The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (german: Niederrheinisch-Westfälischer Reichskreis, nl, Nederrijns-Westfaalse Kreits) was an Imperial Circle 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 ...

. It comprised territories of the former Duchy of

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

, Frisia and the

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

n part of the former

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...

. The circle was made up of numerous small states, however the Counts

De la Marck The House of La Marck (german: von der Mar(c)k) was a noble family, which from about 1200 appeared as the counts of Mark. History The family history started with Count Adolf I, scion of a cadet branch of the Rhenish Berg dynasty residing at A ...

were able to collect a significant amount of territories, the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg from 1521 on. The Empire's largest ecclesiastical territory was held by the Prince-Bishops of Münster.

Composition

The circle was made up of the following states: ;Tranfers : The

Duchy of Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in p ...

passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 :

Luxemburg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1512 : The

County of Drenthe The County of Drenthe ( nl, Landschap Drenthe, german: Grafschaft Drente), was a province of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046, and of the Dutch Republic from 1581 until 1795. It corresponds to the area west of the lower Ems, today the eponymous p ...

passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 : The

Lordship of Groningen The Lordship of Groningen ( nl, Heerlijkheid Groningen) was a lordship under the rule of the House of Habsburg between 1536 and 1594, which is the present-day province of Groningen. Before 1536 A distinction must be made between the City of Gr ...

passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 : The

Lordship of Overijssel The Lordship of Overijssel or Overissel (Latin: ''Transisalania''Christyn, Jean Baptiste. Histoire Generale Des Pais-Bas: Contenant la Description Des XVII Provinces : Divisée en IV. volumes, augmentée de plusieurs remarques curieuses, de nouve ...

passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 : The Bishopric of Utrecht passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 : The

County of Zutphen The County of Zutphen, located in modern-day Gelderland, a province of the Netherlands, was formed in the eleventh century as a fief of the Bishop of Utrecht. It was ruled by the Counts of Zutphen between 1046 and 1138, and then formed a per ...

passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548

References

Imperial Circles in the 16th Century
Historical Maps of Germany * The list of states making up the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle is based in part on that in the German Wikipedia article Niederrheinisch-Westfälischer Reichskreis. *
List of the imperial circles of 1532

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle Circles of the Holy Roman Empire Westphalian Lowland 1500s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1500 establishments in Europe