Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county,

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

and finally

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family.

History

First mentioned in the 12th century, it was named after the village of Aremberg in the Ahr Hills, located in today's Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany.

1549–1645

Aremberg was originally a county. It became a state of the Holy Roman Empire (''

reichsunmittelbar Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...

'') in 1549, was raised to a princely county in 1576, then became a

in 1645.

1789

The territorial possessions of the Dukes of Arenberg varied through the ages. Around 1789, the duchy was located in the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

region on the west side of the Rhine and contained, amongst others, Aremberg, Schleiden and

Kerpen Kerpen (; Ripuarian: ''Kerpe'') is the most populated town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). It is located about 20 kilometres southwest from Cologne. Division of the town The town of Kerpen was created in 1975, whe ...

. However, although the duchy itself was in Germany, from the 15th century onward, the principal lands of the Dukes of Arenberg have been in what is now Belgium. The pre-Napoleonic duchy had an area of 413 km² and a population of 14,800. It belonged to the Electoral Rhenish Circle and was bordered by the

duchy of Jülich The Duchy of Jülich (german: Herzogtum Jülich; nl, Hertogdom Gulik; french: Duché de Juliers) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by th ...

, the Archbishopric of Cologne, the

Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.county of Blankenheim Blankenheim Castle (german: Burg Blankenheim) is a '' schloss'' above the village of Blankenheim in the Eifel mountains of Germany. It was built as a hill castle around 1115 by Gerhard I and became the family seat of the House of Blankenhei ...

1798

After the French occupation of the west bank of the Rhine around 1798 (see Treaty of Campo Formio and Treaty of Lunéville), the Duke of Arenberg received new lands: the county of Vest Recklinghausen, the county of Meppen, and the lordship of Dülmen.

1810

Arenberg joined

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's Confederation of the Rhine, although that did not prevent it from being mediatised in 1810, with France annexing Dülmen and Meppen, and the duchy of Berg annexing

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; Westphalian: ''Riäkelhusen'') is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and indus ...

1814

After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine, the former Arenberg territories were divided between the kingdom of Prussia and the kingdom of Hanover. In both Prussia and Hanover, the dukes became local peers subordinate to the king.

1826

In 1826, the Arenberg territory in Hanover was named the duchy of Arenberg-Meppen, and it had an area of 2,195 km² and a population of 56,700. The county of Recklinghausen, in Prussia, had an area of 780 km² and a population of 64,700. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian aristocratic family. The immediate family members of the dukes are called by the nominal title of Prince of Arenberg. The ducal family descends

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

ally from the House of Ligne. The Forest of Arenberg is located in northeastern France, and it is famous for its cobbled roads used in the classic road cycle race Paris–Roubaix. Its areas saw extensive mining in the past.

Counts, Princely Counts and Dukes

Counts of Arenberg (1117–1576)

* Franko (1117–1129) * Henry I (1129–1187) * Eberhard I (1188–1202) * Eberhard II (1202–1229) * Henry II (1220–1250) * Gerard (1252–1260) * John I (1260–1279) * Mathilde (1282–1299) * Eberhard ''(Count of

Marck Marck may refer to: Surname * Érard de La Marck (1472–1538), prince-bishop of Liège * Jan van der Marck (1929–2010) Dutch-born American art historian, and museum curator. * John T. Marck, Beatles biographer who suggested that "Real Love", ...

)'' (1282–1308) * Engelbert II (1308–1328) * Eberhard I (III) (1328–1387) * Eberhard II (1387–1454) ''Partition into Arenberg and

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

'' * John II (1454–1480) * Eberhard III (1480–1496) * Eberhard IV (1496–1531) * Robert I (1531–1541) * Robert II (?–1536) * Robert III (1541–1544) *

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(1544–1576) * John III (1547–1568) * Charles (1568–1576)

Princely Counts of Arenberg (1576–1645)

(1576–1596) ''with'' Jean de Ligne *

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

(1576–1616) * Philip Charles (1616–1640) * Philip Francis (1640–1645)

Dukes of Arenberg (1645–1810)

Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg Philippe François de Ligne, (30 July 1625 - 17 December 1674), 7th Duke of Aarschot, 1st Duke of Arenberg, a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, was the first son of the second marriage of Philippe Charles, Comte d'Arenberg and Isabelle ...

(1645–1675) * Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg (1675–1681) * Philip Charles Francis, 3rd Duke of Arenberg (1681–1691) * Leopold, 4th Duke of Arenberg (1691–1754) * Charles Marie Raymond, 5th Duke of Arenberg (1754–1778) * Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (1778–1803) * Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (1803–1810) '' Mediatised 1810''

References

Sources

Official site of the House of Arenberg

''Meyers Konversationslexikon''

External links

* This has a detailed account of the inheritance of the noble titles from the 13th century onward.

{{coord, 50.8792, N, 4.7019, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:DE, display=title 1549 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1810 disestablishments in Europe States and territories established in 1549 House of Ligne States of the Confederation of the Rhine Electoral Rhenish Circle History of the Eifel Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Duchies of the Holy Roman Empire