Salm is the name of several historic countships and principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France.
93-673: The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm , in the Ardennes region of present Belgium. It was ruled by a junior branch of the House of Luxembourg , called the House of Salm . In 1165, it was divided into the counties of Lower Salm, in the Ardennes , situated in Belgium and Luxembourg , and the county of Upper Salm, situated in the Vosges mountains , present France. In 1246
186-516: A viscount ( vicomte ). Literal equivalents in other languages, derived from the equivalent of "count", are now seldom used officially, including comté , contea , contado , comtat , condado , Grafschaft , graafschap , and zhupa in Slavic languages ; terms equivalent to 'commune' or 'community' are now often instead used. When the Normans conquered England, they brought
279-544: A district, but take on district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities and there are 107 of them, bringing the total number of districts to 401. The administrative unit of Hungary is called vármegye (between 1950 and 2022 they were called megye , historically also comitatus in Latin ), which can be translated with the word county . The two names are used interchangeably ('megye' used in common parlance, and when referring to
372-442: A few cities ( Persian : شهر , shahar ) and rural agglomerations ( Persian : دهستان , dehestān ) in each county. Rural agglomerations are a collection of a number of villages. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county. Each shahrestān has a government office known as farmândâri ( فرمانداری ), which coordinates different events and government offices. The farmândâr فرماندار , or
465-487: A level of local administration that was immediately beneath a national government , within a unitary (non-federal) system of government. “County” later also became used differently in some federal systems of government, for a local administrative division subordinate to a primary subnational entity , such as a Province (e.g. Canada) or a level 3 territorial unit such as NUTS 3 ( Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – Level 3). Examples include
558-549: A loan amounting to 100,000 riksdalers in return for the renewed pledge. This last addition made the new territory, which was entirely separate from the southern part of the bishopric, a compact body subsequently known as "the lower bishopric"; it remained an integral part of the Bishopric of Münster until the Reformation , which somewhat reduced its size. What was left was retained until the secularization. The 12th century
651-574: A monastery for canons regular there, from which the place took the name of Münster . Here he lived with his monks according to the rule of Saint Chrodegang of Metz , which in 789 had been made obligatory in the Frankish territories. The territory of the Diocese of Münster was bounded on the west, south, and north-west by the dioceses of Cologne and Utrecht , on the east and north-east by Osnabrück . The diocese also included districts remote from
744-576: A nickname), and county allegiances are taken quite seriously. See the counties of Ireland and the Gaelic Athletic Association . In Italy the word county is not used; the administrative sub-division of a region is called provincia . Italian provinces are mainly named after their principal town and comprise several administrative subdivisions called comuni ('communes'). There are currently 110 provinces in Italy. In
837-640: A senator. Additionally, a women's representative is elected from each county to the Parliament of Kenya to represent women's interests. Counties replaced provinces as the second-level division after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya . Liberia has 15 counties, each of which elects two senators to the Senate of Liberia . The English word county is used to translate the Chinese term xiàn ( 县 or 縣 ). In Mainland China , governed by
930-627: A separate set of issues, notably hospitals and public transportation for the municipalities within its borders. The counties and their expanse have changed several times, most recently in 1998. Every county council corresponds to a county with a number of municipalities per county. County councils and municipalities have different roles and separate responsibilities relating to local government. Health care, public transport and certain cultural institutions are administered by county councils while general education, public water utilities, garbage disposal, elderly care and rescue services are administered by
1023-400: A single tier of local government. However, in the north as well as in the south, the traditional 32 counties and 4 provinces remain in common usage for many sporting, cultural and other purposes. County identity is heavily reinforced in the local culture by allegiances to county teams in hurling and Gaelic football . Each Gaelic Athletic Association county has its own flag/colours (and often
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#17327726694631116-554: A system similar to that proposed in the 1960s by the Redcliffe-Maud Report for most of Britain. The name "county" was introduced by the Normans , and was derived from a Norman term for an area administered by a Count (lord). These Norman "counties" were simply the Saxon shires, and kept their Saxon names. Several traditional counties, including Essex , Sussex and Kent , predate the unification of England by Alfred
1209-621: A type of designation in a single-tier municipal system; but this was nominally changed to " municipal district " under the Municipal Government Act , when the County Act was repealed in the mid-1990s. However, at the time the new "municipal districts" were also permitted to retain the usage of county in their official names. Bishopric of M%C3%BCnster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster ( German : Fürstbistum Münster , Bistum Münster or Hochstift Münster )
1302-403: A very bitter feeling in the city. After his death the majority of the cathedral chapter elected Walram of Moers , brother of Henry and also Archbishop of Cologne, while the city and a minority of the chapter demanded the election of Eric of Hoya , brother of Count John of Hoya . Although the election of Walram was confirmed by the pope, open war for the possession of the see broke out, and Walram
1395-700: Is sir which is derived from the English 'shire'. The word is officially used to signify counties in Wales. In the Gaelic form, Scottish traditional county names are generally distinguished by the designation siorramachd —literally "sheriffdom", e.g. Siorramachd Earra-ghaidheal (Argyllshire). This term corresponds to the jurisdiction of the sheriff in the Scottish legal system. A county in Alberta used to be
1488-558: Is a debate on the future of the county municipality as an administrative entity. Some people, and parties, such as the Conservative and Progress Party , call for the abolition of the county municipalities once and for all, while others, including the Labour Party , merely want to merge some of them into larger regions. The territorial administration of Poland since 1999 has been based on three levels of subdivision. The country
1581-483: Is an administrative unit under a province that is equivalent to a city. A regency is headed by a regent who is directly elected by the people, and is responsible for public services such as education, health, and infrastructure. The structure of a regency includes several districts ( kecamatan ) which are further divided into villages or ward. Regency in Indonesia is similar to the concept of "county" in countries such as
1674-626: Is divided into voivodeships (provinces); these are further divided into powiats (counties or districts). The term powiat is often translated into English as county (or sometimes district ). In historical contexts this may be confusing because the Polish term hrabstwo (a territorial unit administered/owned by a hrabia ( count ) is also literally translated as "county" and it was subordinated under powiat . The 380 county-level entities in Poland include 314 "land counties" (powiaty ziemskie) and
1767-433: Is equivalent to the municipality of Oslo. Each county has its own county council ( fylkesting ) whose representatives are elected every four years together with representatives to the municipal councils . The counties handle matters such as high schools and local roads, and until 1 January 2002 hospitals as well. This last responsibility was transferred to the state-run health authorities and health trusts , and there
1860-490: Is the Lithuanian word for county. Since 1994 Lithuania has 10 counties; before 1950 it had 20. The only purpose with the county is an office of a state governor who shall conduct law and order in the county. Norway has been divided into 11 counties ( Bokmål : fylker , Nynorsk : fylke ; singular: fylke ) since 2020; they previously numbered 19 following a local government reform in 1972. Until that year Bergen
1953-695: The Confederation of the Rhine . In 1810 it was annexed by France, as a part of the Imperial département of Lippe . After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, it was mediatized to Prussia . The family branch exist until today. In 1696 Salm-Neuweiler was divided in two, the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Leuze and the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Hoogstraten . Their lands were incorporated into Belgium. The branches became extinct in 1887 and 1186. In 1668
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#17327726694632046-580: The Counter-Reformation , invited the Jesuits to aid him, and encouraged the founding of monasteries of the old orders, although he could not repair all the losses. The western part of the Frisian district under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Münster was transferred, in 1569, to the newly founded bishoprics of Groningen and Deventer , and with them fell into Protestantism. In the same way
2139-569: The Duchy of Cleves in 1575, married, and gave up the administration of the bishopric. A long diplomatic battle as to his successor arose between the Catholic and Protestant powers, during which the bishopric was administered by Cleves. The maintenance of Catholicism in the bishopric was assured by the victory of Ernst of Bavaria (1585–1612), who was also Bishop of Freising , Hildesheim , and Liège , and Archbishop of Cologne . He zealously undertook
