Imperial County of Ortenburg
Imperial County of Ortenburg | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1120–1805 | |||||||||
| Status | State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Ortenburg | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• First mention of Ortenburg Castle | 1120 | ||||||||
| 1209 | |||||||||
• Reichsfreiheit confirmed | 1473 | ||||||||
• Joined Bavarian Circle | 1500 | ||||||||
| 1563 | |||||||||
• Disestablished | 1805 | ||||||||
| Currency | Ortenburg Thaler | ||||||||
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The Imperial County of Ortenburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in present-day Lower Bavaria, Germany. It was located on the lands around Ortenburg Castle, about 10 km (6 mi) west of Passau. Though the Counts of Ortenburg—formerly Ortenberg—emerged in the 12th century as a cadet branch of the Rhenish House of Sponheim (Spanheim) who then ruled over the Duchy of Carinthia, an affiliation with the Carinthian Ortenburger comital family is unverifiable.