Countess Walburgis of Rietberg (1555/56,

Rietberg Rietberg () is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km south of Gütersloh and 25 km north-west of Paderborn in the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The town is l ...

– 26 May 1586, Esens) was 1565–1576 and 1584–1586 Countess of

Life

Walburgis was the second daughter of Count

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of Rietberg and his wife, Countess Agnes 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. Benthei ...

in Rietberg. After the birth of John Edzard, her youngest child and only son, Walburgis needed to recover and moved from Esens to

Wittmund Wittmund () is a town and capital of the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Wittmund is a town of 21,000 inhabitants located in Germany's historic coastal district of East Frisia, between the towns of Aurich and Jever. Th ...

. A short time later, she moved back to Esens, where she died on 26 May 1586 at the age of 30. She was buried in the St. Magnus Church in Esens. With her death, the Rietberg line of the House of Werl-Arnsberg died out. After Walburgis's death rumors spread that she had been poisoned with a poisoned

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. Under torture, one of the three women suspected of the crime confessed. Although the doctors certified a natural death, the three suspects were burned on the stake on 11 May 1586.

Marriage and descendants

On 1 May 1577, at the age of 21 years, Walburgis was engaged to Count Enno III of East Frisia, who was then 14 years old. The wedding took place on 28 January 1581, when Enno was 18. From this marriage, she had three children: * Sabina Catherine (born: 11 August 1582 – died: 31 May 1618) : married on 4 March 1601 her uncle Count John III of East Frisia (born: 1566 – died: 29 September 1625) * Agnes (born: 1 January 1584 – died: 28 February 1616) : married on 15 August 1603 Prince Gundakar of

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(born: 30 January 1580 – died: 5 August 1658) * John Edzard (born: 2 March 1586 – died: 13 March 1586), buried in the St. Magnus Church in Esens

External links

Profile
kaunitz-rietberg.de; accessed 19 February 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walburgis, Countess of Rietberg Countesses of Rietberg Countesses of East Frisia House of Cirksena 16th-century German nobility 16th-century German women 1550s births 1586 deaths Year of birth uncertain