County of Ravensberg | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1140–1810 | |||||||||
Status | County | ||||||||
Capital | Bielefeld | ||||||||
Government | Principality | ||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Otto I, Count of Ravensberg | 1140 | ||||||||
• Gerhard I, Count of Berg and Ravensberg | 1338 | ||||||||
1500 | |||||||||
1521 | |||||||||
1614 | |||||||||
• Disestablished | 1810 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Today part of | Germany |
The County of Ravensberg (German : Grafschaft Ravensberg) was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory was in present-day eastern Westphalia, Germany, at the foot of the Osning or Teutoburg Forest.
Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th century; its first seat was Ravensberg Castle. The Counts of Ravensberg then had Sparrenberg Castle built in Bielefeld c. 1240–50, which they made their seat. They also owned Limberg Castle near Preußisch Oldendorf .
The county was later inherited by the Duchy of Berg in 1346, which in turn became part of the Duchy of Jülich-Berg in 1423, and ultimately the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg in 1521.
After the War of the Jülich succession, in the Treaty of Xanten in 1614, the County of Ravensberg came to the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, and was administered within Minden-Ravensberg from 1719–1807, when it was dissolved during the Napoleonic Wars.
Aside from Bielefeld, other communities in the County of Ravensberg were Borgholzhausen, Halle, Steinhagen, Versmold, Werther, Isselhorst (now part of Gütersloh), Enger, Hiddenhausen, Rödinghausen, Spenge, Herford (except for Falkendiek), Bünde (except for Dünne and Spradow), Vlotho (except for Uffeln), Kirchlengern south of the Werre, Preußisch Oldendorf (except for Hedem and Lashorst) and Bad Oeynhausen south of the Werre.
1348–1395 in Personal union with Berg, since 1437 with Jülich-Berg
from 1521 a part of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
from 1614 Margraves of Brandenburg and Kings of Prussia
To France by the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit, incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia
Media related to County of Ravensberg at Wikimedia Commons
Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.
The County of Mark was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River along the Volme and Lenne rivers.
The Duchy of Jülich comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the west. It had territories on both sides of the river Rur, around its capital Jülich – the former Roman Iuliacum – in the lower Rhineland. The duchy amalgamated with the County of Berg beyond the Rhine in 1423, and from then on also became known as Jülich-Berg. Later it became part of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.
The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval Hettergau. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the towns of Wesel, Kalkar, Xanten, Emmerich, Rees and Duisburg bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west. Its history is closely related to that of its southern neighbours: the Duchies of Jülich and Berg, as well as Guelders and the Westphalian county of Mark. The Duchy was archaically known as Cleveland in English.
The German Emperor was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdication of Wilhelm II was announced on 9 November 1918. The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes also called "German Emperor" when the historical context is clear, as derived from the Holy Roman Empire's official name of "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" from 1512.
William of Jülich-Cleves-Berge was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1539–1592). William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was the only son of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. William took over rule of his father's estates upon his death in 1539. Despite his mother having lived until 1543, William also became the Duke of Berg and Jülich and the Count of Ravensberg.
The United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire between 1521 and 1666, formed from the personal union of the duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg.
The House of La Marck was a noble family, which from about 1200 appeared as the counts of Mark.
The Grand Duchy of Berg, also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories between the French Empire at the Rhine river and the German Kingdom of Westphalia.
The coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia is the official coat of arms of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Sparrenberg Castle, also known as the Sparrenburg, is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg hill in the Teutoburg Forest and towers 60 metres (200 ft) above the city centre. Its current appearance mainly originated in the 16th and 19th century. The Sparrenburg is considered to be Bielefeld's landmark.
The Royal Order of Saint Hubert, or sometimes is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of Linnich on 3 November, which is Saint Hubert's day.
William II was born in Jülich, as the son of Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg, and Margaret, daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg, and Margaret of Berg.
Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg was the son of William V, Duke of Jülich and Joanna of Hainaut.
Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg was the son of William VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg and Adelheid of Tecklenburg. Gerhard was the second duke of the combined Duchy of Jülich-Berg but the 7th Gerhard in the House of Jülich.
Margaret of Ravensberg was the daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg and Margaret of Berg-Windeck.
Charles Frederick of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, was Hereditary Prince of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and the counties of Mark and Ravensberg.
Margaret of Berg-Windeck was a German noblewoman.
The German Emperors after 1873 had a variety of titles and coats of arms, which in various compositions became the officially used titles and coats of arms. The title and coat of arms were last fixed in 1873, but the titles did not necessarily mean that the area was really dominated, and sometimes even several princes bore the same title.
Limberg Castle is a ruined hill castle on the 190-metre-high Limberg in the Wiehen Hills. It is located near the village of Börninghausen in the borough of Preußisch Oldendorf in the East Westphalian county of Minden-Lübbecke in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.