Styrum (; sometimes spelled "Stirum") was an immediate lordship in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Mülheim an der Ruhr,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

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 ...

. It held no seat in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

and was circumvened by the

Lordship of Broich Broich Castle Broich, now part of Mülheim on the River Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia, is the oldest surviving castle known from the Carolingian period north of the Alps. The castle is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr. In the Midd ...

. The exact date of construction of its castle is unknown. Styrum was already prosperous in

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

times before

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

(late 8th century). In 1067 Styrum was given to the Abbacy of Kaiserswerth. After the murder of the Archbishop of Cologne, Engelbert of Berg, in 1225, the descendants of

Frederick I of Isenberg Count Frederick of Isenberg (Friedrich von Isenberg) (1193 – 15 November 1226) was a German noble, the younger son of Arnold of Altena (died 1209). Before the split between Arnold of Altena-Isenberg the eldest and his brother Friedrich Altena ...

gained ownership of Mülheim on the river Ruhr and thereby of the castle Styrum and the castle Hohenlimburg on the river Lenne. They founded the line of Counts of Limburg zu Hohenlimburg and Lords of Limburg zu Styrum. The family obtained important estates in

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 ...

and the

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

. With the partition of the House of Limburg Styrum in 1644, Styrum passed to the line of

Limburg-Styrum-Styrum Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was a County of medieval Germany, based in the Lordship of Styrum in modern North Rhine-Westphalia. Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was a partition of Limburg-Styrum in 1644. When the line of Limburg-Styrum-Iller-Aichheim became exti ...

. Styrum was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1668, and it received its present form after a fire in 1738. In the

mediatisation Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by ...

of 1806, Styrum came under control 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 be ...

. The line of

became extinct in 1809. The last count of the Styrum branch of the family, Ernst Maria Johan (deceased on 23 March 1809) in his will of 29 January 1808 donated Styrum to the sister of his wife: Maria Margaretha von Humbracht, who sold it in 1825. Styrum was purchased by the German industrialist August Thyssen in 1890. His company gave the castle to the city of Mülheim in 1960. It was transformed into a restaurant, artist studio and community centre for the elderly in 1992. The community of Styrum is now part of the cities of Mülheim an der Ruhr and Oberhausen. Its local soccer team, FC Styrum, renamed FC Mülheim in 1975, was successful from the 1950s to the 1980s, even playing in the ''2. Bundesliga-Nord''. The name "Styrum" originates from "Stiarhem", meaning "Bulls Home" in the early medieval local dialect.

Literature

* Rawe, Kai: ''Schloss Styrum'' (2010). In: Niederhöfer, Kai (ed.): ''Burgen AufRuhr. Unterwegs zu 100 Burgen, Schlössern und Herrensitzen in der Ruhrregion''. Essen: Klartext Verlag, p. 301–304.

External links

Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia House of Limburg-Stirum Mülheim Buildings and structures in North Rhine-Westphalia {{NorthRhineWestphalia-struct-stub