2232-573: The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220). It remains one of the oldest titles of local-level government in China and significantly predates the establishment of provinces in the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). The county government was particularly important in imperial China because this was the lowest level at which the imperial government is functionally involved, while below it the local people are managed predominantly by
2325-574: The House of Lorraine ; another half was kept within the House of Salm . From this Salm half later emerged the Principality of Salm . In 1607 the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Kyrburg was divided in three by splitting off the Wild- and Rhinagraviate of Salm-Mörchingen and the Wild- and Rhinagraviate of Salm-Tronecken from the original Wild- and Rhinegraviate. In 1637 the lord of Salm-Tronecken died and his territories were joined with ... . In 1681
2418-501: The People's Republic of China (PRC), counties and county-level divisions are the third level of regional/local government, coming under the provincial level and the prefectural level , and above the township level and village level . There are 1,464 so-named "counties" out of 2,862 county-level divisions in the PRC, and the number of counties has remained more or less constant since
2511-780: The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen and of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden in a war with Sweden (taking part in the Bremen-Verden Campaign ), restored church discipline, and established a school system for his territory. He attacked the Dutch Republic in the Franco-Dutch War . Bishop Clemens August of Bavaria (1719–61) was also Elector of Cologne , and Bishop of Paderborn , Hildesheim , and Osnabrück . During his rule,
2604-484: The ROC-controlled territories . During most of the imperial era, there were no concepts like municipalities in China. All cities existed within counties, commanderies , prefectures, etc., and had no governments of their own. Large cities (must be imperial capitals or seats of prefectures) could be divided and administered by two or three counties. Such counties are called 倚郭縣 ( yǐguō xiàn , 'county leaning on
2697-1070: The Russian Empire in the Cossack Hetmanate , Sloboda Ukraine , Southern Ukraine , and Right-Bank Ukraine . In 1913 there were 126 counties in Ukrainian-inhabited territories of the Russian Empire. Under the Austrian Empire in 1914 there were 59 counties in Ukrainian-inhabited Galicia, 34 in Transcarpathia , and 10 in Bukovina . Counties were retained by the independent Ukrainian People's Republic of 1917–1921, and in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania until
2790-763: The United Provinces to the west, by Cleves , Vest Recklinghausen , and Mark in the south, Paderborn and Osnabrück in the east. In the north and north-east it bordered East Frisia , Oldenburg and the Electorate of Hanover (est. 1692). As with all the other prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it is important to distinguish between the Prince-Bishopric of Münster and the Diocese of Münster although both entities were ruled by
2883-461: The Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Rheingrafenstein-Grenzweiler was split off Salm-Grumbach. It was mediatised and incorporated into Prussia. The branch extinction occurred in 1819. In 1803 Salm-Grumbach was annexed by France. The lords of Salm-Grumbach received the Principality of Salm-Horstmar as compensation in 1803. It was mediatised in 1813. The family branch sold its titles to Salm-Salm in 1892. The counts of Lower Salm became extinct in 1416, and
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2976-578: The Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm was split off Salm-Neuweiler. It was elevated to the Principality of Salm in 1623. In 1803, when the Bishopric of Münster was secularized, part of it was given to the princes of Salm-Salm who by then already were in possession of the Lordship of Anholt . This new Principality of Salm , covering the area around Borken , Ahaus and Bocholt , was a member of
3069-470: The Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Neuweiler and the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Grumbach were split off Salm-Dhaun. In 1697 the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Püttlingen was split off Salm-Dhaun. In 1748 the Salm-Dhaun branch of the family became extinct, its territories went to the branch of Salm-Püttlingen. Salm-Püttlingen became extinct in 1750. Their territories went to ... . In 1610
3162-701: The gentries . The head of a county government during imperial China was the magistrate , who was often a newly ascended jinshi . In older context, district was an older English translation of xiàn before the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The English nomenclature county was adopted following the establishment of the ROC. In addition, provincial cities have the same level of authority as counties. Above county, there are special municipalities (in effect) and province (suspended due to economical and political reasons). There are currently 13 counties in
3255-658: The historic counties of England . In 1974, the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties replaced the system of administrative counties and county boroughs which was introduced in 1889. The counties generally belong to level 3 of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics ( NUTS 3 ). In 1965 and 1974–1975, major reorganisations of local government in England and Wales created several new administrative counties such as Hereford and Worcester (abolished again in 1998 and reverted, with some transfers of territory, to
