County of Werdenfels

The County of Werdenfels (German: Grafschaft Werdenfels) in the present-day Werdenfelser Land in South Germany was a county that enjoyed imperial immediacy owned by the Bishopric of Freising.

It was centred on Werdenfels Castle. In 1294 Count Perchthold of Eschenloh sold his county to Bishop Enichen (Emicho) of Freising. The county was divided into three Pfleggerichte or administrative areas: Garmisch, Partenkirchen and Mittenwald. The senior judge (Pfleger) had his seat in Garmisch, where he held his hearings (Gerichtstage). These sittings initially took place at the castle; not until 1632 was the court moved to a new district office (Amtshaus) in Schwaigwang.

The county had considerable ore and silver deposits. Of even great economic importance to the county was its control of the trading routes to Italy at the beginning of the Modern Era. Anything that came from the sout (spices, fruit, incense, wine) had to be deposited in Mittenwald for a fee; whatever came from the north (copper, brass, cloth, jewellery, metal goods) had likewise to be stored in Partenkirchen for a fee. Only one Werdenfels waggoner union had the right to transport goods within the county. Of particular importance was that from 1487 to 1679 the Republic of Venice held its own market in Mittenwald. As a reslut the region became quite wealthy and was referred to as the "golden land".

Its neighbours, Tyrol and Bavaria, the latter represented by the Anrain Ettal Abbey and Benediktbeuern Abbey, demanded more and more of the county's territory. In 1530 Duke William IV of Bavaria asked the Bishop of Freising for large areas of land between the Isar and Amper rivers in exchange for the entire county, but the negotiations in Munich failed.

After the Thirty Years' War the region gradually lost its importance as a transshipment point. Violin making, founded by Matthias Klotz, brought a certain boom in Mittenwald. In 1803 the rule of the Bishopric of Freising ended with the secularisation of Bavaria under the French and the County of Werdenfels went to Bavaria.

Sources

• Albrecht, Dieter: Die Grafschaft Werdenfels. in: Unbekanntes Bayern. Entdeckungen und Wanderungen, München, Süddeutscher Verlag, 1955, ISBN 3-7991-5839-1
• Josef Ostler/Michael Henker/Susanne Bäumler: Grafschaft Werdenfels 1294 - 1802. Katalogbuch zur Ausstellung im Kurhaus Garmisch. Mohr×Löwe×Raute. Beitrage zur Geschichte des Landkreises Garmisch-Partenkirchen Band 2, hrsg. v. Verein für Geschichte, Kunst und Kulturgeschichte im Landkreis e.V., Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 1994.
• Johannes Haslauer: Errichtet um allen Nachbarn Verdruss zu machen. Die Rolle der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften im politischen Streit um die Grafschaft Werdenfels (1765-1768), in: Zeitschrift für bayerische Landesgeschichte 72 (2009), S. 399-459.
• Prechtl, Johann Baptist: Chronik der ehemals bischöflich freisingischen Grafschaft Werdenfels in Oberbayern mit ihren drei Untergerichten und Pfarreien Garmisch, Partenkirchen und Mittenwald. Zusammengestellt Augsburg 1850. Garmisch, Ostler, 1931
• Wüst, Wolfgang: Umbruch im Goldenen Landl vor 200 Jahren. Der Markt Partenkirchen und die Grafschaft Werdenfels im Säkularisationstrauma, in: Mohr – Löwe – Raute. Beiträge zur Geschichte des Landkreises Garmisch-Partenkirchen 11, hrsg. v. Verein für Geschichte, Kunst und Kulturgeschichte im Landkreis e.V., Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2006, S. 141-162.

Coordinates: 47°31′10″N 11°05′51″E / 47.51944°N 11.0975°E / 47.51944; 11.0975