The house of Limburg-Stirum, which adopted its name in the 12th century from the castle of Limburg an der Lenne in what is now Germany, descends from the Ezzonen dynasty in the 9th century, making it one of the oldest families in Europe.
The Limburg-Stirum were sovereign monarchs in the Holy Roman Empire. They were mediatised in 1806 by the Confederation of the Rhine. They mistakenly often don't appear in the section of sovereign houses of the Almanach of Gotha, because the two youngest branches of the family became extinct in the beginning of the 19th century.
Since the 9th century, the family counted five Counts Palatine of Lotharingia, several Dukes of Westphalia, Bavaria, Carinthia and Swabia, seven Archbishops of Cologne, one Prince-Bishop of Speyer, more than ten Bishops in the Holy Roman Empire, and at least two Saints of the Catholic Church (Saint Richenza, celebrated on 21 March, and Saint Engelbert of Cologne, celebrated on 7 November).
The territorial authority of the family, counts of Berg since 1077, then counts of Limburg since 1246, was significantly reduced following the opposition of Frederick II, Count of Isenberg to the aggressive power politics of his cousin, the Archbishop of Cologne, Engelbert II of Berg, leading to the murder of the latter. A junior line, the Counts von der Marck, later rose in importance as dukes of Cleves, Jülich and Berg, dukes of Nevers and Bouillon, counts von Schleiden, etc.
Today's members are mostly found in Belgium and The Netherlands.
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The Ezzonen appear in the chronicles with Erenfried I (866-904), count of the Bliesgau, Keldachgau and Bonngau (maybe also count of Charmois). Probably he had Carolingian ancestors, although same historians prefer to link him to former Thuringian kings.
The Ezzonian dynasty (named after count palatine Ezzo) were the Counts Palatine of Lotharingia during the 10th and 11th century. They are considered to be the most important royal representatives in the region of the Middle and Lower Rhine. In spite of their military accomplishments in favour of the German emperors, the Ezzonians did not succeed in building a territorial entity in Lotharingia. During a limited period, they were assigned however the duchies of Swabia, Bavaria and Carinthia.
Famous members of the dynasty are:
The surviving line of the Ezzonen descends from Adolf I of Lotharingia, son of Hermann I "Pusillus", Count palatine of Lotharingia.
Adolf I of Lotharingia grandson, Adolf I of Berg, Vogt of Werden Abbey, became the first Count of Berg in 1050. The Counts of Berg became the most powerful dynasty in the Rhine region. Early rulers of Berg were:
Eberhard IV of Berg, son of Adolf IV of Berg and Altena, inherited the eastern territorium of County of Berg. With him, the oldest line of the Counts of Berg takes from 1166 the name and title of Counts of Altena (on the Lenne, Westphalia). Eberhard's territorium was later divided between his two sons:
Frederick II, Count of Isenberg was a leading figure in the opposition of Westphalian nobles to the aggressive power politics of his cousin, the Archbishop of Cologne, Engelbert II of Berg. In 1225 at the Nobles' Assembly in Soest, Frederick met his cousin Engelbert von Berg in order to bring about a peaceful agreement concerning the stewardship (Vogtei) of the Abbey of Essen, which Frederick, according to contemporary complaints, was abusing to his own benefit and to the detriment of the Abbey. No conclusion was reached. During their return together from Soest to Cologne, Count Frederick arranged an ambush on his cousin, in a defile at the foot of the Gevelsberg between Hagen and Schwelm in the late afternoon of 7 November 1225: the Archbishop was killed.
There is no consensus as to whether it was a deliberately planned murder, or whether the Archbishop was killed in the heat of combat. Current research assumes the latter: Engelbert was intended to have been taken into "knightly detention" so that the political demands of the opposing nobility could be pushed through. This was in accordance with the customs of the medieval feuding ethos.
Frederick of Isenberg was outlawed and excommunicated. He was stripped of all offices and stewardships and his entire personal wealth was confiscated. In the winter of 1225/1226 the new Archbishop of Cologne, Heinrich von Müllenark, besieged and destroyed his castle. His cousin, Adolf von der Mark, was attributed large portions of Frederick's possessions and as such re-united the former territory of Altena.
Frederick travelled with his brothers Dietrich and Engelbert, bishops of Münster and Osnabrück (both also implicated in the death of the Archbishop), and the notary of Isenberg with the necessary documents to the Curia in Rome, in order to have the excommunication lifted. On the return journey Frederick was taken prisoner at Liège and sold for 2,100 silver marks to the chapter of Cologne cathedral. On 14 November 1226 he was executed in front of the Severin Gate. His arms and legs were smashed and he was broken on the wheel, after which he was displayed on a stone pillar. He did not die until the next day.
His son Count Dietrich I of Isenberg, disinherited of all his territories in the Holy Roman Empire following the execution of his father, later fought with the military support of his uncle the Duke of Limburg, to retrieve his paternal inheritance. On 1 May 1243 a peace agreement was signed between Dietrich and Count Adolf von der Mark. He built the castles of Limburg (Hohenlimburg) and Neu Isenberg (soon lost in favour of the Counts von der Mark) and from 1246 took the title of Count of Limburg. Later, Dietrich's second son Johann gained ownership of Mülheim an der Ruhr and thereby of the castle of Styrum and took up residence there.
