The House of Rechteren (also van Rechteren-Limpurg) is the name of an old noble family belonging to the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

German nobility The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the b ...

. The German branch of Countsvon Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld has been mediatised.

History

The family was already noble from earliest times ("

Uradel (, German: "ancient nobility"; adjective or ) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The word stands opposed to '' Briefadel'', ...

"). The first documented ancestor is Fredericus van Hekeren van der Ese (mentioned 1295) who was an adviser to

Reginald II of Guelders Reginald II of Guelders ( nl, Reinoud), called "the Black" (c. 1295 – 12 October 1343), was Count of Guelders, and from 1339 onwards Duke of Guelders, and Zutphen, in the Low Countries, from 1326 to 1343. He was the son of Reginald I of Guelders ...

. His grandson Frederik van Heeckeren van der Eze (1320-ca. 1386) was the head of the ''Heeckerens'' faction during the War of the Guelderian Succession. Through his marriage with 'Lutgardis van Voorst, whose ancestors owned both the castle Rechteren near

Dalfsen Dalfsen (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and a town in the Salland region of the Dutch province of Overijssel. The municipality of Dalfsen was increased to its current size on 1 January 2001 through the amalgamation of the municipalities ...

as well as the castle Voorst near

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is on ...

, the surname ''van Rechteren'' entered the family. In 1432, Frederik's grandson, Frederik van Hekeren genaamd van Rechteren († 1462) married Cunegonde van Polanen. Their son Otto van Hekeren genaamd van Rechteren († 1478) inherited Castle Rechteren and became the ancestor of the counts of Rechteren. Otto's brother, Zeger van Hekeren genaamd van Voorst, became the ancestor of the present-day barons

van Voorst tot Voorst van Voorst tot Voorst is an old Dutch noble family from the Dutch province of Overijssel. History The family has been noble since at least the 14th century (" Uradel"). The first documented ancestor is Fredericus van Hekeren van der Ese (in 13 ...

. The

van Heeckeren Van Heeckeren is an old Dutch noble family from the Dutch provinces Overijssel and Gelderland. History The earliest bearer of the name may have taken it from the town of Ekeren, which was also referred to in 1167 as ''Hecerna''. The oldest k ...

family is related to both families. In 1705, Joachim Heinrich Adolf van Rechteren was granted by Emperor Joseph I. the

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

. His son, Johann Eberhard Adolf (1714-1754), inherited from his mother, Countess Amalie zu Limpurg-Speckfeld, the county of Limpurg-Speckfeld. In 1806 the branch of Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld was mediatised. The German branch of the Counts Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld died out in 1995. Icho baron von und zu Massenbach adopted the surname of his mother, Luitgard Countess von Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld (1910-1960), and carries on the Rechteren surname in Germany. Castle Rechteren in

became a property of Herman van Voorst, ancestor of the Rechteren family, in 1315. and it is still owned by the family. The family also owns Huize Almelo and the Enghuizen estate.

Coat of arms

Shield: in gold a red cross. The Rechteren coat of arms is depicted in the medieval Gelre Armorial (folio 101v). Van Rechteren wapen 1814.svg, Coat of Arms of 1814 Wappen der Reichsgrafen Rechteren von Limpurg 1799.jpg, Arms of the Count of Rechteren (1706)

Gallery

Kasteel Rechteren HDR.jpg, The Castle Rechteren in

has been in the Recheteren family since 1315. Huize Almelo.jpg, Huize Almelo Naar prentbriefkaart (1835) - Hummelo - 20119032 - RCE.jpg, The Enghuizen estate in Hummelo before being bombed in 1945. Overzicht van de orangerie in het landschap, met op de voorgrond een tuinvaas - Hummelo - 20425736 - RCE.jpg, The converted orangerie on the Enghuizen estate.

Literature

* Dr. D.P.M. Graswinckel and Mr. H. Hardenberg, 'Het Archief van het Kasteel Rechteren' (Zaltbommel, 1941). * A.F.H. van Heeckeren,'Genealogie van de geslachten Van Voorst, Van Heeckeren, Van Rechteren' in: Heraldieke Bibliotheek (1876). * Prof. Dr. J.G.N. Renaud et al., 'Het kasteel Voorst- Macht en val van een Overijsselse burcht' (Zwolle, 1983). * J. P h. de Monté Verloren, 'Het wapen en de graventitel van den Nederlandschen tak van het geslacht van Rechteren Limpurg', in: De Nederlandsche Leeuw 57 (1939), k. 166–168.
Mensema, A.J., Raat, R.M. de, Woude, C.C. van der, Inventaris van het huisarchief Almelo, 3 volumes, 1236 - 1917 (1933), Zwolle (1993). online version including family tree of early generations of the Van der Eze, Van Heeckeren, Van Rechteren en Van Voorst family
* Nederland's Adelsboek 91 (2004-2005), p. 1-48. * Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels 149 (2011), p. 309-313. * Detlev Schwennicke,

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for thos ...

Band XXVII (2012) Tafel 94–95.

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rechteren, Van Surnames Dutch noble families German noble families