Weißenstein

The County of Weißenstein
a state of the Holy Roman Empire (1540–1604) and earlier of the Livonian Confederation.

Weißenstein contained Paide Castle, which was built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, an autonomous Templar Order aligned with the Prussian Teutonic Knights. The town of Paide grew quickly nearby. The region has changed hands many times and political intrigue has been part of that sometimes secretive history. Paide now lies in modern day Estonia. The current population of the city of Paide is around 10,000.

Once in Weißenstein, Paide Castle has been the site of great military use in the past

The castle was built in 1265 or 1266 by Master Konrad von Mandernand as a fortress of the Livonian Order. It was here that the 4 Estonian Kings who led the St. George’s day uprising in 1343 where killed while negotiating with the Livonian Order.

I have an ancestor, Johann Osthoff von Mengede, who was also a Master of the Livonian Brotherhood from 1450-69, only seven years after the St. George’s Day uprising, so this is quite fascinating to me.

The Livonian Confederation was a loosely organized alliance between the Roman Catholic Church, crusading German knights, German merchants, vassals, cities and existing indigenous peoples in the area which is now Latvia and Estonia. In the late 12th century a German monk, Father Meinhard, came to the area with both spiritual and economic ambitions. His goal was to bring Christianity, in the form of Roman Catholicism, to the tribal peoples. Also, the value of the strategic location of the Baltic area between the Roman Catholic world and the Byzantine world, and the possibility for economic exploitation of this region was not lost on the powers of the Roman Catholic Church. Following Father Meinhard, the Confederation existed for almost three and a half centuries. In 1561, as a result of the invasion of Ivan IV and internal political instability, the Confederation came to an end and its lands were divided amongst the surrounding countries. This is when the Principality known as Weißenstein was formed. The Baltic Germans did however, establish themselves as the ruling, elite class which held ramifications for this region even into the twentieth century.

My campaign contains much regarding Templars and a Universal Church, so these real life historical events and persons are useful for me. Weißenstein will figure heavily in it, as it will fit nicely into the Holy Empire of the Universal Church that figures prominently in my game.

-Jeff
“Retro”