Gazetteer for the Barony of Gammertingen

[This is the basic Gazetteer and will be updated and expanded as I have the time to write more.  The map needs more detail, like terrain indicators.  I started too large on my hex size and now everything is huge.  In the long run, this will be fine, but it is slightly awkward at the moment.  Once I feel it is complete, I'll post a PDF of the final version.]

Gazetteer for the Barony of Gammertingen

Detlev II, 5^th Baron of Gammertingen

The Barony of Gammertingen is a small principality in the Swabian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire with the Baronial Seat in the town of Gammertingen.  It includes a six mile stretch of the Lauchert river valley (a tributary of the Danube) and part of the Alb plateau to the east.  Half of its border with the Furstenburg lands to the north is delineated by the Seckach (a small creek), the other half marked with boundary stones, as is the one mile boundary with Württemberg.  The Baron has the right to charge a toll on the trade road that passes through his land, providing a steady (if relatively small) income.

Recent History of Gammertingen

During the Cologne War (1583-88), Gisbert of Steutgart fought under the banner of Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, the Prince-elector of Cologne whose conversion to Protestantism triggered the War.  Gisbert was part of a group of volunteers from Württemberg who fought to support the Protestant cause in Cologne, despite Gebhard being a Calvinist and not a Lutheran. When their captain was killed in the fighting, Gisbert rallied the troops and led them through the rest of the battle.  Afterwards, he was elected by the troops to be their new leader for the rest of the war.

Gisbert was rewarded in 1588 by Christoph, Duke of Württemberg, for keeping the unit functioning and leading it back to the duchy after the war.  The Duke granted him title as Freiherr von Gammertingen.  The contract between them required the lands revert to Württemberg ownership if Gisbert’s lineage died out, which was technically illegal and Imperial Law mandated the lands of extinct lineages revert to the Emperor.

When Gisbert died in 1603, the title passed to his only son, Peter.  Peter died unexpectedly in 1615 and Duke John Frederick of Württemberg, needing coin more than he needed land, was "persuaded" to let the land be inherited by Gisbert’s brother, Detlev, in exchange for a generous donative.  Detlev’s goal was to build up the barony further, but the start of the Thirty Years War in 1618 changed that.  Detlev and his family were Lutheran, which made the barony Lutheran (per the 1555 Peace of Augsburg: "Whoever rules, his religion."), but his only Protestant neighbor was Württemberg.  As the war progressed, Detlev did his diplomatic best to keep the barony from being overrun by Catholic forces.  This was not easy and some raiding still happened as armies marched through the area.

Detlev’s son, Jochim, inherited in 1628, and did his best to maintain this policy.  Unfortunately, this did not protect Jochim, who was murdered by a Spanish soldier in 1632.  Jochim’s son, Detlev II, inherited and had the soldiers removed from Gammertingen diplomatically (the Protestant army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden charging through Germany at the time probably also had something to do with the Catholic troops leaving hurriedly).

When Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg, returned to Württemberg from exile in 1638, Detlev II re-established friendly contact between Württemberg and Gammertingen.  After the Peace of Westphalia (1648), Detlev II went back to being a loyal prince of the Holy Roman Empire.  He has spent the last two years rebuilding his lands from the ravages of the war.

The Lands of Gammertingen

1 Hex = 1 mile

Towns and Villages of the Barony

1. Gammertingen: seat of the Barons of Gammertingen. Includes the manor house, a mill, two gates across the Lauchert River, shops, and residences. The Market square is outside the eastern walls, across the river.
2. Bronnen: Up the Lauchert River from Gammertingen, Bronnen is a farming village.
3. Mariaberg: Mariaberg is the monastery home of Benedictine nuns and supporting buildings.
4. Harthausen: East of Gammertingen on the plateau, Harthausen is a farming village.
5. Feldhausen: East of Gammertingen on the plateau, the ruins of the Lapphausen, a castle abandoned in 1504, are here.
6. Ketternacker: Furthest east of the farm villages, Ketternacker often trades with the Abbey.
7. Steinhilber: Six miles NE of Gammertingen, Steinhilber is almost part of Furstenberg.  Almost.