Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein was a county in the wooded Sauerland, named for Wittgenstein Castle above the upper Lahn. In 1337 it was ruled by descendants of the comital family that took its name from the castle.
The heiress Adelheid married Salentin of Sayn-Homburg in 1345; after the male line ended in 1359, their heirs joined the lands as Sayn-Wittgenstein. A 1607 partition created Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, whose line became princely in 1792. Berleburg passed to Hesse in 1806 and Prussia in 1816.
Characters
- Adelheid of Wittgenstein
- Siegfried II of Wittgenstein
- Widekind III, Count of Wittgenstein
- Werner IV of Wittgenstein