Alexius Frederick, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (20 January 1781 – 3 November 1866) was a German nobleman.

Life

He descended from the younger branch of the House of

Bentheim-Steinfurt Bentheim-Steinfurt was a historical county located in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia in the region surrounding Steinfurt, Germany. Bentheim-Steinfurt was a partition of Bentheim-Bentheim, itself a partition of the County of Bentheim. Bentheim- ...

. His father was Prince

Louis William Geldricus Ernest of Bentheim and Steinfurt Louis William Geldricus Ernest of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1 October 1756 at Steinfurt Castle – 20 August 1817) was a member of the House of Bentheim-Steinfurt. He was an Imperial Count and was raised to Prince in 1817. He was the second ...

; his mother was Juliane Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg He studied in

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

under

Johann Stephan Pütter Johann Stephan Pütter (25 June 1725, Iserlohn – 12 August 1807, Göttingen) was a German law lecturer and publicist. He was professor of law at the university of Göttingen from 1746 until his death. He exerted great influence on the law insti ...

. In 1817, he succeeded his father as Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt. In 1821, the Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda line of the family sued him, claiming to have better rights to the counties of Bentheim and

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; Westphalian: ''Stemmert'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From roughly 1100-1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north- ...

. The court case about the parts of the counties in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

lasted until 1829; the trial about the parts in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

lasted even longer. Prince Alexius ultimately won both court cases. Incidentally, the

County of Bentheim The County of Bentheim (''Grafschaft Bentheim'', Low German ''Benthem'') was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the south-west corner of today's Lower Saxony, Germany. The county's borders corresponded largely to those of the modern adm ...

had been pledged to Hanover long before his reign. In 1823, Alexius redeemed this loan. He began the restoration of the run-down

Bentheim Castle Bentheim Castle (german: Burg Bentheim) is an early medieval hill castle in Bad Bentheim, Lower Saxony, Germany. The castle is first mentioned in the 11th century under the name ''binithem''. Situation The castle is built on a protrusion of Ben ...

. He built a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

around the sulphur-rich springs in the town of Bentheim. The town would change its name to

Bad Bentheim Bad Bentheim (; nds-nl, Beantem) is a town in the southwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany, in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km ...

in 1979, to reflect its status as a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

. Alexius was a member of the provincial

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the Prussian

province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar Republic and from 1918 ...

. In 1847, he became a member of the short-lived United Parliament. In 1854, he officially became a member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Repres ...

; however he was never an active member.

Marriage and issue

In 1811, he married Wilhelmina of Solms-Braunfels, first daughter and child of William Christian Carl, 3rd Prince of Solms-Braunfels. They had six children, including his heir Louis William.

References

* Christina Rathgeber (ed.): ''Die Protokolle des Preußischen Staatsministeriums 1817–1934/38'', vol. 1: ''19. März 1817 bis 30. Dezember 1829'', Olms-Weidmann, Hildesheim, 2001, p. 373 *Eduard Vehse: ''Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation'', vol. 40, Hamburg, 1857, p. 320 ff

External links

Entry at his-data.de
House of Bentheim Princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt Members of the Prussian House of Lords Counts of Bentheim Counts of Steinfurt 1781 births 1866 deaths 19th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub