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Last updated: May 10, 2015
Limburg-Styrum
The House of Limburg-Styrum descended from the
family that had ruled in the County of Berg by the beginning of the 12th century
[10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.2].
Arnold and Friedrich (+1199), sons of Count
Eberhard I of Altena (+1180), and grandsons of Count Adolf II of Berg (+after
1160), founded two branches of the family. The branch of Friedrich (+1199),
which became known as the House of The Mark, ruled in The Mark, Kleve, Berg,
Jülich, Nevers, Arenburg, Sedan, Bouillon, Schleiden, etc., and became
extinct in the male line with the death of Count Ludwig-Engelbert of Schleiden
in 1773 [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.16-21].
The branch of Arnold, son of Count Eberhard I of
Altena (see above), became known as the House of Limburg, after Dietrich I
(+1301), Arnold's grandson, made The Upper Limburg / Hohenlimburg
(an-der-Lenne) his residence [20: Jahrgang LXIV (1811);
p.654].
Johann I (+1277) and Eberhard (+1304/1308), sons
of Count Dietrich I (+1301), founded two branches of the House of Limburg. The
branch of Eberhard (+1304/1308), which ruled in the County of the Upper
Limburg, became extinct in the male line with the death of Count Johann of
Limburg in 1511 (the County of The Upper Limburg passed to the House of
Neuenahr, then to the House of Daun-Falkenstein, and, finally, to the House of
Bentheim [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.3-4] [20: Jahrgang LXIV (1811);
p.654]).
The branch of Johann I (+1277) possessed the
Lordship of Styrum [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.3].
Georg of Limburg (+1552), Lord of Styrum, from
the branch of Johann I (+1277), married Irmgard of Wisch, heiress to
Bronckhorst, Borculo, and other lands in the Netherlands [10: Neue Folge; Band
XVIII (1998); t.3].
In 1591, Jost of Limburg (+1621), Count of
Bronckhorst, grandson of Georg (+1552), married Maria of Holstein-Schaumburg /
Schauenburg. In 1640, their son, Hermann-Otto I (+1644), inherited the Imperial
immediate Lordship of Gemen from the House of Holstein-Schaumburg [20: Jahrgang
LXIV (1811); p.654]. The Lordship of Gemen gave its owner the right of the
Imperial Estate (via the membership in the College of the Westphalian Counts)
and the right to vote in the Assembly of the Circle of the Lower
Rhine-Westphalia.
Otto (+1679), Adolf-Ernst (+1657) and Moritz
(+1664), sons of Count Hermann-Otto I (+1644) and grandsons of Jost (+1621),
divided the family's possessions and founded, respectively, the branches of
Bronckhorst, Gemen and Styrum of the House of Limburg-Styrum [10: Neue Folge;
Band XVIII (1998); t.5] [20: Jahrgang LXIV (1811); p.655].
1. Bronckhorst
Otto (+1679), son of Count Hermann-Otto I
(+1644), received the family's lands in the Netherlands, and founded,
respectively, the branch of Bronckhorst of the House of Limburg-Styrum [10: Neue
Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.5].
The County of Bronckhorst / Bronkhorst and the
Lordship of Borculo, which the branch possessed, enjoyed a special status in the
Dutch province of Gelderland, as their ancient owners were autonomous Bannerets
since the end of the 15th century (Note 1).
Friedrich-Wilhelm (+1722) and Georg-Albrecht
(+1690), sons of Count Otto (+1679), divided the family's possessions.
Georg-Albrecht received Bronckhorst. In 1721, his daughter, Maria (+1759), wife
of Landgrave Philipp of Hesse-Philippsthal, sold the County of Bronckhorst [10:
Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.5].
Count Friedrich-Wilhelm (+1722) received the
Lordship of Borculo. After his death in 1722, Borculo passed to his second son,
Leopold (+1753), who sold the lordship in 1727 [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII
(1998); t.5]. Friedrich-Wilhelm (+1722) and his wife disinherited their oldest
son, Otto-Ernst-Gelder (+1769), because they viewed his marriage with Anna-Lucia
van Klinkenberg as a mésalliance (Note 2). After the death of Count
Otto-Ernst-Gelder in 1769, the branch of Bronckhorst was considered as
extinct in the male line, as many did not recognized his children as members of
the Imperial immediate House of Limburg-Styrum (Note 3). However, the numerous
descendants of Count Otto-Ernst-Gelder and Anna-Lucia van Klinkenberg, who live
in the Netherlands and other countries, consider themselves as the members of
the Limburg-Styrum family [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998);
t.8-15].
The Counts of Limburg of the branch of
Bronckhorst possessed no Imperial immediate territories and participated in no
Imperial institutions.
Notes.
1. "... numerous enclaves had survives in and
adjoining Gelderland claiming direct ties with the Holy Roman Empire. The group
of titled nobles, or bannerheren, of Gelderland had evolved since 1492,
almost as independent princelings, either staying neutral, or as outright
supporters of the Habsburgs, in defiance of Duke Karel. The counts of Buren, and
of Bronckhorst-Batenburg, had been especially active in opposing Karel's
authority. When Gelderland came under Charles V, the counts of Buren,
Bronckhorst-Batenburg, Bergh, Culemborg, and Limburg-Stirum, ... all claimed the
right of direct appeal to the Imperial Chancery and the Diet of the Holy Roman
Empire, as well as exemption from the authority of the duke of Gelderland" [21:
p.67-68].
"The Brussels regime, and the Hof of Gelderland,
also whittled away some of autonomous status of the bannerheren. A few of
these lordships were partially integrated into the new juridical and fiscal
framework established after 1543 and the ties of the bannerheren with the
Holy Roman Empire were reduced by the Pragmatic Sanction, at least with the
regard to the lands fully enclaved within Gelderland. Yet the separate status of
the enclaves, and bannerheren, was far from wholly suppressed, especially
not juridically or psychologically, even where the process of the Habsburg
bureaucratization and centralization was most successful. By a variety of
methods the titles lords defended their sovereign, or semi-sovereign,
independence." [21: p.69].
2. "In 1721 kwam Otto Ernst Gelder in conflict
met zijn ouders. Hij was verliefd geworden op Anna Lucia van Klinkenberg van wie
zijn ouders vonden dat ze van te lage komaf was." [22: p.53].
3. "Graf Otto Ernst Geldricus mit einer Gemahlin
bürgerl. Standes vermählt war, womit er 3 Söhne und eine Tochter
erzeugte, so ist diese Limburg-Bronchorst-Borkeloische Linie mit ihm, ohne
standesmässige Nachkommen, erloschen" [20: Jahrgang LXIV (1811);
p.655].
2. Gemen
Adolf-Ernst (+1657), son of Count Hermann-Otto I
of Limburg and Bronckhorst (+1644), founded the branch of Gemen of the House of
Limburg-Styrum [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.5, 6]. Hermann-Otto II
(+1704) and Maximilian-Wilhelm (+1728), sons of Count Adolf-Ernst, founded two
sub-branches of the Gemen branch. The sub-branch of Hermann-Otto II (+1704),
which rules in the Imperial immediate Lordship of Gemen, became extinct in the
male line with the death of August, Bishop of Speyer, in 1797. The sub-branch of
Maximilian-Wilhelm possessed Simonsthurm in Hungary, and, until 1772, the
Imperial immediate Lordship of Illeraichen / Iller-Aichheim (in the Knightly
Circle of Swabia) [7: p.52] [3: Abtheilung I; Band II; p.230]. In 1781, August
of Limburg-Styrum (+1797), Bishop of Speyer, ceded Gemen to the sub-branch of
Maximilian-Wilhelm (+1728) [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998);
t.6].
In 1800, the branch of Gemen became
extinct in the male line with the death of Count Ferdinand, and its possessions
passed to the Baron of Bemelberg [3: Abtheilung II; Band II; p.197] [2: p.67]
[10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.6].
