Limburgian Germany

The name “Limburg” pops up in multiple places in western Germany over the centuries and it is not at all obvious how those places relate to what I call “Limburgian Germany”. (Spoiler alert: None of them were in Limburgian Germany during the period covered by the database.) To clarify that, I begin with an inventory of all the various Limburgs and link them to one or more nations.

 

“Limburg” outside of Limburgian Germany

 

The oldest Limburg is the castle built in modern Belgium in the early 11th century. The Duchy of Limburg grew up around that castle, the territory of which extended into modern Germany after 1155. Based on the location of its seat and the vast majority of its territory, I would have assigned the Duchy to Limburgian Netherlands, not Limburgian Germany, had the data base extended back that far. That Limburg Iine died out in 1280. By the time the database covering the German territory of the Duchy begins in 1555, it was part of the Spanish Netherlands.

 

Another Limburg lies on the Lahn River in the modern state of Hesse. The city is older than the one in Belgium, but it did not become the seat of a Lordship until the mid-13th century. The Lords of Limburg constituted a branch of the Isenburg family and I would have characterized the Lordship as part of Isenburgian Germany had the database extended back that far. That Limburg line died out in 1406 and its territory was absorbed into the Electorate of Trier.

 

Countries in Limburgian Germany

 

In 1242, the son of Sophie of Limburg (the one in Belgium) and Frederick of Isenberg (unrelated to the Isenburgs ruling the lordship in Hesse) built Hohenlimburg castle, so named in honor of his mother, on the Lenne River within the modern city of Hagen. That became the seat of the County of Limburg (although the Count himself continued to use the Isenberg name), which gave birth to what I call Limburgian Germany. The county was forced to move its seat to Styrum (in modern Mülheim an der Ruhr) in 1289. In 1304, one branch remained as Lords of Styrum and another branch returned to Hohenlimburg and began using the Limburg name.

 

In 1372, the Hohenlimburg branch acquired the Lordship of Broich with which it entered into a personal union. In 1400, Hohenlimburg lost its imperial immediacy and moved its seat to Broich. In 1412, the county was partitioned between Broich and Hohenlimburg. In 1442, the count gave Hohenlimburg to his daughter, who was married to a Neuenahrian. That led to a dispute after the count’s death, resulting in Hohenlimburg becoming a condominium with Neuenahrian entities in 1459. The Hohenlimburg-Broich line died out in 1511 and its interests in both fell to Daun-Falkenstein. I start the database for Hohenlimburg (no longer Limburgian) at that point.

 

The Lord of Styrum, in the meantime, was nominally promoted to count in 1422, but his sovereign territory remained a lordship. In 1544, the count acquired, through marriage, administrative rights over various Netherlandic lordships and I start the database at that point. In 1640, the count acquired, also through marriage, the Lordship of Gemen. In 1644, the county partitioned itself into three branches:

 

  • Styrum, consisting of the lordship of the same name. It persisted until the end of the Holy Roman Empire, and its line died out in 1809.
  • Gemen, initially consisting of the lordship of the same name. It temporarily expanded its territory to include Illereichen, but the line died out in 1800.
  • Bronkhorst-Borculo, consisting of no sovereign territory. It administered the various Netherlandic lordships, but gradually sold them off, becoming landless in 1727. That branch, however, has retained the title of Count of Limburg-Styrum to this day.

 

In the following list of countries in Limburgian Germany, countries and dates outside the chronological scope of the database are shown in italics. Countries outside the geographic scope of the database are shown in blue-gray. Entities in gray fall outside of Limburgian Germany and entities in teal are subdivisions, not countries. Both are included to facilitate an exhaustive tracking of territories over time.

 

Lineage-based Limburgian entities
  • County of Limburg (1242-1304)
    • County of Limburg-Hohenlimburg (1304-1442; 1459-1511)
      • County of Limburg-Broich (1372-1511)
    • Lordship/County of Limburg-Styrum (1304-1544-1644)
      • Lordship of Limburg Styrum-Styrum (1644-1806-1809)
      • Lordship of Limburg-Styrum-Gemen (1644-1801)
      • Lordship of Limburg-Styrum-Bronkhorst-Borculo (1644-1727)

 

Countries acquired by lineage-based Limburgian entities
  •  County of Hohenlimburg (1242-1442)
    • part of Limburg (1242-1304)
    • self-governing (1304-1442)
    • part of Neuenahr-Rösberg (1442-1459)
    • condominium with Neuenahr-Rösberg (1459-1484)
    • condominium with Neuenahr-Alpen (1484-1511)
  • Lordship of Broich (1372-1511)
    • in personal union with Limburg-Hohenlimburg (1372-1412)
    • self-governing (1412-1511)
  • Lordship of Styrum (1289-1544-1644)
    • part of Limburg (1289-1304)
    • self-governing (1304-1544-1644)
  • Lordship of Gemen (1640-1801)
    • in personal union with Limburg-Styrum (1640-1644)
    • self-governing (1644-1801)
  • Lordship of Illereichen (in personal union with Limburg-Styrum-Gemen) (1677-1772)
  • Lordship of Oberstein (see Ecclesiastical Germany)
    • Electorate of Trier (adm. shared w/Limburg-Styrum-Styrum) (1766-1777)
    • Electorate of Trier (adm. shared w/Limburg-Styrum-Styrum & Baden) (1777-1794)