3348-503: The municipality of Bucharest , constitute the official administrative divisions of Romania . They represent the country 's NUTS-3 ( Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics – Level 3) statistical subdivisions within the European Union and each of them serves as the local level of government within its borders. Most counties are named after a major river , while some are named after notable cities within them, such as
3441-433: The 66 "city counties" ( miasta na prawach powiatu or powiaty grodzkie ) powiat . They are subdivisions of the 16 voivodeship , and are further subdivided into 2,477 gminas (also called commune or municipality ). The Romanian word for county, comitat , is not currently used for any Romanian administrative divisions. Romania is divided into a total of 41 counties ( Romanian : județe ), which along with
3534-563: The Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Bedburg was divided in three by splitting off the Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Raitz , from Bohemian descent, and the Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Hainsbach from the original altgraviate. In 1803 the, smaller, Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Bedburg was renamed the Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Krautheim . In 1804 it was raised to a principality , und existed until 1806, when it
3627-537: The County of Upper Salm was split up, and the County of Salm-Blankenburg came into existence, next to it. In 1431 the County of Upper Salm was split up again, and the County of Salm-Badenweiler came into existence, next to it. The County of Upper Salm was inherited by the Wild- and Rhinegraves in 1475, who then called their fief the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Upper Salm . In 1499 the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm
3720-543: The Great , and were originally more or less independent kingdoms (although the most important Saxon Kingdom on the island of Britain, Alfred's own Wessex , no longer survives in any form). In England, in the Anglo-Saxon period, shires were established as areas used for the raising of taxes , and usually had a fortified town at their centre. This became known as the shire town or later the county town . In many cases,
3813-477: The House of Salm kept using the title until 1784, when the last lord died. The county was annexed by the House of Lorraine from 1600 until 1608, when it came back into the family. 1670 the territory was finally annexed by France. In 1490, Anne d'Haraucourt, Dame of Brandenbourg (1465-1550) married Count Johann VI of Salm (1452-1505). As the only child of her parents, she inherited Brandenbourg and brought it into
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3906-412: The House of Salm. It was first inherited by her childless grandson, Count Claudius of Salm (d. 1583), who left the territory to his younger brother, Count Paul of Salm (d. 1595). His only surviving child, Christina of Salm , was his sole heir. In 1600, she also inherited Badenweiler possessions of her uncle. After that, a division took place: some of her possessions were kept with her and later inherited by
3999-671: The Soviet annexations at the start of World War II. 99 counties formed the Ukrainian SSR in 1919, where they were abolished in 1923–25 in favour of 53 okruhas (in turn replaced by oblasts in 1930–32), although they existed in the Zakarpattia Oblast until 1953. The United Kingdom is divided into a number of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties . There are also ceremonial counties which group small non-metropolitan counties into geographical areas broadly based on
4092-583: The UK are usually responsible for education, emergency services, planning, transport, social services, and a number of other functions. Until 1974, the county boundaries of England changed little over time. In the medieval period, a number of important cities were granted the status of counties in their own right, such as London , Bristol and Coventry , and numerous small exclaves such as Islandshire were created. In 1844, most of these exclaves were transferred to their surrounding counties. In Northern Ireland ,
4185-641: The United States and Canada, which evolved from British colonial America and inherited British governmental traditions, where counties often remain as local administrative divisions that evolved from historic (pre-federal) counties governed by courts/magistracy. A county may be further subdivided into smaller jurisdictions such as hundreds , or townships . A county usually, but not always, contains cities, towns, townships , villages , or other municipal corporations , which in most cases are somewhat subordinate or dependent upon county governments. Depending on
4278-480: The United States and the United Kingdom, but with differences in cultural context and government system. Indonesia has more than 400 regencies spread across all provinces. The ostans (provinces) of Iran are further subdivided into counties called shahrestān ( Persian : شهرستان ). County consists of a city centre, a few bakhsh ( Persian : بخش ), and many villages around them. There are usually
