County of Ferrette

Count de Ferrette is a title.

Formed during the dismemberment of the County of Montbeliard, it included/understood initially the seigniories of Ferrette, of Thann, Altkirch; then those of Belfort, Delle and Rougemont.

Frederic Ier, wire of Thierry Ier of Montbeliard, its first count, had it as of 1104, but the title only in 1125 took of it. It became the first count de Ferrette . Frederic Ier (1125 - 1160) took an active part in the government of the Empire and fight actively against the Paganisme by encouraging the establishment of monasteries and priories like Feldbach and Saint Morand with Altkirch. He founded with Ferrette a priory of regular canons of Saint Augustin.

In 1271 the county of Ferrette became vassal Church of Basle. Jeanne, girl of Ulric III and Jeanne of Montbeliard, carried it in the Maison of Austria by her marriage with Albert II of Habsbourg, 4th wire of the emperor Albert Ier of Austria, and the County was incorporated in the Landgraviat High-Alsace.

During more than three centuries (1324 - 1648) the county of Ferrette belonged to the Habsbourg.

In 1469, the archduke Sigismond of Austria engaged it, like all its possessions in Alsace, with the duke of Burgundy, Charles Bold the, which made it manage by its Baillif, Pierre de Hagenbach. The tyranny of this last there having made burst a revolt (1474), the county returned to the Maison of Austria; it was included/understood like the Austrian possessions in the batch of Ferdinand Ier of the Holy roman Empire, the division of 1522 between this prince and his brother Charles Quint.

The end of the 30 year old War by the Treated of Westphalia (1648), caused the dismantling of Austria Antérieure on which High Alsace depended. France was to receive the county of Ferrette; but there was dispute, and the county was definitively yielded only in 1650. Recognizing, Louis XIV, gave it to Jules Mazarin in 1659: " the large one announce and advisable services rendered to nostre nobody and nostre estat, by nostre very expensive and very Cousin heart the Cardinal Mazarin ". This large servant of France also received the county of Belfort, the seigniory of Delle, the grounds and seigniories of Thann and Altkirch as well as the seigniory of Issenheim

The title returned to the Mancini by the marriage of Hortense Mancini, niece of the Mazarin Cardinal, with Armand Charles of the Door. The Cardinal forced the young husband to give up his name and his Weapons for those of Mazarin. He thus obtained in heritage his immense fortune. In 1777 Louise-Happiness-Victoire d' Aumont-Mazarin, downward of the niece of the Cardinal, married Honore IV Anne-Charles-Maurice duke of Valentinois and prince de Monaco. Today still the princes of Monaco carry the title of counts de Ferrette and do not scorn time with other to be made acclaim by the very happy population to receive them. (See different the Titles from Grimaldi.)

Partial source

Bernard MULLER with the assistance of the files of the Princely Palate

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