List of the Rulers
Ferdinand-Gottfried-Meinhard (1701-1791) [1781-1791]
// 1738-1772 in Illeraichen, 1781 in
Gemen
Karl II (1722/23-1798) [1791-1798]
Ferdinand (1785-1800) [1798-1800]
Titles
>-1803 [23: Band II;
p.217]
HRE Count of
Limburg-Velen-Styrum,
Ruling Count and Lord of the Imperial immediate
Lordship of Gemen,
Lord of Raesfeld, Simonsthurm;
Voices in the Imperial Circle assemblies in 1789
[2: p.14]
The Lower
Rhine-Westphalia:
- Gemen;
Voices in the Imperial Assembly in 1789
[2: p.9]
Curial voices in the Council of Princes:
= the Counts of Westphalia
=
- Gemen
Territorial Possessions in 1789
The Imperial Circle of the Lower
Rhine-Westphalia:
- Gemen / Gehmen [3: Abtheilung I; Band I; p.438]
[2: p.48];
Non-immediate:
The Imperial Circle of the Lower
Rhine-Westphalia:
= under the Territorial Supremacy of Münster
=
Raesfeld [3: Abtheilung I; Band I; p.438];
Outside Imperial Circles:
= under the Territorial Supremacy of Hungary
(Austrian) =
- Simonsthurm / Simontornya;
3. Styrum
Moritz (+1664), son of Count Hermann-Otto I of
Limburg and Bronckhorst (+1644), founded the branch of Styrum of the House of
Limburg-Styrum [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.7].
In 1692, Count Moritz-Hermann (+1709), son of
Moritz (+1664), married Elisabeth-Dorothea-Wilhelmina of
Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (+1722), heiress of a portion of the Imperial
immediate Lordship of Oberstein [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998);
t.7].
Philipp-Ferdinand (+1794), Lord of Styrum and
Oberstein, advanced claims to Pinnenberg Holstein and the Princely rank as a
descendant of Maria of Holstein-Schaumburg (see above) [24: Theil I; p.860-862]
[25: Abtheilung II; Theil II (1826); p.188].
In 1794, the French army conquered the Imperial
immediate Lordship of Oberstein (Note 1) [25: Abtheilung II; Theil II (1826);
p.188].
In July 1806, Ernst-Maria of Limburg, Lord
of Styrum, lost his status of Imperial immediate ruler when his
possessions (Styrum) were mediatized by the Act of the Confederation of the
Rhine [3: Abtheilung II; Band II; p.187].
In 1809, the branch of Styrum (and for
many the House of Limburg-Styrum, see above) became extinct with the death of
Ernst-Maria [10: Neue Folge; Band XVIII (1998); t.7].
Notes.
1. Some sources questioned the Imperial immediacy
of Styrum, and considered that after the branch of Styrum lost the Oberstein, it
had no more Imperial immediate lands [11: Heft II; p.150] [2:
p.48].
List of the Rulers [10: Neue Folge; Band
XVIII (1998); t.7]
Philipp-Ferdinand (1734-1794) [1758-1794]
// 1758-1791 in Wilhermsdorf; 1760 in Styrum;
1766 in Oberstein
Ernst-Maria (1736-1809) [1794-1806]
Titles [26: II (Preuves);
p.200]
Duke of Schlewig, Holstein, Stormarn,
Dithmarschen, West Frisia, Wagria;
Prince-Count of Holstein, Schaumburg,
Pinneberg;
Count of Limburg-Styrum;
Count of Bronckhorst, Sternberg;
Lord of Wisch, Borculo, Gemen, Oberstein,
Wilhermsdorf,
Territorial Possessions in 1789
The Imperial Circle of the Lower
Rhine-Westphalia:
- Styrum / Stirum [1: Theil III; p.733]
Outside Imperial Circles:
- % Oberstein [2: p.33; 48] [3: Abtheilung I;
Band I; p.348]
The Knightly Circle of Franconia:
- Wilhermsdorf [3: Abtheilung I; Band II;
p.252];
Territorial Acquisitions and Losses since
1789
- In 1794, the French army occupied Oberstein
[25: Abtheilung II; Theil II (1826); p.188].
- in 1801, the Treaty of Lunéville
recognized the annexation of Oberstein to France [25: Abtheilung II; Theil II
(1826); p.188].
- In 1803, the Final Recess of the Imperial
Deputation compensated the Count of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum for the loss of
Oberstein with money [3: Abtheilung II; Band I; p.290] [25: Abtheilung II; Theil
II (1826); p.188].
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