Editing Holstein (section)

===Partitions of the Duchy of Holstein (1474–1866)===
{{Main|Holstein-Glückstadt|Holstein-Gottorp}}
In 1490, the Duchy of Holstein was divided into Holstein-Segeberg and [[Holstein-Gottorp]]. Holstein-Segeberg remained with the Danish king and was also known as '''Royal Holstein'''; later it came to be known as [[Holstein-Glückstadt]]. Holstein-Gottorp, also known as '''Ducal Holstein''', was given to a cadet branch of the [[House of Oldenburg]], to which the kings of Denmark belonged.

Between 1533 and 1544 King [[Christian III of Denmark]] ruled the entire Duchies of Holstein and of [[Schleswig]] also in the name of his then still minor half-brothers [[John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev|John the Elder]] and [[Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp|Adolf]]. In 1544 they partitioned the Duchies of Holstein (a [[fief]] of the Holy Roman Empire) and of Schleswig (a Danish fief) in an unusual way, following negotiations between the brothers and the [[Estates of the Realm]] of the duchies, which had constituted in 1460 by the Treaty of Ribe and strictly opposed a factual partition. The elder three brothers determined their youngest brother [[Frederick of Denmark (bishop)|Frederick]] for a career as [[Diocesan administrator#Administrators of prince-bishoprics|Lutheran administrator]] of an ecclesiastical state within the Holy Roman Empire.<ref>In 1551 Frederick became administrator of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim]], comprising ecclesiastical and secular power, and, however, lacking secular power [[Bishop of Schleswig]] with the pertaining revenues from episcopal estates.</ref>

So the revenues of the duchies were divided in three equal shares by assigning the revenues of particular areas and [[estate (land)|landed estates]] to each of the elder brothers, while other general revenues, such as taxes from towns and customs dues, were levied together but then shared among the brothers. The estates, whose revenues were assigned to the parties, made Holstein and Schleswig look like patchworks, technically inhibiting the emergence of separate new duchies, as intended by the estates of the duchies. The secular rule in the fiscally divided duchies thus became a [[Condominium (international law)|condominium]] of the parties. As dukes of Holstein and Schleswig the rulers of both houses bore the formal title of "Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, [[Ditmarsh]] and [[Stormarn (gau)|Stormarn]]". The three shares are usually called:

* [[Gottorp]] ducal share in Holstein and Schleswig, partitioned from ducal Holstein in 1544, acquired half of Haderslev share in 1581 (thus thereafter simply called ducal share), merged into the royal share in 1773 with its ruler receiving in return the prior Danish-held [[County of Oldenburg]].
* [[Haderslev]] ducal share in Holstein and Schleswig, partitioned from ducal Holstein in 1544, halved between Gottorp and royal share in 1581
* Royal share in Holstein and Schleswig, acquired half of Haderslev share in 1581, the County of Holstein-Pinneberg in 1640 and the Gottorp share in 1713 (northern part) and 1773 (southern part), thus then comprising all of Holstein. Between 1648 and 1773 the royal share used to be called [[Holstein-Glückstadt]] after its capital [[Glückstadt]]. Parts of the former County of Holstein-Pinneberg were transformed 1649/50 into the [[Imperial County of Rantzau]], which fell back to the Danish Crown in 1726.

The dynastic name Holstein-Gottorp comes as convenient usage from the technically more correct '''Duke of Schleswig and Holstein at Gottorp'''. Adolf, the third son of Duke and King [[Frederick I of Denmark|Frederick I]] and the second youngest half-brother of King [[Christian III of Denmark|Christian III]], founded the dynastic branch called [[House of Holstein-Gottorp]], which is a cadet branch of the then royal Danish [[House of Oldenburg]]. The Danish monarchs and the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp ruled both duchies together as to general government, however, collected their revenues in their separate estates. John the Elder conveniently called Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev produced no issue, so no branch emerged from his side.

Similar to the above-mentioned agreement Christian III's youngest son [[John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg|John the Younger]] gained for him and his heirs a share in Holstein's and Schleswig's revenues in 1564, comprising a third of the royal share, thus a ninth of Holstein and Schleswig as to the fiscal point of view. John the Younger and his heirs, however, had no share in the condominial rule, so they were not ruling but mere titular dukes.

The share of John the Elder, who died in 1581, was halved between Adolf and Frederick II, thus increasing again the royal share by a fiscal sixth of Holstein and Schleswig.<ref>Cf. Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, "Die dänischen Könige als Herzöge von Schleswig und Holstein", Frauke Witte and Marion Hartwig (trls.), in: ''Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg'' [De slevigske hertuger; German], Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 73–109, here pp. 87seq. {{ISBN|978-3-529-02606-5}}</ref> As an effect the complicated fiscal division of both separate duchies, Holstein and Schleswig, with shares of each party scattered in both duchies, provided them with a condominial government binding both together, partially superseding their legally different affiliation as Holy Roman and Danish fiefs.

The County of Holstein-Pinneberg, which had remained a separately ruled territory in Holstein until its line was extinct in 1640, was merged into the then royal share of the Duchy of Holstein. The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp became emperor of Russia in 1762 as [[Peter III of Russia|Peter III]] and was planning an attack on Denmark to recover the [[Holstein-Gottorp]] lands possessions in Schleswig, which were seized by the Danish king in 1713.  Although Peter was soon overthrown by his wife, [[Catherine the Great]], the Danes determined to rid themselves of this problem. In 1773, they exchanged the [[Duchy of Oldenburg|County of Oldenburg]] for the Gottorp lands in Holstein, bringing all of Holstein under their control. Thus, Holstein was again united in one state.
[[File:Unification process of Holstein.png|left|thumb|Unification process of Holstein]]
The territory of Holstein was enlarged by the conquest of the independent [[Dithmarschen|Republic of Dithmarschen]] in 1559, which was divided among the three ducal houses. After 1581 the southern part remained to the Danish Crown, the northern part was ruled by the House of Gottorp until 1773.