County of Ravensberg

County of Ravensberg
Grafschaft Ravensberg
State of the Holy Roman Empire (until 1806)
← 1140s – 1807 →
Coat of arms
Map of part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle in 1560, County of Ravensberg highlighted in red
Capital		Bielefeld
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Otto I, Count of     Ravensberg	1140s 1140s
•	Gerhard I, Count of Berg     and Ravensberg	1338
•	Joined Westphalian     Imperial Circle	1500
•	John III, Duke of     Jülich-Cleves-Berg	1521
•	To Brandenburg-Prussia     by Treaty of Xanten	1614
•	Disestablished	1807

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.

History

Sparrenburg Castle

Historic map of the County of Ravensberg (1798)

Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th century; its first capital was Burg Ravensberg. The Counts of Ravensberg then had Sparrenberg Castle built in Bielefeld ca. 1240–50, which they made their seat.

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.

Rulers

House Calvelage-Ravensberg

• Until 1144 Hermann I
• ca.1140 -ca.1170 Otto I
• ca.1160 -ca.1180 Heinrich
• ca.1175 -ca.1220 Hermann II
• ca.1220 -1244 Otto II
• ca.1220 -1249 Ludwig
• 1249-1306 Otto III
• 1306-1328 Otto IV
• 1328-1346 Bernard

House of Jülich

1348-1395 in Personal union with Berg, since 1437 with Jülich-Berg

• 1346-1360 Gerhard I
• 1360-1408 William I, lets his 2 sons rule :
• 1395-1403 Adolf
• 1403-1428 William II
• 1428–1475 Gerhard II
• 1475–1511 William III

House of La Marck, Dukes

– from 1521 a part of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg –

• 1511–1539 John
• 1539–1592 William V
• 1592–1609 John William I

House of Hohenzollern

- from 1614 Margraves of Brandenburg and Kings of Prussia -

• 1614–1619 John Sigismund of Hohenzollern
• 1619–1640 George William, son
• 1640–1688 Frederick William I, son
• 1688–1713 Frederick I, son, King in Prussia from 1701
• 1713–1740 Frederick William I, son, King in Prussia
• 1740–1786 Frederick II, son, King of Prussia from 1772
• 1786–1797 Frederick William II, nephew, King of Prussia
• 1797–1807 Frederick William III, King of Prussia

To France by the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit, incorporated into the Kingdom of Westphalia

See also

• Ostwestfalen-Lippe

External links

Media related to County of Ravensberg at Wikimedia Commons

• Historical Map of Northrhine-Westphalia 1789

Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (1500–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire Ecclesiastical Cambrai (until 1678) Corvey1 Liège Minden2 Münster Stavelot–Malmedy1 Osnabrück Paderborn Utrecht (until 1548) Verden (until 1648) The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (color) within the Holy Roman Empire (white) Prelates Corvey2 Essen Herford Kornelimünster Stavelot–Malmedy2 Thorn Werden Secular Cleves with Mark East Frisia1 Jülich–Berg Guelders Minden1 Moers1 Nassau-Dillenburg1 Verden1 Counts and lords From 1500 Bentheim Bronkhorst (until 1719) Diepholz East Frisia (until 1667) Horne3 (until 1614) Hoya Lingen3 Lippe Manderscheid (until 1546) Moers (until 1541) Nassau Diez Hadamar Dillenburg (until 1664) Oldenburg (until 1777) Pyrmont Ravensberg3 Reichenstein Rietberg Salm-Reifferscheid Sayn Schaumburg Tecklenburg Virneburg Wied Winneburg and Beilstein Zimerauff? From 1792 Anholt Blankenheim and Gerolstein Gemen Gimborn Gronsfeld Hallermund Holzappel Kerpen-Lommersum Myllendonk Reckheim Schleiden Wickrath Wittem Status uncertain Delmenhorst Fagnolle Schaumburg Hesse Lippe Spiegelberg Steinfurt Cities Aachen Cologne Dortmund Duisburg? Herford? Verden (until 1648) Warburg? 1 from 1792 2 until 1792 3 without seat in Imperial Diet ? status uncertain Circles est. 1500: Bavarian, Swabian, Upper Rhenish, Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Franconian, (Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512: Austrian, Burgundian, Upper Saxon, Electoral Rhenish     Unencircled territories

Coordinates: 52°05′31.79″N 8°34′14.55″E / 52.0921639°N 8.5707083°E / 52.0921639; 8.5707083