Sayn-Wittgenstein (The Kalmar Union)

The County of Sayn-Wittgenstein, Sayn-Wittgenstein, Sayn is a small constitutional monarchy in the Western Holy Roman Empire. It is bordered by Berg, Sayn-Berleburg, Mark, Munster-Westphalia and United Netherlands. The capital is Altenkirchen and the population is around 240,000.

The Head of State is Count Henry Gerard.

The official language is German.

The currency is the Sayn Mark (SNM)

History
Formed by a series of partitions of the old Imperial county of Sayn in the 13th century the hilly county avoided much of the upheavals of the medieval era.

During the 18th century the territory controlled by the counts repeatedly changed as the various branches split, were swallowed up and reformed as the current county. Sayn-Berleberg to the north remained separate however. Wittgenstein itself has been owned by Luxembourg since 1731 and the counts often found employment in the Luxembourgoise army. Count William IV headed the Luxembourgoise army during the War of Regensburg Succession while his son George Eberhard commanded the Imperial army (and was severely injured) at the ill-fated Battle of Nancy in 1829. The county is still famed for its military academy which produces many of the brightest officers of the North Rhineland states.

Lately however the comital family has begun to broaden its horizons away from a dependence on Luxembourg with several foreign marriages paying off. The current Queen of Scotland, Alexandria, is a Sayn-Wittgenstein as is Crown-Prince Louis, married to the second-in-line to Vinland, Princess Anna-Lilja. The family have never become 'Princes' in their own right however. It is believed this stems from the families' adherence to Luxembourg in the 18th century whilst most of the rest of Germany had adopted a anti-Luxembourg stance.

Government
Sayn-Wittgenstein is governed by a single chambered Diet with elections held. The counts hold little executive power though are still regular attendees of the Diet's proceedings. A limited cross border co-government with Sayn-Berleberg is currently trying to dismantle trade tariffs between the two states and open up much more closer co-operation in the future.

The current head of state is Count Henry Gerard and his Chancellor is Otto Gravemeier.