Bentheim-Steinfurt

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Coat of arms of the princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt
Family coat of arms of the Counts of Bentheim
Coat of arms of the first Earl of Bentheim from the House of Götterswick (1421–1454).
Coat of arms of the princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt
Bentheim Castle (aerial photo 2014)
Burgsteinfurt Castle (inside of the upper castle )
Burgsteinfurt Castle (gatehouse of the outer bailey )

The house Bentheim-Steinfurt or Bentheim and Steinfurt was until 1919 an imperial family of the Westphalian nobility , which can be traced back to the 12th century .

The independent line of the Counts of Bentheim-Steinfurt developed in 1609 after an inheritance was divided in the Imperial Counts' House of Bentheim . Of the five branch lines established at that time, the Bentheim-Steinfurt zu Burgsteinfurt and Bentheim-Tecklenburg zu Rheda families , who were raised to the hereditary Prussian prince status in 1817, still exist today .

origin

The line Bentheim-Steinfurt of the noble family of Bentheim was in 1454 by Arnold I. von Bentheim-Steinfurt, the counts of Steinfurt founded. He was the son of Eberwin V. von Götterswick and as Eberwin I. Graf von Bentheim and Lord of Steinfurt. After Eberwin's death in 1454, the Götterswick family split up into the two lines Bentheim-Bentheim and Bentheim-Steinfurt.

The head of Bentheim-Steinfurt was now Arnold I, Count of Steinfurt.

Professional advancement and territorial expansion

The house of Bentheim-Steinfurt had the status of a count with the following territories:

from 1454
from 1487
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Götterswick (Allod)
from 1492
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Reign of Wevelinghoven (half fief)
  • Götterswick (Allod)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)
from 1513
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Lordship of Wevelinghoven (fiefdom)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)
from 1530
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • County of Bentheim; major part (sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Lordship of Wevelinghoven (fiefdom)
  • County of Bentheim ; smaller part (fiefdom)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)
from 1553
  • County of Bentheim; major part (sovereignty)
  • County of Bentheim; smaller part (fiefdom)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)
from 1566
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • County of Bentheim; major part (sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Lordship of Wevelinghoven (fiefdom)
  • County of Bentheim; smaller part (fiefdom)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)
from 1580
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • Grafschaft Bentheim (state sovereignty)
  • County of Tecklenburg (sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Reign of Rheda (fiefdom)
  • Lordship of Wevelinghoven (fiefdom)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)
from 1582
  • County of Steinfurt (state sovereignty)
  • Grafschaft Bentheim (state sovereignty)
  • County of Tecklenburg (sovereignty)
  • Lordship of Gronau (fiefdom)
  • Reign of Rheda (fiefdom)
  • Lordship of Wevelinghoven (fiefdom)
  • Freudenberg Office (fiefdom)
  • Amt Uchte (fiefdom)
  • Hawickerwerth (Allod)

In 1495 the house of Bentheim-Steinfurt rose to the rank of imperial count because of Steinfurt. After the inheritance of the House of Bentheim-Bentheim (Ä. L.) in 1530, the house received a renewed title of imperial count because of Bentheim. In addition, as a result of the marriage of Count Arnold II of Bentheim (1554-1606) with Countess Magdalena of Neuenahr-Alpen (1548-1626), the family acquired the hereditary bailiwick over Cologne in 1589.

Confession and Faith

The house Bentheim-Steinfurt was since 1544/1564 to 1575 Evangelical - Lutheran faith, but then switched to the Evangelical Reformed faith.

coat of arms

On top of the helmets it says:

  1. because of Bentheim a Moor with an oriental hat
  2. because of Tecklenburg a peacock with spread tail plumage
  3. because of Steinfurt a spotted swan
  4. because of Limburg a lion between two peacock tails

List of heads of families

  • Arnold I. (1454-1466)
  • Eberwin II. (1466-1498)
  • Arnold II. (1498–1553) (counted as Arnold I in the county of Bentheim)
  • Eberwin III. (1553–1561)
  • Arnold III (1553–1566)
  • Arnold IV. (1562–1606) (counted as Arnold II in the county of Bentheim)
  • Arnold Jost (1606-1609)

The house fell apart and was divided in 1609

Collapse and division

The Bentheim-Steinfurt older line split up into the following lines with Arnold Jost, who died on August 26, 1643:

  • Bentheim-Bentheim younger line (from 1693 Bentheim-Steinfurt younger line)
  • Bentheim-Steinfurt younger line (from 1693 Bentheim-Bentheim younger line; 1803 extinct and fallen to Bentheim-Steinfurt younger line)
  • Bentheim-Tecklenburg

Further development of the Bentheim-Steinfurt company

From 1803 the Bentheim-Steinfurt house was the younger line, despite the division the house did not lose its social status, because it remained represented as an imperial count in the high nobility thanks to Bentheim and Steinfurt. At the time of Napoleon Bonaparte , the status of the house was lost, since all lands were occupied and conquered and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had collapsed. After the Congress of Vienna in 1814/15, the family received the title and status of a lord of the German Confederation until 1817.

On January 21, 1817, King Friedrich Wilhelm III. the house of Bentheim-Steinfurt to the rank of prince . In addition to the rulership in Prussia, because of Steinfurt, the family also held the rulership in Hanover, because of Bentheim. The Princely House of Bentheim-Steinfurt jL existed until the end of the monarchy in 1919.

List of heads of families

More family members

Properties (selection)

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Gothaisches Genealogisches Handbuch , Fürstl. Houses 2018 (GGH 7) Deutsches Adelsarchiv , Marburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-9817243-6-3 , page 201
  2. Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels , Fstl. Houses, Vol. XIX, page 116, C. A. Starke-Verlag, Limburg 2011
  3. Hans-Joachim Böckenholt: Castle and Rulership Rheda. Rhode Druck und Verlag, 1st edition, Harsewinkel (Marienfeld) 1979, p. 31