Gemen was an immediate, sovereign lordship of the Holy Roman Empire, in the Lower Rhine region. Since Gemen had a vote in the Imperial Diet it was also an Imperial Estate. It was centered on Gemen, a small town and castle in the present municipality of Borken, western North Rhine-Westphalia.
Gemen is first mentioned in 962. In 1282, Gemen became a fief of the Counts of Cleves. The line of the Lords of Gemen became extinct in 1492, and Gemen passed to the Counts of Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg through the heiress Cordula of Gemen, to form the County of Schaumburg and Gemen.
In 1640, the immediate lordship of Gemen passed for two centuries to the Counts of Limburg Stirum. In a partition in 1644, Gemen passed to the line of Limburg Stirum Gemen, then in 1782, with extinction of Gemen branch of the House of Limburg Stirum, Gemen was inherited by the line of Limburg Stirum Iller-Aichheim.
When Ferdinand IV of Limburg Stirum died at the age of 15 in 1800, the line Limburg-Styrum-Styrum failed to inherit Gemen, which then passed to the barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg for 6 years, until the mediatisation of 1806.
- 1640-1644 - Herman Otto I , count of Limburg and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen;
- 1644-1657 - Adolf Ernst , count of Limburg Stirum, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, second son of the above;
- 1657-1675 - (Maria) Isabella countess von Vehlen und Meggen zu Raesfeld, wife of Adolf Ernst of Limburg Stirum above, is Regent of Gemen;
- 1675-1704 - Hermann Otto II , count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, son of the two above. On 15 September 1700 a decision by the Courts confirmed its succession right.
- 1704-1743 - Otto Leopold , count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen and Raesfeld, son of the above;
- 1743-1771 - Friedrich Karl , count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, son of the above;
- 1771-1776 - August Philip , Prince-Bishop of Speyer, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, brother of the above.
- 1776-1798 - Karl Josef , count of Limburg Stirum, Sovereign Lord zu Gemen, cousin of the above;
- 1798-1800 - Ferdinand IV , count of Limburg Stirum zu Illereichen, grandson of the above, was the last Sovereign Lord zu Gemen before it passed to the Barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg in 1800.
In 1806, Gemen was mediatised to the Princes of Salm-Kyrburg. It passed to France in 1810, then to Prussia in 1814.
August Philipp Karl of Limburg Stirum (1721–1797), count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, was the son of Otto Leopold Count von Limburg Styrum und Bronckhorst, Lord of Gemen and Raesfeld (1688–1754) and Anna Elisabeth countess of Schönborn (1686–1757).
Jobst of Limburg was count of Limburg and Bronckhorst, Lord of Styrum, Wisch and Borculo (1616), and the son of Hermann Georg of Limburg, count of Limburg and Bronckhorst.
Hermann Otto I of Limburg-Styrum, count of Limburg and Bronckhorst, lord of Styrum, Gemen, Wisch and Borculo, and from 1640 to 1644 advocate of the imperial abbey of Vreden, was born in 1592, and died on 17 October 1644. He was the eldest son of Jobst of Limburg Stirum.
Otto of Limburg-Styrum, count of Limburg and Bronckhorst, was the son of Hermann Otto I of Limburg-Styrum.
Moritz of Limburg Stirum (1633–1664) was the reigning Count of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum.
Moritz Hermann of Limburg,, count of Limburg Stirum was the second reigning count of the branch Limburg-Styrum-Styrum.
Adolf Ernst of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Stirum, sovereign lord zu Gemen, son of Hermann Otto I of Limburg-Styrum.
Field Marshal Hermann Otto II of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Stirum and Bronckhorst, sovereign lord zu Gemen, was the son of Adolf Ernst of Limburg Stirum and an imperial Field Marshal.
Otto Leopold of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Styrum and Bronckhorst, sovereign lord zu Gemen and Raesfeld, was born in 1688 the son of Hermann Otto II of Limburg Stirum.
Friedrich Karl of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Styrum and Bronckhorst, sovereign lord of Gemen, son of Otto Leopold of Limburg Stirum, was born in 1710.
Maximilian Wilhelm of Limburg Stirum (1653–1728), count of Limburg Styrum, sovereign lord of Illereichen and Simontornya. He was the third son of Adolf Ernst of Limburg Stirum, sovereign lord zu Gemen.
Ferdinand Gotthard Meinrad of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg, "Fürst" von Styrum, sovereign lord zu Gemen, was born in 1701, son of Maximilian Wilhelm of Limburg Stirum.
Karl Josef Maximilian of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Styrum, sovereign lord zu Gemen, was the son of Alois of Limburg Stirum.
Johann Nepomuck of Limburg Stirum, count of Limburg Styrum, sovereign lord zu Gemen, son of Alois of Limburg Stirum, was born in 1756. He married in 1784 Maria Walpurga vom Stain and they had issue:
Ferdinand IV August Carl Joseph Johannes Nepomuk Thaddeus, Count of Limburg-Stirum zu Illereichen, was sovereign lord of the immediate lordship of Gemen.
The House of Limburg-Stirum, which adopted its name in the 12th century from the immediate county of Limburg an der Lenne in what is now Germany, is one of the oldest families in Europe. It is the eldest and only surviving branch of the House of Berg, which was among the most powerful dynasties in the region of the lower Rhine during the Middle Ages. Some historians link them to an even older dynasty, the Ezzonen, going back to the 9th century.
Limburg-Styrum-Gemen was a county of medieval Germany, based in the Lordship of Gemen in modern North Rhine-Westphalia. It was partitioned from Limburg-Styrum in 1644, and in 1657 partitioned into itself and Limburg-Styrum-Iller-Aichheim. As Limburg-Styrum-Gemen ruled an Imperial Estate (Gemen), the Counts had a seat on the Bench of Counts of Westphalia. The line of Counts became extinct in 1782 and was inherited by the Counts of Limburg-Styrum-Iller-Aichheim.
Limburg-Styrum-Iller-Aichheim was a County of medieval Germany, based in the Lordship of Iller-Aichheim. It was partitioned from Limburg-Styrum-Gemen in 1657. When the line of Limburg-Styrum-Gemen became extinct in 1782 the Counts of Limburg-Styrum-Iller-Aichheim inherited it and the Imperial Estate of Gemen. However, when in 1800 this line became extinct, it was inherited by Boyneburg-Bömelberg instead 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 extinct in 1800, Limburg-Styrum-Styrum failed to inherit it and the Imperial Estate of Gemen, which instead passed to the Barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg. In 1806 Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was mediatised to the Grand Duchy of Berg. The line itself became extinct in 1809.
Jobst Hermann von Holstein-Schaumburg was a member of the House of Schaumburg.
