The old county of the counts of Stade (extinct 1144): comital rights round Stade on the lower Elbe, the castle on the Spiegelberg and the Elbe landing.
Henry the Lion held it against the archbishops from 1145 to 1180. When he came back from exile in September 1189, Hartwig ceded it to him with its revenues; after Henry VI's settlement with the Lion (about 1190) Adolf III took it as a Bremen fief and held it by force until about 1193. When Adolf refused the Stade dues (about 1194-95), Hartwig excommunicated him and laid Bremen and the diocese under interdict.
At the Gelnhausen diet in October 1195 Adolf agreed to administer Stade for the archbishop and keep a third of all its revenues, and Henry VI confirmed it (en.wikipedia Hartwig of Uthlede). In 1194 Hartwig had promised his chapter not to pledge reverted fiefs such as Stade or Dithmarschen without its consent. The Welfs claim the county as Henry the Lion's heirs and will have it from 1202 (Count Palatine Henry) until the settlement of 1236.
Who he is
- Name
- Adolf III, count of Holstein and Schauenburg
- Title
- administrator of the county of Stade for the archbishop, keeping a third of its revenues
- Since
- October 1195 (agreement at the Gelnhausen diet, confirmed by Henry VI: en.wikipedia Hartwig of Uthlede; NDB 'the emperor confirmed Stade to him'). He had first taken the county about 1190 and held it by force to about 1193.
- Born
- 1160
- Family
- see Holstein
- Confidence
- medium
en.wikipedia Hartwig of Uthlede; de.wikipedia Grafschaft Stade; NDB Adolf III.
Overlord
Archbishop Hartwig II of Bremen (lord of Stade 1194-1201, de.wikipedia Grafschaft Stade)
What it holds
- the castle and comital rights at Stade, run by Adolf's men
- a third of the county's revenues (two thirds go to the archbishop)
- the archbishop keeps the market, mint and toll of Stade (grant of 1038)
How it was acquired
By force about 1190; regulated at Gelnhausen in October 1195 under Bremen's lordship.
Allies and rivals
Adolf and his lord Hartwig have been allies since 1195. The Welf brothers are the rival claimants.
How things stand that morning
On 1 January 1200 Adolf III administers the county of Stade for Archbishop Hartwig under the Gelnhausen agreement of 1195, keeping a third of the revenues; the Welfs hold nothing there yet. Both lord and administrator back Philip.
Wealth
The Elbe landing and the comital dues, shared one third to Adolf and two thirds to the archbishop; the toll and mint are the archbishop's.
Military
Stade castle on the Spiegelberg; the town's rampart and ditch from Henry the Lion's time. After Stellau (1201) Adolf fell back by way of Stade to Hamburg (de.wikipedia Schlacht bei Stellau), so he still had the use of it then.
Threats
- the Welf claim
- the Danes on the Elbe
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1202 (after this year)Count Palatine Henry of Brunswick takes the county (held until about 1225).Depends on: Adolf's defeat and capture by the Danes in 1201 Stopped by: Adolf keeping his army and freedom
Places of note
- Stade castle (Spiegelberg): the counts' castle
Where the sources disagree
- Who holds Stade that winter is settled here as the archbishop as lord and Adolf III as administrator with a third of the revenues (Gelnhausen, October 1195), not the Welfs, who only take it in 1202.
Evidence: en.wikipedia Hartwig of Uthlede gives the 1195 terms; de.wikipedia Grafschaft Stade and the NDB agree on the outline. Nothing dated to the winter of 1199-1200 itself.
On the map: A small block round Stade stands for a county whose rights were spread through the Elbe marsh and the Geest.
Primary sources for Bremen
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Stade, by Albert of Stade, Albert of Stade (about 1240 to 1256). A world chronicle written at Stade in the 1240s from older Stade and Bremen annals. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Helmold of Bosau, Helmold of Bosau (about 1167 to 1172). Background only. Read online
- The Livonian Chronicle of Henry, Henry of Livonia (1225 to 1227). The chief source for the Baltic mission. Read online
- Charter books of Lübeck and of Hamburg (documents to 1226 (Lübeck vol. 1) and to 1300 (Hamburg vol. 1)). The charters of the two north German towns and of the archbishops of Bremen and Hamburg. Read online
- Charter book of Livonia, Estonia and Courland, volume 1, 1093 to 1300 (documents of 1093 to 1300, edited 1853). The documents of the Livonian mission: Innocent III's bull of 5 October 1199 calling for a crusade to protect the Livonian church, the privileges for Bishop Albert, Archbishop Hartwig of Bremen's acts for the see of Üxküll, and the later charters that settle who held what on the Düna.
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Hartwig of Uthlede
- Wikipedia (de): Grafschaft Stade
- NDB (Maybaum 1953) and ADB (Jansen 1875): Adolf III., Graf von Holstein
- Wikipedia (de): Hartwig II. (Bremen)
- Wikipedia (de): Schlacht bei Stellau
- Wikipedia (de): Stade
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.