Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda was a historical

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

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, located in present northwestern

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

and southwestern

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, Germany. The princely branch of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda, with its

family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

s in Rheda and Hohenlimburg, is one of the two extant lines of the princely House of Bentheim, besides the Princes of

Bentheim-Steinfurt Bentheim-Steinfurt was a historical county located in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia in the region surrounding Steinfurt, Germany. Bentheim-Steinfurt was a partition of Bentheim-Bentheim, itself a partition of the County of Bentheim. Bentheim- ...

who still own the castles of Bentheim and

Steinfurt Steinfurt (; Westphalian: ''Stemmert'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From roughly 1100-1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt. Geography Steinfurt is situated north- ...

History

Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda emerged as a partition of

-Tecklenburg-Limburg in 1606, when the older county of

Bentheim-Tecklenburg Bentheim-Tecklenburg was a German county based in the region around Tecklenburg in northern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Bentheim-Tecklenburg emerged as a partition of the County of Bentheim in 1277, and was partitioned between it ...

was partitioned off again, after the death of

Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg (10 or 11 October 1554 in Neuenhaus – 11 January 1606 in Tecklenburg) was a German nobleman. He was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, and Count of Limburg. He ruled as Arno ...

(1554-1606). The territories of the ruling counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Limburg and Rheda then consisted of the counties of

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor a ...

and Limburg and the lordship of Rheda, at times divided between family members again. In 1701, Brandenburgian troops occupied Tecklenburg, as there had been a dispute about the county with the counts of

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of th ...

since 1577, and the latter sold their rights to Brandenburg. After the loss of Tecklenburg, the Bentheim-Tecklenburg branch still ruled the county of Limburg and the lordship of Rheda, although about 100 kilometers apart from each other, while the Bentheim-Steinfurt branch continued to rule in Bentheim and Steinfurt. In 1756 the residence was moved from Hohenlimburg to Rheda, which remains the main seat of the family to this day. In 1803 the secularized monasteries of Herzebrock and Clarholz, both located within the territories, were taken over by the counts. However, their sovereignty ended with the mediatisation in 1808 when the county became part of the

Grand Duchy of Berg The Grand Duchy of Berg (german: Großherzogtum Berg), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories bet ...

, and after the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

(1815) of 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''. Re ...

. In 1817, the count was created 1st Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg and Rheda by the Prussian king.Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIX. "Bentheim". C.A. Starke Verlag, 2011, pp. 116-119. (German). . In 1854 he received a hereditary seat in the Prussian House of Lords. The castles of Hohenlimburg and Rheda, Bosfeld House and the former abbeys of Herzebrock and Clarholz are still today owned by the House of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda. Il castello di Bentheim (Jacob Van Ruisdael).jpg,

Bentheim Castle Bentheim Castle (german: Burg Bentheim) is an early medieval hill castle in Bad Bentheim, Lower Saxony, Germany. The castle is first mentioned in the 11th century under the name ''binithem''. Situation The castle is built on a protrusion of Ben ...

(by Jacob van Ruisdael (1653) Tecklenburg, Wierturm.jpg,

Castle Schloss Hohenlimburg - Ansicht.jpg, Hohenlimburg Castle Rheda Schloss.jpg, Rheda Castle St.christina herzebrock 2014 2.JPG, Herzebrock Abbey Clarholz, Luftaufnahme des Klostergeländes.jpg, Clarholz Abbey

Counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda (1606–1806)

Bentheim Tecklenburg Rheda 2 - Tyroff HA

*Adolph (1606–1625) *Maurice (1625–1674) *John Adolph (1674–1701) *Frederick Maurice (1701–1710) *Maurice Casimir I (1710–1768) *Maurice Casimir II (1768–1805) *Emil (1805–1806)

Mediatized Counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda

# Friedrich Wilhelm Christian August (b.1767) (1817-1835) # Moritz Kasimir Karl Christian Friedrich Alexander (1835-1877) # Richard Friedrich Julius Ludwig Moritz (1877-1921) # Karl Albert Moritz (1921-1967) # Peter Moritz Kasimir Hellmuth (1967-1987) # Christian Moritz Casimir (b.1958) (1987- )

Mediatized Princes of Bentheim-Tecklenburg

# Emil (b.1765) (1817-1837) # Moritz Kasimir (1837-1872) # Franz (1872-1885) # Gustav (1885-1909) # Adolf (1909-1967) # Moritz-Casimir (1967-2014) # Maximilian (2014-) * Adolf, 5th Prince 1909-1967 (1889-1967) wed 1922 Princess Amélie of

Schönburg-Waldenburg Waldenburg is a town in the district Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. The castle was owned by the House of Schönburg from 1378 until 1945. The pottery town of Waldenburg lies in the valley of the Zwickauer Mulde. The environment is characterized by fo ...

(1902-1995) ** Moritz-Casimir, 6th Prince 1967-2014 (1923-2014) wed 1958 Countess Huberta von Hardenberg (born 1932) *** Maximilian, 7th Prince 2014- (b.1969) wed 2000 Marissa Clare

Fortescue Fortescue may refer to: People * Fortescue (surname), a British surname ''Includes list of name-holders'' * Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia * Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general Places * Fo ...

(born 1973) **** Prince Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (b.2003) **** Prince Carl-Emil (b.2010) ** Prince Nikolaus (1925-2020) wed 1951 Countess Franziska Hoyos zu Stichsenstein (1921-2009) ** Prince Heinrich (b.1940) *** Prince Cédric (b.1978)

References

{{Coord missing, Germany Populated places established in 1606 Counties of the Holy Roman Empire 1606 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire