County of Eberstein

County of Eberstein
Grafschaft Eberstein
State of the Holy Roman Empire
← 1085–1660 →   →   →
Coat of arms
Capital		Alt Eberstein^a Neu Eberstein^b
Government		County
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	1085
•	Sold land to Baden	1387
•	Comital line extinct,     to Speyer and     Württemberg	1660
a: Alt Eberstein is in Ebersteinburg, now an outlying district of Baden-Baden. b: Neu Eberstein is now known as Schloss Eberstein, near Gernsbach.

The Counts of Eberstein were a family of nobility in the southwest of Germany. From 1085 up into the 13th century they lived in the castle known today as Alt Eberstein which lies on a mountain top between the valleys of the rivers Murg and Oos (in Ebersteinburg, now an outlying district of Baden-Baden). They then moved to Neu Eberstein, today known as Schloss Eberstein, near Gernsbach.

From 1085, the counts were Vögte of Reichenbach Priory.

After the financial ruin of Wolf von Eberstein in 1387, half of the family possessions had to be sold to the Margraves of Baden. When the last male member of the family died in 1660, the remaining possessions were taken over by the bishopric of Speyer and by the duchy of Württemberg.

• 

  The ruins of Alt Eberstein castle

• 

  Schloss Eberstein near Gernsbach

• 

  The original coat of arms of the Counts of Eberstein, dated 1450–80, from the Scheibler'sches Wappenbuch

External links

• Ebersteinburg tourist office (German)