4371-602: The area of the later city. They were called the Brockhof, owned by the cathedral chapter; the Kampwordeshof, belonged later to the collegiate church of St. Moritz; and the Bispinghof belonged to the bishop. The first bishop was Ludger , who, since the year 787, had been a zealous missionary in five Frisian "hundreds", or districts. As Mimigernaford had been designated the centre of the new district, Ludger built
4464-685: The basis of local organisation of police, fire departments and, sometimes, administration of elections. Each administrative district consists of an elected council and an executive, and whose duties are comparable to those of a county executive in the United States, supervising local government administration. Historically, counties in the Holy Roman Empire were called Grafschaften . The majority of German districts are "rural districts" (German: Landkreise ), of which there are 294 as of 2017 . Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and smaller towns in some states) do not usually belong to
4557-585: The bishopric suffered heavily during the War of the Polish Succession and the Seven Years' War . His successor, Maximilian Frederick of Königsegg-Rothenfels (1761–84), who was also Elector of Cologne, mostly left the administration of Münster to a young cathedral canon, Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg , during whose administration the principality attained unparalleled prosperity. However, at
4650-630: The bulk of its territory, namely, the five Frisian hundreds on the lower Ems (Hugmerki, Hunusgau, Fivelgau, Federitgau, and Emsgau). Most of the territory over which the bishop eventually exercised sovereign rights lay north of the River Lippe , extending as far as the upper Ems and the Teutoburg Forest . The most important accession was in 1252, when the see purchased the Countship of Vechta . The country between these new districts
4743-403: The city of Münster; but he did little for the restoration of the Faith, and at last joined the Smalkaldic League . William of Ketteler (1553–57) was more Protestant than Catholic: although he regarded himself as an administrator of the old Church, and took the Tridentine oath, he refused to comply with the demands of Rome, and resigned in 1557. Bishop John William of Cleves (1574–85), inherited
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#17327726694634836-410: The city walls') or 附郭縣 ( fùguō xiàn , 'county attached to the city walls'). The yamen or governmental houses of these counties exist in the same city. In other words, they share one county town. In this sense, a yǐguō xiàn or fùguō xiàn is similar to a district of a city. For example, the city of Guangzhou (seat of the eponymous prefecture, also known as Canton in the Western world)
4929-409: The city. Scarcely any opposition to the innovation was made by the next bishop, Franz von Waldeck (1532–53), who from the first planned to aid the Reformation in his three prince-bishoprics of Münster, Minden , and Osnabrück, in order to form out of these three a secular principality for himself. He was obliged, indeed, for the sake of his endangered authority, to proceed against the Anabaptists in
5022-439: The consent of representative bodies of his subjects was necessary. Among these, the cathedral chapter appears early in the 13th century; later, the lower nobility, and, lastly, the city of Münster. In course of time the cathedral chapter extended its rights by agreements made with bishops before election. The temporal power of the see increased greatly during the episcopate of Bishop Otto II, Count of Lippe (1247–59). The city, at
5115-447: The context of pre-modern Italy, the Italian word contado generally refers to the countryside surrounding, and controlled by, the city state. The contado provided natural resources and agricultural products to sustain the urban population. In contemporary usage, contado can refer to a metropolitan area, and in some cases large rural/suburban regions providing resources to distant cities. Apskritis (plural apskritys )
5208-403: The counties of Meath and Westmeath and small parts of surrounding counties constituted the province of Mide , which was one of the "Five Fifths" of Ireland (in the Irish language the word for province, cúige , means 'a fifth': from cúig , 'five'); however, these have long since been absorbed into Leinster. In the Republic each county is administered by an elected " county council ", and
5301-520: The counties of other states), just like before 1950, when the word 'megye' even appeared in legal texts. The 19 counties constitute the highest level of the administrative subdivisions of the country together with the capital city Budapest, although counties and the capital are grouped into seven statistical regions. Counties are subdivided into districts ( járás ) and municipalities, the two types of which are towns ( város ) and villages ( község ), each one having their own elected mayor and council. 23 of
5394-423: The county is one type of municipal-level division. Denmark was divided into counties ( Danish : amter ) from 1662 to 2006. On 1 January 2007 the counties were replaced by five Regions . At the same time, the number of municipalities was slashed to 98. The counties were first introduced in 1662, replacing the 49 fiefs ( len ) in Denmark–Norway with the same number of counties. This number does not include
5487-435: The county seat. The Swedish division into counties, län , which literally means ' fief ', was established in 1634, and was based on an earlier division into provinces ; Sweden is divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities ( kommuner ). At the county level there is a county administrative board led by a governor appointed by the central government of Sweden , as well as an elected county council that handles
5580-577: The county was inherited by the House of Reifferscheid-Dyck . In 1628 the county was elevated to an altgraviate, and henceforth the fief was renamed the Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid . In 1639 the Altgraviate was divided up into the Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Bedburg , to the Northwest of Cologne , and the Altgraviate of Salm-Reifferscheid-Dyck , Neuss . House of Reifferscheidt-Dyck (1416-1803; in Dyck, from 1639 in Bedburg, renamed Krautheim 1803–1806) House of Reifferscheidt-Dyck (in Bedburg 1639–1803, renamed Krautheim 1803–1806) In 1734
5673-435: The election of an auxiliary bishop, von Fürstenberg was defeated by Maximilian Franz of Austria , who later succeeded to both the sees of Münster and Cologne (1784–1801). Maximilian Franz fled Bonn in 1794 at the arrival of French revolutionary troops , who were to remain in permanent occupation of the part of the bishopric located on the left bank of the Rhine. He spent the rest of his life in Vienna, although still nominally
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#17327726694635766-456: The head of farmândâri , is the governor of the shahrestān . Fars Province has the highest number of shahrestāns , with 36, while Qom uniquely has one, being coextensive with its namesake county . Iran had 324 shahrestāns in 2005 and 443 in 2021. County is the common English translation for the character 군 ( gun or kun ) that denotes the current second level political division in South Korea . In North Korea ,
5859-402: The last lord of Salm-Kyrburg died, and his territories were joined with Salm-Mörchingen. In 1688 the last lord of Salm-Mörchingen died. His territories were joined with ... . In 1743 a completely new territory of Salm-Kyrburg was created, this time the Principality of Salm-Kyrburg . It was shortly annexed by France in 1811 and mediatised in 1813. But the family kept using the titles. In 1561
5952-404: The municipalities. Gotland is a special case of being a county council with only one municipality and the functions of county council and municipality are performed by the same organisation. In Ukraine the county ( Ukrainian : повіт , romanized : povit ) was introduced in Ukrainian territories under Poland in the second half of the 14th century, and in the eighteenth century under
6045-471: The nation, municipality , and local geography, municipalities may or may not be subject to direct or indirect county control. The functions of both levels are often consolidated into a city government when the area is densely populated, and are generally not when it is less densely populated. Outside English-speaking countries , an equivalent of the term county is often used to describe subnational jurisdictions that are structurally equivalent to counties in
6138-428: The number stayed at 22. The number was further decreased by the 1970 Danish municipal reform, leaving 14 counties plus two cities unconnected to the county structure; Copenhagen and Frederiksberg . In 2003, Bornholm County merged with the local five municipalities, forming the Bornholm Regional Municipality . The remaining 13 counties were abolished on 1 January 2007 where they were replaced by five new regions. In
6231-422: The old provincial divisions are merely traditional names with no political significance. The number and boundaries of administrative counties in the Republic of Ireland were reformed in the 1990s. For example, County Dublin was divided into three: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown , Fingal , and South Dublin ; the City of Dublin had existed for centuries before. The cities of Cork and Galway have been separated from
6324-416: The possessions of the Counts of Bentheim-Steinfurt and some other fortified towns passed from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the bishop. Christoph Bernhard von Galen (1650–78) was equally efficient both as bishop and as secular ruler; he forced the refractory city of Münster, after a long siege, to acknowledge his sovereign rights, succeeded in freeing his territory from foreign troops, gained parts of
6417-420: The prince-bishop of Münster. Upon his death, his nephew, Archduke Anton Victor of Austria , succeeded him. He was the last Elector of Cologne and Prince-Bishop of Münster. A secret agreement between France and Prussia on 5 August 1796 had chosen the Prince-Bishopric as the Prussian compensation for the territories on the left bank of the Rhine lost to France. In 1803 the bishopric, with c. 310,000 inhabitants
6510-410: The relationship they have with their national government; but which may not be administratively equivalent to counties in predominantly English-speaking countries. Counties are the current second-level political division in Kenya. Each county has an assembly where members of the county assembly (MCAs) sit. This assembly is headed by a governor. Each county is also represented in the Senate of Kenya by
