Gemen was an
immediate,
sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'.
The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...
lordship of the
Holy Roman Empire, in the
Lower Rhine region. Since Gemen had a vote in the
Imperial Diet it was also an
Imperial Estate. It was centered on Gemen, a small town and castle in the present municipality of
Borken, western
North Rhine-Westphalia.
Gemen is first mentioned in 962. In 1282, Gemen became a fief of the
Counts of Cleves. The line of the Lords of Gemen became extinct in 1492, and Gemen passed to the
Counts of Schaumburg
The County of Schaumburg (german: link=no, Grafschaft Schaumburg), until ca. 1485 known as Schauenburg, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Lower Saxony. Its territory was more or less congruent with ...
and
Holstein-Pinneberg through the heiress Cordula of Gemen, to form the County of Schaumburg and Gemen.
In 1640, the immediate lordship of Gemen passed for two centuries to the Counts of
Limburg Stirum. In a partition in 1644, Gemen passed to the line of
Limburg Stirum Gemen, then in 1782, with extinction of Gemen branch of the House of Limburg Stirum, Gemen was inherited by the line of
Limburg Stirum Iller-Aichheim.
When
Ferdinand IV of Limburg Stirum died at the age of 15 in 1800, the line
Limburg-Styrum-Styrum failed to inherit Gemen, which then passed to the barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg for 6 years, until the
mediatisation of 1806.
* 1640-1644 -
Herman Otto I, count of Limburg and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen;
* 1644-1657 -
Adolf Ernst
Adolf Ernst (October 6, 1832 – August 12, 1899) was a Prussian-born scientist. Ernst settled in Venezuela in 1861, where he taught at the Central University of Venezuela. He became the most important scientist in the country during the second h ...
, count of Limburg Stirum, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, second son of the above;
* 1657-1675 - (Maria) Isabella countess von Vehlen und Meggen zu Raesfeld, wife of
Adolf Ernst of Limburg Stirum above, is Regent of Gemen;
* 1675-1704 -
Hermann Otto II, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, son of the two above. On 15 September 1700 a decision by the Courts confirmed its succession right.
* 1704-1743 -
Otto Leopold, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen and Raesfeld, son of the above;
* 1743-1771 -
Friedrich Karl, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, son of the above;
* 1771-1776 -
August Philip, Prince-Bishop of
Speyer, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, brother of the above.
* 1776-1798 -
Karl Josef, count of Limburg Stirum, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, cousin of the above;
* 1798-1800 -
Ferdinand IV, count of
Limburg Stirum zu Illereichen, grandson of the above, was the last Sovereign Lord zu Gemen before it passed to the Barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg in 1800.
In 1806, Gemen was mediatised to the Princes of
Salm-Kyrburg. It passed to
France in 1810, then to
Prussia in 1814.
Sources
* Dr. A.J. Bonke: ''De takken Gemen en Styrum van het geslacht van Limburg Stirum'', Stichting van Limburg Stirum, The Hague, 2007
* A. Giraud, M. Huberty, F. and B. Magdelaine: ''L'Allemagne Dynastique'', volume VII
{{Authority control
Lordships of the Holy Roman Empire
House of Limburg-Stirum
Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia