As I was working on the Timeline for the Thirty Years War I was musing on the major features for a campaign. The Holy Roman Empire comprised a vast multitude of more or less minor states. Representing them all in a campaign is probably unnecessary. I’m thinking about a Mapless Campaign so about 100 territories is about right. The question is, which 100. My initial thoughts are to represent only the most significant; this might be because the state/area was:
- Politically significant, e.g. Duchy of Bavaria
- Strategically significant, e.g. Provostry of Berchtesgadan
- Militarily significant, i.e. there was a battle there.
- Economically significant, , e.g. Salt deposits in Provostry of Berchtesgadan.
Key candidates are Duchies, Archbishoprics, Imperial Cities.
Imperial Circles
Wikipedia: Imperial Circle is a good starting point for which states within the Holy Roman Empire were significant.
Bavarian Circle
| Name | Type of entity | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | Duchy | Politically significant. In 1623 the Bavarian duke replaced his relative, the Count Palatine of the Rhine in the early days of the Thirty Years’ War and acquired the powerful prince-electoral dignity in the Holy Roman Empire, determining its Emperor thence forward, as well as special legal status under the empire’s laws. Also the Upper Palatinate was reunited with Bavaria. |
| Upper Palatinate | Politically significant | |
| Berchtesgaden | Provostry | The site of the monastery was an extremely strategic one. Firstly, it is in an area possessing immensely valuable salt deposits, and was situated in such a way that it was able to act as a buffer state between its much larger neighbours, Bavaria and Salzburg, and to make this situation work to its advantage. Secondly, the Berchtesgaden valley is almost entirely enclosed by high mountains, except for a single point of access to the north, and is thus virtually impregnable. |
| Breiteneck | Lordship | |
| Ehrenfels | Lordship | |
| Freising | Bishopric | |
| Haag | County | |
| Hohenwaldeck | Lordship | |
| Leuchtenberg | Landgraviate | |
| Niedermünster in Regensburg | Abbacy | |
| Obermünster in Regensburg | Abbacy | |
| Ortenburg | County | |
| Palatinate-Neuburg | Duchy | |
| Palatinate-Sulzbach | Duchy | |
| Passau | Bishopric | |
| Regensburg | Bishopric | |
| Regensburg | Imperial City | Politically significant. located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. |
| Salzburg | Archbishopric | Politically significant. Mines |
| St Emmeram in Regensburg | Abbacy | |
| Sternstein | County | |
| Sulzbürg and Pyrbaum | Lordship | ? |
Swabian Circle
| Name | Type of entity | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Aalen | Imperial City | situated on the upper reaches of the river Kocher, at the foot of the Swabian Alb to the south and south east and close to the hilly landscape of the Ellwanger Berge to the north |
| Augsburg | Bishopric | Politically significant |
| Augsburg | Imperial City | located at the confluence of the Wertach and Lech rivers and on the trade routes to Italy. April 1632, when the Swedish army of Gustavus Adolphus took the city without resistance. Just over two years later, the Swedish army was routed at nearby Nördlingen, and by October 1634 Catholic troops had surrounded Augsburg. The Swedish garrison refused to surrender and a disastrous siege ensued through the winter of 1634–5, during which thousands died of hunger and disease. |
| Aulendorf | Lordship | |
| Baar | Landgraviate | |
| Baden | Margraviate | |
| Baden-Baden | Margraviate | Politically significant |
| Baden-Durlach | Margraviate | Politically significant |
| Baden-Hochberg | Margraviate | |
| Baindt | Abbacy | |
| Biberach an der Riß | Imperial City | |
| Bonndorf | County | situated in the southern Black Forest |
| Bopfingen | Imperial City | |
| Buchau | Abbacy | |
| Buchau | Imperial City | |
| Buchhorn | Imperial City | |
| Constance | Bishopric | |
| Dinkelsbühl | Imperial City | surrender to Swedish Troops during the Thirty Years’ War |
| Eberstein | County | |
| Eglingen | Lordship | |
| Eglofs | Lordship | |
| Elchingen | Abbacy | |
| Ellwangen | Provostry | |
| Esslingen am Neckar | Imperial City | located on the river Neckar |
| Fugger | ||
| Gengenbach | Abbacy | |
| Gengenbach | Imperial City | on the western edge of the Black Forest |
| Giengen an der Brenz | Imperial City | at the southern foot of the Swabian Alb. was almost completely burned down in 1634 during the Thirty Years’ War. |
| Gundelfingen | Lordship | |
| Gutenzell | Abbacy | |
| Hachberg | Margraviate | |
| Hausen | Lordship | |
| Heggbach | Abbacy | |
| Heilbronn | Imperial City | major economic centre on the Neckar. During the Thirty Years’ War the city and sourrounding villages suffered badly. After the battle of Wimpfen in 1622, Neckargartach was burnt to the ground. In 1631 Heilbronn was occupied by imperial troops but the same year the Swedes succeeded in conquering the city. From 1644 through 1647, Heilbronn was again part of the Holy Roman Empire, but then French troops moved in and later those of the Palatinate. The city wasn’t free of occupying forces until four years after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. |
| Heiligenberg | County | |
| Hohenems | County | |
| Hohengeroldsegg | County | |
| Hohenhöwen | Lordship | |
| Hohenzollern-Hechingen | County | |
| Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen | County | |
| Irsee | Abbacy | |
| Isny im Allgäu | Imperial City | commercial center |
| Justingen | County | |
|
Kaisheim (Kaisersheim) |
Abbacy | |
| Kaufbeuren | Imperial City | |
| Kempten | Abbacy | |
| Kempten im Allgu | Imperial City | Actually two cities side by side. During the turmoil of the Thirty Years’ War (1632–33), imperial forces destroyed the Protestant Imperial city and the Swedish troops destroyed the twinned Catholic Free City. The Catholic Free City was associated with a Monastery which might be Kempten Abbey. |
| Kinzigtal | Lordship | |
| Klettgau | Landgraviate | |
| Königsegg | County | |
| Leutkirch im Allgäu | Imperial City | |
| Liechtenstein | Principality | |
| Lindau | Abbacy | |
| Lindau | Imperial City | |
| Mainau | Commandery | An administrative grouping of lands held by the Teutonic Order |
| Marchtal | Abbacy | |
| Memmingen | Imperial City | In the 1630‘s Memmingen was at centre stage during the Thirty Years’ War, and the Imperial generalissimo Wallenstein was quartered in the town when he was dramatically dismissed from service. From 1632 Memmingen was briefly garrisoned by the Swedish army, and became a base of operations for Swedish troops in Swabia. |
| Meßkirch | Lordship | |
| Mindelheim and Schwabegg | Lordship | |
| Neresheim | Abbacy | |
| Nördlingen | Imperial City | the place of two battles during the Thirty Years’ War |
| Ochsenhausen | Abbacy | |
| Offenburg | Imperial City | |
| Öttingen | County | |
| Öttingen-Baldern | County | |
| Öttingen-Öttingen | County | |
| Öttingen-Wallerstein | County | |
| Petershausen | Abbacy | |
| Pfullendorf | Imperial City | |
| Ravensburg | Imperial City | important trading centre. Swedish troops destroyed the old castle |
| Reutlingen | Imperial City | Reutlingen lies right next to the Swabian Jura, hence why it is often called The gate to the Swabian Jura |
| Roggenburg | Abbacy | |
| Rot | Abbacy | |
| Rothenfels | County | |
| Rottenmünster | Abbacy | |
| Rottweil | Imperial City | located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb |
| Salmansweiler | Abbacy | |
| Schussenried | Abbacy | |
| Schwäbisch Gmünd | Imperial City | |
| Schwäbisch Hall | Imperial City | Literally translated, the name means Swabian fountain of salt, referring to a place where salty water was distilled to produce salt. Hall suffered severely during the Thirty Years’ War, though it was never besieged or scene of a battle. However, it was forced to pay enormous sums to the armies of the various parties, especially to the imperial, Swedish and French troops, who also committed numerous atrocities and plundered the town and the surrounding area. Between 1634 and 1638 every fifth inhabitant died of hunger and diseases, especially from the bubonic plague. The war left the town an impoverished and economically ruined place. |
| Sickingen | County | |
| Söfflingen | Abbacy | |
| St Georg in Isny | Abbacy | |
| Stauffen | Lordship | |
| Stühlingen | Landgraviate | |
| Teck | Duchy | |
| Tettnang and Argen | Lordship | produces significant quantities of hops, an ingredient of beer, and ships them to breweries throughout the world |
| Thannhausen | Lordship | |
| Thengen | County | |
| Überlingen | Imperial City | |
| Ulm | Imperial City | a city of traders and craftsmen situated on the river Danube. |
| Ursberg | Abbacy | |
| Waldburg-Scheer-Scheer | Archstewardship | |
| Waldburg-Wolfegg-Waldsee | Archstewardship | |
| Waldburg-Wolfegg-Wolfegg | Archstewardship | |
| Waldburg-Zeil-Trachburg | Archstewardship | |
| Waldburg-Zeil-Wurzach | Archstewardship | |
| Waldburg-Zeil-Zeil | Archstewardship | |
| Wangen im Allgäu | Imperial City | central location at the crossroads between Ravensburg, Lindau, Leutkirch, and Isny and the growing trade through the Alps |
| Weil der Stadt | Imperial City | “Gate to the Black Forest“. completely destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War |
| Weingarten | Abbacy | |
| Weißenau | Abbacy | |
| Wettenhausen | Provostry | |
| Wiesensteig | Lordship | |
| Wimpfen | Imperial City | the river Neckar. the setting of the Battle of Wimpfen on 6 May 1622 during the Thirty Years’ War. |
| Württemberg | Duchy | Politically significant |
| Zell am Harmersbach | Imperial City | |
| Zwiefalten | Abbacy |
Upper Rhenish Circle
| Type of entity | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| Bar | Duchy | United with Lorraine to France in 1634 |
| Basel | Bishopric | |
| Bretzenheim | Lordship | |
| Colmar | Imperial City | Capital of Alsatian wine on the Lauch River. During the Thirty Years’ War, the city was taken by the armies of Sweden in 1632, who held it for two years. |
| Dagstuhl | Lordship | |
| Falkenstein | County | |
| Frankfurt am Main | Imperial City | Situated on the River Main , Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany. Frankfurt managed to remain neutral during the Thirty Years’ War, but suffered from the bubonic plague that was brought to the city by refugees |
| Friedberg | Imperial City | |
| Fulda | Bishopric | |
| Hagenau | Imperial City | |
| Hanau-Lichtenberg | Lordship | |
| Hanau-Münzenberg | County | |
| Heitersheim | Principality | Held by the Order of St John |
| Hersfeld | Principality | |
| Hesse | Landgraviate | |
| Hesse-Darmstadt | Landgraviate | |
| Hesse-Kassel | Landgraviate | |
| Hesse-Marburg | Landgraviate | |
| Hesse-Rheinfels | Landgraviate | |
| Isenburg-Birstein | Principality | |
| Isenburg-Büdingen-Büdingen | County | |
| Isenburg-Büdingen-Meerholz | County | |
| Isenburg-Büdingen-Wächtersbach | County | |
| Kaisersberg | Imperial City | |
| Königstein | County | |
| Kriechingen | County | |
| Landau | Imperial City | |
| Leiningen-Dagsburg | ||
| Leiningen-Hartenburg | County | |
| Leiningen-Westerburg | ||
| Lorraine | Duchy | |
| Metz | Bishopric | |
| Münster | Imperial City | |
| Münzfelden | Castle and town | |
| Nassau-Idstein | ||
| Nassau-Ottweiler | ||
| Nassau-Saarbrücken-Saarbrcken | Principality | |
| Nassau-Usingen | Principality | |
| Nassau-Weilburg | Principality | |
| Nomeny | Margraviate | |
| Oberehnheim | Imperial City | |
| Oberisenburg | County | |
| Odenheim | Provostry | |
| Ollbrück | Lordship | |
| Palatinate-Lautern | Principality | |
| Palatinate-Simmern | Principality | |
| Palatinate-Veldenz | Principality | |
| Palatinate-Zweibrücken | Principality | |
| Prüm | Abbacy | |
| Reipoltskirchen | Lordship | |
| Rosheim | Imperial City | |
| Salm | County | |
| Salm-Dhaun | Wild- and Rhinegraviate | |
| Salm-Grehweiler | Wild- and Rhinegraviate | |
| Salm-Grumbach | Wild- and Rhinegraviate | |
| Salm-Kyrburg | Principality | |
| Salm-Stein | Rhinegraviate | |
| Savoy | Duchy | |
| Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg | County | |
| Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein | County | |
| Schlettstadt | Imperial City | |
| Solms-Braunfels | Principality | |
| Solms-Laubach | Principality | |
| Solms-Lich-Hohensolms | Principality | |
| Solms-Rödelheim | Principality | |
| Speyer | Bishopric | |
| Speyer | Imperial City | |
| Sponheim | County | |
| Straßburg | Bishopric | |
| Straßburg | Imperial City | |
| Toul | Bishopric | |
| Toul | Imperial City | |
| Türkheim | Imperial City | |
| Verdun | Bishopric | |
| Verdun | Imperial City | |
| Waldeck | County | |
| Wartenberg | County | |
| Weißenburg | Imperial City | |
| Weißenburg | Provostry | |
| Wetzlar | Imperial City | |
| Wild- and Rhinegraviate | ||
| Worms | Bishopric | |
| Worms | Imperial City |