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

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The

Dukes of Arenberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

remain a prominent Belgian noble family.

History

First mentioned in the 12th century, it was named after the village of

Aremberg Aremberg() is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...

in the

Ahr Hills The Ahr HillsElkins, T.H. (1972). ''Germany'' (3rd ed.). London: Chatto & Windus, 1972. . (german: Ahrgebirge or ''Ahreifel'' ) are a range of low mountains and hills up to and long in the Eifel region of Germany, which lie roughly southwest of ...

, located in today's

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

region of Germany.

1549–1645

Aremberg was originally a

. It became a state of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

(''

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 count (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "cou ...

y in 1576, then became a duchy in 1645.

1789

The territorial possessions of the Dukes of Arenberg varied through the ages. Around 1789, the duchy was located in the Eifel region on the west side of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and contained, amongst others,

Schleiden Schleiden is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the Eifel hills, in the district of Euskirchen, and has 12,998 inhabitants as of 30 June 2017. Schleiden is connected by a tourist railway to Kall, on the Eifel Railway between ...

and Kerpen. However, although the duchy itself was in Germany, from the 15th century onward, the principal lands of the

have been in what is now

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The pre-Napoleonic duchy had an area of 413 km² and a population of 14,800. It belonged to the

Electoral Rhenish Circle The Electoral Rhenish Circle (german: Kurrheinischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, created in 1512. The circle derived its name from four of the seven prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst ...

and was bordered by the duchy of Jülich, the

Archbishopric of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Colo ...

, the Archbishopric of Trier, and the county of Blankenheim.

1798

After the French occupation of the west bank of the

around 1798 (see

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

and

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

), the Duke of Arenberg received new lands: the

county of Vest Recklinghausen Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south, and to the ...

, 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 ...

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

, although that did not prevent it from being mediatised in 1810, with France annexing

Dülmen Dülmen () is a town in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Dülmen is situated in the south part of the Münsterland area, between the Lippe river to the south, the Baumberge hills to the north and the Ems ri ...

and

Meppen Meppen (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Möppen'') is a town in and the seat of the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany, at the confluence of the Ems, Hase, and Nordradde rivers and the Dortmund–Ems Canal (DEK). The name stems from the word ''M ...

, and the

duchy of Berg Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. The name of the county lives on in the modern ...

annexing Recklinghausen.

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 The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and the

kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

. 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 agnatically from the

House of Ligne The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495-500. . The family's name comes from the v ...

. The Forest of Arenberg is located in northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and it is famous for its cobbled roads used in the classic road cycle race

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the ' Monuments' or classics of th ...

. Its areas saw extensive

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

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

Princely Counts of Arenberg (1576–1645)

* Margaret (1576–1596) ''with''

Jean de Ligne Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

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

Dukes of Arenberg (1645–1810)

* Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg (1645–1675) *

Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg (1633–1681), a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1678, became 2nd Duke of Arenberg in 1674 on the death of his half-brother Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg. The original title had be ...

(1675–1681) * Philip Charles Francis, 3rd Duke of Arenberg (1681–1691) *

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

, 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