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The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
and
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
in the
Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (, ) was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised territories of the former Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, Frisia and the Westphalian part of the former Duchy of Saxony. The circle was mad ...
. It lay south of
Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...
river on both sides of the
Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...
river along the Volme and
Lenne The Lenne () is a tributary of the river Ruhr in the Sauerland hills, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north a ...
rivers. The Counts de la Mark were among the most powerful and influential
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
n lords in the Holy Roman Empire. The name ''Mark'' derived from a small village Mark and the nearby Castle Mark, the latter was built between 1190 and 1202, both today incorporated in the unitary authority Hamm, founded in 1226 by the first Count, Adolph de la Mark. His father used the older title Altena or Berg-Altena. The name of the county is recalled to the present-day district in lands south of the Ruhr in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
, Germany, in 1975 when the districts were rearranged and the former district Altena was merged with former parts of neighbouring districts. The district Märkischer Kreis is only the southern part of the former county, the county is now divided between Märkischer Kreis, parts of Cities
Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...
,
Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
,
Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...
, Hamm and the districts
Kreis Unna The Unna () district is a Kreis (district) in central North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring authorities are the district of Coesfeld, the city of Hamm, the districts of Soest and Märkischer Kreis, the cities of Hagen and Dortmund, and t ...
, Soest and
Ennepetal Ennepetal (, ; ) is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was created in 1949 out of the former municipalities Milspe and Voerde. It was named after the river Ennepe, which flows through the municipa ...


Geography

The County of the Mark enclosed an area of approximately 3,000 km2 and extended between the
Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. ...
and Aggers rivers (north-south) and between
Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...
and
Bad Sassendorf Bad Sassendorf is a municipality in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History From the 8th century, the area around the Soester plain was under the Merovingian dynasty. The name “Sassendorf” indicates that it was a S ...
(west-east) for about 75 km. The east–west flowing
Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...
separated the county into two different regions: the northern, fertile lowlands of
Hellweg Börde The Hellweg Börde (German: ''Hellwegbörde'') is a '' börde'' landscape and natural region on the southern edge of the Westphalian Lowland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which embraces the old Hellweg trading route cities and tow ...
; and the southern hills of the Süder Uplands (
Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the States of Germany, German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. ...
). In the south–north direction the southern part of the county was crossed by the Lenne. In the region of the Lower Lenne was the County of Limburg (1243–1808), a fiefdom of
Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...
. The seat of the Counts of the Mark von de Marck or
de la Marck The House of La Marck () was an ancient German noble family, which from about 1200 appeared as the Counts of Mark. History The family history started with Count Adolf I, scion of a cadet branch of the Rhenish Berg dynasty residing at Altena ...
was originally the Burg Altena in the
Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of the States of Germany, German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. ...
region, but moved to ''Burg Mark'' near Hamm in the 1220s. The county was bordered by
Vest Recklinghausen Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south, and to th ...
, the County of Dortmund, the Bishopric of Münster, the County of Limburg,
Werden Abbey Werden Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in Essen-Werden (Germany), situated on the Ruhr. The foundation of the abbey Near Essen Saint Ludger founded a monastery in 799 and became its first abbot. The little church which Saint Ludger b ...
, and
Essen Abbey Essen Abbey () was a community of secular canonesses for women of high nobility that formed the nucleus of modern-day Essen, Germany. A chapter of male priests were also attached to the abbey, under a dean. In the medieval period, the abbess ...
.


Coat of arms

The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
of the county was ''" Or a
fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...
chequy In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field. Patterning with ordinaries and subordinaries The diminut ...
Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...
and
Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...
of three"''. These arms have been used by the city of Hamm since 1226. Many other places in the area include the red and white checkered fess in their arms as a reference to the county and often to their founders.


