County of Tecklenburg

County of Tecklenburg
Grafschaft Tecklenburg
State of the Holy Roman Empire (until 1806)
← 11th century–1808 →
Coat of arms
County of Tecklenburg with Rheda about 1560
Capital		Tecklenburg
Government		County
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	early 11th century 11th century
•	To counts of Schwerin	1327–1557
•	Partitioned to create     the County of Lingen	1493
•	To Solms-Braunfels     by judgement	1696
•	Sold to Brandenburg	1707
•	Mediatised to Berg	1808
•	Annexed by France to form     département of Lippe	1810–15

The County of Tecklenburg (German: Grafschaft Tecklenburg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Lower Saxony.

History

Ruins of Burg Tecklenburg.

In the 12th century the county of Tecklenburg emerged in the region that is now called the "Tecklenburger Land" in the western foothills of the Teutoburg Forest.

Following the extinction of the counts of Tecklenburg in 1262, it was annexed by the neighbouring County of Bentheim in 1263. Between 1328 and 1562 it was ruled by the Counts of Schwerin. In 1365 they acquired the Lordship of Rheda, but in 1400 they lost the northern parts of the county with the districts of Cloppenburg, Friesoythe und Bevergern to the Prince-Bishopric of Münster.

Konrad of Tecklenburg-Schwerin was the first ruler in Westphalia to introduce the Reformation and became a member of the Schmalkaldic League. Following the defeat of the League, the county of Tecklenburg was forced to cede territories to Charles V to form the County of Lingen. In 1557, in conflict with the claims of the House of Solms-Braunfels, the county was inherited by Arnold II (IV) of Bentheim-Tecklenburg whose son Adolf founded a new line of counts of Tecklenburg. In 1588 the counts introduced calvinism to Tecklenburg.

In 1696 the County of Tecklenburg was ceded to the House of Solms. In 1707 Count William Maurice of Solms-Braunfels sold Tecklenburg to Prussia. In the Berlin Treaty of 1729 the comital house of Bentheim-Tecklenburg abandoned all claims to the county.

The county was mediatised to the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1808. Tecklenburg was annexed by France in 1810 together with many northwest German regions. The Congress of Vienna returned Tecklenburg to Prussia in 1816.

See also

• Bentheim-Tecklenburg

External links

• Map of Lower Saxony in 1789

Bibliography

• Holsche, August Karl (1788). Historisch-topographisch-statistische Beschreibung der Graffschaft Tecklenburg nebst einigen speciellen Landesverordnungen mit Anmerkungen, als ein Beytrag zur vollständigen Beschreibung Westphalens' (in German). Berlin and Frankfurt. 

• Essellen (1877). Geschichte der Grafschaft Tecklenburg (in German). Leipzig. 

• Bruns, Alfred (1982). Gerhard Taddey, ed. Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte (in German) (2nd ed.). Stuttgart. p. 1221. 

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