Count Georg of Limburg-Styrum married in 1539 Irmgarde of Wisch, Lady of Wisch op Oud-Wisch, Wildenborch, Overhagen and Lichtenvoorde, hereditary countess von Bronckhorst. Finally she inherited the possessions of her uncle, the last count of Bronckhorst and Borculo. Her possessions passed to her son Hermann Georg of Limburg, and the family settled in Gelderland. His grandson, Jobst of Limburg-Styrum, married Maria of Holstein-Pinneberg, heir of the immediate lordship of Gemen and Illereichen. Gemen stayed for two centuries to the Counts of Limburg Stirum.
His son Herman Otto I, count of Limburg and Bronckhorst, sovereign lord zu Gemen, served in the armies of the Dutch Republic. He commanded Christian of Brunswick's rearguard at the Battle of Stadtlohn (1623) and the Dutch cavalry at the Siege of Groenlo (1627). In 1644, the three sons of Herman Otto I divided the family possessions between themselves:
Otto of Limburg obtained the territories of Bronckhorst and Borculo. He founded the older line, still alive today.
In the long conflict (known as the "Borculo question") between the heirs of the last count of Limburg-Bronckhorst, Joost (deceased in 1553 without children), and the Prince-Bishop of Münster over ownership of Borculo, the Court of Gelderland ruled on 20 December 1615 in favour of count Joost van Limburg and Bronkhorst. The ruling was imposed by troops from Zutphen, taking over the castle and city of Lichtenvoorde in December 1615, and the castle and city of Borculo in February 1616 after short combat. Prince Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen, tried again twice to keep Borculo under Münster's authority, but without success.
The lordship of Bronckhorst was sold in 1721 by Maria of Limburg Styrum. In 1726 was the lordship of Borculo sold by count Leopold to the count of Flodorf.
Adolf Ernst of Limburg Stirum obtained the immediate lordship of Gemen and Illereichen in the partition in 1644 and ruled it until his death in 1657. He founded the line of Limburg Stirum Gemen. In 1782, with extinction of Gemen branch of the House of Limburg Stirum, Gemen was inherited by the line of Limburg Stirum Iller-Aicheheim.
In 1806, Gemen was mediatized to the Princes of Salm-Kyrburg. It passed to France in 1810, then to Prussia in 1814.
Moritz of Limburg-Styrum obtained the ownership of Mülheim an der Ruhr and thereby of the immediate lordship of Styrum, and later Oberstein. Here he founded the line of counts of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum, extinct in 1809. Moritz later also became hereditary banneret of the Principality of Guelders and of the County of Zütphen. He married his cousin Maria Bernhardine of Limburg and Bronckhorst.
In the mediatisation of 1806, Styrum came under control of the Grand Duchy of Berg. The last count of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum, Ernst (deceased on 23 March 1809) in his will donated Styrum to the sister of his wife: Maria Margaretha von Humbracht, who sold it in 1825. Oberstein was mediatized at the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, however Ernst was never compensated by the Final Recess in 1803.
The Limburg Stirum held seats in the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial Diet until 1800, through their possessions of immediate lordships in Gemen, Oberstein, Styrum, etc. When the branch of Gemen became extinct in 1800, the branch of Styrum failed to inherit their rights and possessions, and the sovereignty of Gemen passed to the barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg.
In 1806 the Confederation of the Rhine occurred and Gemen was mediatized (hence making the barons of Boyneburg-Bömelberg the only barons together with the Bentincks to be mediatized). At the same moment Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was mediatized to the Grand Duchy of Berg. This branch became extinct three years later in 1809. Since the German Confederation officially confirmed the mediatized status in 1829, the Limburg Stirum are often left away from the section of sovereign houses of the Almanach de Gotha. Nevertheless, the family should be considered a mediatized family of sovereign monarchs and should carry the title of Erlaucht.
The titles of the House of Limburg Stirum were confirmed in 1812 by Napoleon and in 1814 the family was recognised in the nobility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (name: van Limburg Stirum). Members of the House of Limburg Stirum are recognized as sovereign Counts of the Holy Roman Empire.
Notable figures in recent history are:
The Counts of Limburg Stirum created two orders of knighthood: the Order of the Four Emperors and the Order of St Philip of the Lion of Limburg. In 1806 the Counts of Limburg Stirum were mediatized and lost their rights on their territories. However the Order Order of St Philip of the Lion of Limburg was still in use till 1838.
Limburg Stirum is also the name of a mountain, 2350 meters high, standing in the Belgica Mountains in Antarctic. It was discovered by the Belgian expedition (1957–58) under G. de Gerlache, who named it for Count Charles de Limburg Stirum, a patron of the expedition.
Count Rodolphe de Limburg Stirum, son of Count Christian de Limburg Stirum, married on Dec. 6, 2008 in Mechelen, Belgium, Archduchess Marie-Christine of Austria, a niece of current reigning Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. She is the great-granddaughter of King Leopold III of Belgium on her mother's side and Emperor Charles I of Austria on her father's side.