County of Wernigerode Grafschaft Wernigerode | |||||||||
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1121–1429 | |||||||||
![]() County of Wernigerode ( red) in the mid 13th century. The highlighted territories ( cream) are the Altmark territory of Brandenburg (east), of whom Wernigerode became a vassal in 1268, and the neighbouring Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (north and west, which is shown merely for clarity). | |||||||||
Status | State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||
Capital | Wernigerode | ||||||||
Government | County | ||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 1121 | ||||||||
• Vassals of Brandenburg | 1268 | ||||||||
• Vassals of Magdeburg | 1381 | ||||||||
• Inherited by Stolberg | 1429 | ||||||||
31 May 1645 | |||||||||
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The County of Wernigerode (German: Grafschaft Wernigerode) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire which arose in the Harzgau region of the former Duchy of Saxony, at the northern foot of the Harz mountain range. The comital residence was at Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The county was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg from 1429 until its mediatization to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1806. Nevertheless, the county remained in existence - with one short interruption - until the dissolution of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1918.