6603-500: The royal administration, but from the 13th century they became self-governments of the nobles and kept this character until the 19th century when in turn they became modern local governments. The island of Ireland was historically divided into 32 counties, of which 26 later formed the Republic of Ireland and 6 made up Northern Ireland . These counties are traditionally grouped into four provinces : Leinster (12 counties), Munster (6), Connacht (5) and Ulster (9). Historically,
6696-530: The same individual. The dioceses were generally larger than the corresponding prince-bishoprics and in the parts that extended beyond the prince-bishopric, the prince-bishop's authority was strictly that of an ordinary bishop and limited to spiritual matters. The Diocese of Münster was founded by Charlemagne towards the end of the Saxon Wars about 795, as a suffragan of Cologne . He gave three large landed estates. These lands, at least in part, lay within
6789-571: The same reform, the number of municipalities was slashed from 270 to 98 and all municipalities now belong to a region. A comté was a territory ruled by a count ( comte ) in medieval France. In modern France, the rough equivalent of a county as used in many English-speaking countries is a department ( département ). Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France , and five are overseas departments , which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 334 arrondissements , but these have no autonomy; they are
6882-452: The same time, struggled to become independent of the bishop, but was not entirely successful, despite its alliance with the cathedral chapter. In 1252 Countess Jutta von Vechta-Ravensberg sold Meppen to the Bishop of Münster. Even as early as the eleventh century the bishops all belonged to noble families, generally to those possessing lands in the neighbourhood; only too often the bishopric
6975-519: The shires were named after their shire town (for example Bedford shire ), but there are several exceptions, such as Cumberland , Norfolk and Suffolk . In several other cases, such as Buckinghamshire , the modern county town is different from the town after which the shire is named. (See Toponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom ) Most non-metropolitan counties in England are run by county councils and are divided into non-metropolitan districts , each with its own council. Local authorities in
7068-436: The six county councils, if not their counties, were abolished in 1973 and replaced by 26 local government districts. The traditional six counties remain in common everyday use for many cultural and other purposes. The thirteen historic counties of Wales were fixed by statute in 1539 (although counties such as Pembrokeshire date from 1138) and most of the shires of Scotland are of at least this age. The Welsh word for county
7161-542: The subdivisions of the Duchy of Schleswig , which was only under partial Danish control. The number of counties in Denmark (excluding Norway) had dropped to around 20 by 1793. Following the reunification of South Jutland with Denmark in 1920, four counties replaced the Prussian Kreise . Aabenraa and Sønderborg County merged in 1932 and Skanderborg and Aarhus were separated in 1942. From 1942 to 1970,
7254-586: The term with them. Although there were at first no counts, vicomtes or counties in Anglo-Norman England, the earlier Anglo-Saxons did have earls , sheriffs and shires . The shires were the districts that became the historic counties of England , and given the same Latin translation comitatus . Many English county names derive from the name of the county town ( county seat ) with the word shire added on, for example Gloucestershire and Worcestershire . The term "county" evolved to designate
7347-466: The town and rural areas of their counties. The cities of Limerick and Waterford were merged with their respective counties in 2014. Thus, the Republic of Ireland now has 31 'county-level' authorities, although the borders of the original twenty-six counties are still officially in place. In Northern Ireland, the six county councils and the smaller town councils were abolished in 1973 and replaced by
7440-577: The towns have the rights of a county although they do not form independent territorial units equal to counties. The vármegye was also the historic administrative unit in the Kingdom of Hungary , which included areas of present-day neighbouring countries of Hungary. Its Latin name ( comitatus ) is the equivalent of the French comté . Actual political and administrative role of counties changed much through history. Originally they were subdivisions of
7533-480: The two separate historic counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire) and also created several new metropolitan counties based on large urban areas as a single administrative unit. In Scotland, county-level local government was replaced by larger regions , which lasted until 1996. Modern local government in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and a large part of England is trending towards smaller unitary authorities:
