Native Name: | Grafschaft Solms-Laubach |
Conventional Long Name: | County of Solms-Laubach |
Common Name: | Solms-Laubach |
Era: | Middle Ages |
Status: | Vassal |
Empire: | Holy Roman Empire |
Government Type: | Principality |
Year Start: | 1544 |
Year End: | 1806 |
Life Span: | 1544–1676 1696–1806 |
Event Start: | Partitioned from S-Lich |
Event1: | Partitioned to create Solms-Sonnenwalde |
Date Event1: | 1561 |
Event2: | Partitioned to create S-Baruth & S-Rödelheim |
Date Event2: | 1607 |
Event3: | Partitioned to create Solms-Sonnenwalde |
Date Event3: | 1627 |
Event4: | Annexed to Solms-Baruth |
Date Event4: | 1676–96 |
Event End: | Mediatised to Hesse |
P1: | Solms-Lich |
S1: | Grand Duchy of Hesse |
Flag S1: | Flagge Großherzogtum Hessen ohne Wappen.svg |
Capital: | Laubach |
Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms[1] had its origins in Solms, Hesse.
Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of Solms-Lich, ruling count at Lich, purchased the Herrschaft Sonnewalde in Lower Lusatia which he left to his younger son Otto of Solms-Laubach (1496–1522), together with the county of Laubach. While Lich and Laubach were counties with imperial immediacy, Sonnewalde remained a semi-independent state country within the March of Lusatia (the latter being an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire). A later Count Otto (1550–1612) moved to Sonnewalde and built the castle in 1582. In 1596 he also purchased the nearby Herrschaft of Baruth which was also elevated to a state country within the March of Lusatia. The branch then was divided into the twigs of Solms-Laubach, Solms-Sonnewalde and Solms-Baruth.
Solms-Laubach partitioned between itself and Solms-Sonnenwalde in 1561; between itself, Solms-Baruth and Solms-Rödelheim 1607; and between itself and Solms-Sonnenwalde 1627. Solms-Laubach inherited Solms-Sonnenwalde in 1615. With the death of Count Charles Otto in 1676, it was inherited by Solms-Baruth and recreated as a partition in 1696. Solms-Laubach was mediatised to Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806.
The counts of Solms-Laubach still own Laubach Castle and Arnsburg Abbey. Until 1935, Münzenberg Castle also belonged to the estate.