History

Originally belonging to a collateral line of the counts of
Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...
at Altena, the territory emerged under the name of Berg-Altena in 1160. About 1198 Count
Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...
purchased the ''Mark Oberhof'', a parish land (''Feldmark'') on the territory of the Edelherren of Rüdenberg, liensmen of the
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
archbishop Philip von Heinsberg. Here Frederick had the Mark Castle (''Burg Mark'') erected as the residence of the new "Counts of the Mark". The nearby town of Hamm was founded by his son Adolf I, Count of the Mark in 1226, it soon became most important settlement of the county and was often used as residence. In the 1288
Battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now part of Chorweiler, the northernmost borough (Stadtbezirk) of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succe ...
, Count Eberhard II fought on the side of Duke
John I of Brabant John I, also called John the Victorious (1252/533 May 1294) was Duke of Brabant (1267–1294), Duke of Lothier, Lothier and Duchy of Limburg, Limburg (1288–1294). During the 13th century, John I was venerated as a folk hero. He has been painted ...
and Count Adolph V of Berg against his liege, the Cologne archbishop
Siegfried II of Westerburg Siegfried (or Sigfrid) II of Westerburg (before 1260 – 7 April 1297, in Bonn) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1275 to 1297. Siegfried was the second son of Siegfried IV, Count of Runkel in Westerburg (died 1266). His older brother was Henry (' ...
, titular Duke of
Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...
. As Brabant and its allies were victorious, the County of Mark gained supremacy in southern Westphalia and became independent of the Archbishopric of Cologne. The territory of Mark was for long restricted to the lands between the Ruhr and Lippe rivers ("Lower Mark"). New territories in the north ("Higher Mark") were gained during the 14th century in wars against the
Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (, or ) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, ...
. In 1332 Count Adolph II married Margarete, the daughter of Count Dietrich VIII of Cleves. Adolph's younger son Adolph III upon the death of Dietrich's brother Count
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
acquired the County of Cleves on the western banks of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
in 1368. In 1391 Adolph III also inherited the Mark from his elder brother Engelbert III and united both counties as "Cleves-Mark" in 1394. In 1509 the heir to the throne of Cleves-Mark John III the Peaceful married Maria, the daughter of Duke William IV of Berg and
Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', , , Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. As a border region between the competin ...
. In 1511 he succeeded his father-in-law in Jülich-Berg and in 1521 his father in Cleves-Mark, resulting in the rule of almost all territories in present
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
in
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
, except for the ecclesiastical states. The dynasty of Jülich-Cleves-Berg became extinct in 1609, when the insane last duke John William had died. A long dispute about the succession followed, before the territory of Mark together with Cleves and Ravensberg was granted to the
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
Elector John Sigismund of Hohenzollern by the 1614
Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten () was signed in the Lower Rhenish town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from Kingdom of England, England and Kin ...
(generally accepted in 1666). It then became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
after 1701. In 1807 the County of the Mark passed from Prussia to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the
Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...
. In 1808
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
then gave Mark to the elevated
Grand Duchy of Berg The Grand Duchy of Berg (), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories between the French Empire at the Rhi ...
, which was divided into four
departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
along the lines of Napoleonic France. Mark was in the Ruhr Department until the collapse of French power in 1813, when it returned to Prussia. The Prussian administrative reform of 30 April 1815 placed Mark within Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg,
Province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...
. The Hohenzollern Prussian sovereigns remained Counts of the "Prussian County of the Mark" until 1918. The "County of the Mark" has no official meaning anymore, but is used to informally refer to the region in
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
.


