The House of Bentheim is one of the oldest extant German noble families. They are a mediatized family, formerly being rulers of their own territories directly under the Holy Roman Emperor. They belong to both the ancient nobility ( Uradel ) and the high nobility ( Hochadel ). Today, there are two main lines of the family: the princes of Bentheim-Steinfurt and the princes of Bentheim-Tecklenburg. There is also a third, non-princely line of the family, the counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda.
The earliest known member of the family is Everwin von Götterswick/Güterswyk, c. 1200, supposedly the descendent of a knight named Godert who had settled on the lower Rhine near Wesel. [1]
In 1421, Everwin's descendent Everwin (1397-1454) inherited the County of Bentheim from his mother's family. In 1451, the Lordship of Steinfurt was also added to the family, through marriage. [2] In 1486, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III formally recognized Bentheim as an immediate Imperial County; it belonged to the Westphalian College of Counts. [3] The county was partitioned numerous times over the following centuries, notably in 1609, following the death of Count Arnold von Bentheim-Steinfurt. [4]
The Bentheims lost their status as independent rulers in 1806, following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, when they were mediatized by the Grand Dutchy of Berg. At the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815), the counties of Bentheim-Steinfurt and Bentheim-Tecklenburg were assigned to the kingdoms of Hanover and Prussia, respectively. In 1817, King Frederick William III granted both branches the rank of prince; from 1854, both branches had hereditary seats in the Prussian House of Lords. [5] [6] [7]
The counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda came into being in the 19th century following the morganatic marriage of a prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg; the King of Bavaria granted their issue the title of counts. [8]
Both princely branches still own numerous historical family properties, including Bentheim Castle, many of which are open to the public. [9] [10]
List of princes of Bentheim-Steinfurt
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 Almanach de Gotha is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published in 1763 by C.W. Ettinger in Gotha in Thuringia, Germany at the ducal court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it came to be regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies and their courts, reigning and former dynasties, princely and ducal families, and the genealogical, biographical and titulary details of Europe's highest level of aristocracy. It was published from 1785 annually by Justus Perthes Publishing House in Gotha, until 1944. The Soviets destroyed the Almanach de Gotha's archives in 1945.
Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire, located in present northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia and southwestern Lower Saxony, Germany.
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-Steinfurt was partitioned: between itself and Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda in 1606; and between itself and Bentheim-Bentheim in 1643.
Bentheim-Tecklenburg was a German county based in the region around Tecklenburg in northern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
The County of Bentheim was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the south-west corner of today's Lower Saxony, Germany. The county's borders corresponded largely to those of the modern administrative district (Landkreis) of Grafschaft Bentheim.
The County of Tecklenburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.
Tecklenburg Castle, or simply the Tecklenburg, is a ruined castle and venue for the Tecklenburg Open-Air Theatre in the eponymous town of Tecklenburg in the county of Steinfurt in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was once the seat of the rulers of the County of Tecklenburg.
The House of Schönburg is an old European noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank. It formerly owned large properties in present-day Saxony, Thuringia and Bohemia. As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel. The family today includes two princely and a comital branch.
The House of Orsini-Rosenberg is the name of an old Austrian noble family. The family is mediatized and as such belongs to the high nobility. It originally sprang out from the Graben family from Castle Alt-Grabenhofen near the city of Graz.
The House of Stolberg is the name of an old and large German dynasty of the former Holy Roman Empire's high aristocracy. Members of the family held the title of Fürst and Graf. They played a significant role in feudal Germany's history and, as a mediatized dynasty, enjoyed princely privileges until the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. The house has numerous branches.
Clotilde, Countess von Merenberg is a German psychiatrist and the last patrilineal descendant of the House of Nassau. She is a descendant of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
Heinrich Ruzzo Prinz Reuss von Plauen was a Swiss-born Swedish landscape architect and a member of the formerly sovereign House of Reuss. His branch ruled the Principality of Reuss-Gera until 1918. Until his death, he was married to ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, his second wife.
Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg was a German nobleman. He was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, and jure uxoris Count of Limburg. He ruled as Arnold IV in Bentheim and Tecklenburg, and as Arnold II in Steinfurt. In Limburg, he was the first Count named Arnold and hence just the name distinctive.
Magdalena of Neuenahr-Alpen was a German noblewoman. She was the heiress of the House of Neuenahr-Alpen; she inherited the County of Limburg. By marriage, she was Countess of Tecklenburg.
Eberwin III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt was a German nobleman. He was a member of the elder line of the House of Bentheim-Steinfurt and was the ruling Count of Bentheim and Steinfurt from 1544 until his death. From 1557, he was also Count of Tecklenburg and Lord of Rheda by marriage.
Bentheim may refer to:
The House of Collalto is an old and distinguished Austro-Italian noble house of Lombard origin, named after their seat at Collalto in Susegana, now in the Province of Treviso in Italy. Throughout its history, the house had their possessions in Italy, Austria and Moravia. Its name comes from Italian.
Anna von Tecklenburg-Schwerin (1532-1582) was the ruling suo jure Countess of Tecklenburg and the lordships of Wevelinghoven and Rheda between 1557 and 1582. She was regent of the County of Bentheim-Steinfurt during the minority of her son in 1562–1573.
The County of Steinfurt, originally the Lordship of Steinfurt, was a historic territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Munsterland. It existed from roughly 1100 until 1806.