1773 and joined the German Confederation in 1815.