7626-403: Was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire , located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony . From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, it was often held in personal union with one or more of the nearby ecclesiastical principalities of Cologne , Paderborn , Osnabrück , Hildesheim , and Liège . Münster was bordered by
7719-500: Was a partisan of Frederick Barbarossa . With the overthrow of Henry the Lion , Duke of Saxony , the last obstacle in the way of the complete sovereignty of the bishops was removed, and Hermann appears as a great feudatory of the empire. During the episcopate of his second successor, Dietrich III of Isenberg-Altena (1218–26), the position of the bishop as a prince of the empire was formally acknowledged in 1220 by Frederick II . Hermann II
7812-400: Was a separate county, but today it is a municipality within the county of Vestland . All counties form administrative entities called county municipalities ( fylkeskommuner or fylkeskommunar ; singular: fylkeskommune ), further subdivided into municipalities ( kommuner or kommunar ; singular: kommune ). One county, Oslo , is not divided into municipalities, rather it
7905-489: Was acquired later: in 1403 the district about Cloppenburg and Oyte was gained, in 1406 the manorial domain of Ahaus and the castle of Stromberg with its jurisdiction; and in 1429 Wildeshausen in pledge from the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen , renewed by its successor Swedish Bremen-Verden by the Treaty of Nijmegen on 19 March 1679. According to the latter Prince-Bishop Ferdinand II, Baron of Fürstenberg granted Sweden
7998-572: Was administered for the benefit rather of the bishop's family than of the Church. The bishops were, in consequence, frequently involved in the quarrels of the nobility; ecclesiastical affairs were neglected and the prosperity of the inhabitants of the prince-bishopric suffered. Conditions were at their worst during what is known as the Münster Diocesan Feud (1450–57). The arbitrary conduct of Bishop Henry II of Moers (1424–50) had aroused
8091-470: Was divided up into two entities, the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Kyrburg and the Wild- and Rhinegraviate of Salm-Dhaun . The county became extinct in 1506, and was inherited by the House of Lorraine . In 1520 the County of Salm-Badenweiler was split up, and the County of Salm-Neuburg came into existence, next to it. In 1653 the fief was inherited by the Austrian House of Sinzendorf , but
8184-710: Was historically divided by Nanhai County ( 南海縣 ) and Panyu County ( 番禺縣 ). When the first modern city government in China was established in Guangzhou, the urban area was separated from these two counties, with the rural areas left in the remaining parts of them. However, the county governments remained in the city for years, before moving into the respective counties. Similar processes happened in many Chinese cities. Nowadays, most counties in mainland China, i.e. with "Xian" in their titles, are administered by prefecture-level cities and have mainly agricultural economies and rural populations. Regency ( kabupaten ) in Indonesia
8277-475: Was marked by a considerable growth of the bishops' secular power. In 1173 the right of administering the city passed to the bishop and the cathedral chapter. Bishop Ludwig I, Count of Tecklenburg (1169–73), restored to the see the temporal jurisdiction over its domains previously exercised by the Counts of Tecklenburg . Hermann II, like his immediate predecessors, Frederick II, Count of Are (1152–68), and Ludwig I,
8370-588: Was mediatised. House of Reifferscheid-Dyck (in Raitz 1734–1811) House of Reifferscheidt-Dyck (in Hainsbach 1734–1811) County A county (Latin comitatus ) is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French comté denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count ( earl ) or, in his stead,
8463-715: Was secularized by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss and broken up into numerous parts. The larger Eastern share was assigned to Prussia , which took possession in March 1803. Oldenburg gained the Northern part ( Vechta and Cloppenburg ). The other parts were given as compensation to former rulers of territories west of the Rhine: Arenberg , Looz-Corswarem , Salm and Croÿ . Within the following years all parts became French. In 1815 Prussia
8556-439: Was the last bishop directly appointed by the emperor . Dissensions arose about the election of his successor, Otto I, Count of Oldenburg (1204–18), and Emperor Otto IV decreed that thenceforward the cathedral chapter alone should elect the bishop. The See of Cologne retained the right of confirmation, and the emperor that of investiture. The bishop's temporal authority was limited in important matters; particularly in taxation,
8649-547: Was unable to gain possession of the city of Münster. In 1457, after his death, a compact was made by which Eric of Hoya received a life income, and the privileges of the city were confirmed, while both parties recognized the new bishop appointed by the pope, John II, Count Palatine of Simmern (1457–66). Under the indolent and thoroughly worldly Frederick III (1522–32), brother of the Archbishop of Cologne, Hermann of Wied , Lutheranism spread rapidly after 1524, especially in
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