Counts de la Mark

The
House of La Marck The House of La Marck () was an ancient German nobility, German noble family, which from about 1200 appeared as the Counts of Mark. History The family history started with Count Adolf I, Count of the Mark, Adolf I, scion of a cadet branch of th ...
is a
cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...
branch of
Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...
dynasty. Another surviving line of the
House of Berg A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
(more senior but less prominent in European History) became counts of Isenberg, then count of Limburg and Limburg Styrum. * 1160–1180 Eberhard I, son of Adolf IV, Count of Berg * 1180–1198
Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...
, son of Eberhard I * 1198–1249 Adolph I, son of
Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...
. First Count of the House to name himself Count de La Marck in 1202; he scarcely used the titles of Berg and Altena * 1249–1277 Engelbert I * 1277–1308 Eberhard II * 1308–1328 Engelbert II * 1328–1347 Adolph II * 1347–1391 Engelbert III * 1391–1393 Adolph III, brother of Engelbert III, Count of Cleves since 1368 and former Bishop of Münster and Archbishop of Cologne * 1393–1398
Dietrich Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "ruler of the people", but also "keeper of the keys" or "lockpick" (either the tool or the profession). Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398–1440) * Thierry of Alsace (; 1099–1168), ...
* 1398–1448 Adolph IV, son of Adolf III, also Count of Cleves 1394–1417, Duke of Cleves 1417–1448 * 1437–1461
Gerhard Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919� ...
, brother of Adolf IV – Regent in the county, not allowed to use the title Count de la Mark in his own rights * 1448–1481
John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...
, son of Adolph IV, also Duke of Cleves since 1448 * 1481–1521 John II "The Babymaker", son, also Duke of Cleves * 1521–1539 John III "the Peaceful", son, also Duke of Jülich-Berg since 1511 * 1539–1592 William "the Rich", son, also Duke of Jülich-Berg, Duke of Guelders 1538–1543 * 1592-1609 John William, son, son, also Duke of Jülich-Berg


House of Hohenzollern

* 1614–1619 John Sigismund of Hohenzollern * 1619–1640 George William, son * 1640–1688 Frederick William I, son * 1688–1713
Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...
, son, ''
King in Prussia King ''in'' Prussia (German language, German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Elector of Brandenburg, Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of' ...
'' 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 Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved. ...
, King of Prussia ''To France by the 1807
Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...
, incorporated into
Grand Duchy of Berg The Grand Duchy of Berg (), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories between the French Empire at the Rhi ...
''


See also

*
de la Marck The House of La Marck () was an ancient German noble family, which from about 1200 appeared as the Counts of Mark. History The family history started with Count Adolf I, scion of a cadet branch of the Rhenish Berg dynasty residing at Altena ...
(French spelling of the family name which is often used in English)


Further reading

* Julius Menadier: ''Die Münzen der Grafschaft Mark.'' Dortmund 1909. * Aloys Meister: ''Die Grafschaft Mark, Festschrift zum Gedächtnis der 300-jährigen Vereinigung mit Brandenburg-Preußen.'' 2 Bde., Dortmund 1909. * Margarete Frisch: ''Die Grafschaft Mark. Der Aufbau und die innere Gliederung des Gebietes besonders nördlich der Ruhr''. Aschendorff, Münster in Westfalen 1937. * Margret Westerburg-Frisch (Hrsg.): ''Die ältesten Lehnbücher der Grafen von der Mark (1392 und 1393).'' Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission Westfalens, Bd. 28: ''Westfälische Lehnbücher,'' Bd. 1, Münster in Westfalen 1967. * Uta Vahrenhold-Huland: ''Grundlagen und Entstehung des Territoriums der Grafschaft Mark.'' Dortmund 1968. * Norbert Reimann: ''Die Grafen von der Mark und die geistlichen Territorien der Kölner Kirchenprovinz (1313–1368).'' Historischer Verein, Dortmund 1973. * Ernst Dossmann: ''Auf den Spuren der Grafen von der Mark.'' Mönnig, Iserlohn 1983, . * Oliver Becher: ''Herrschaft und autonome Konfessionalisierung. Politik, Religion und Modernisierung in der frühneuzeitlichen Grafschaft Mark.'' Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2006, . * Stephanie Marra: ''Grafen von der Mark, Herzöge von Kleve-Mark und Jülich-Kleve (Hof).'' In: Werner Paravicini (Hrsg.): ''Fürstliche Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich,'' Bd. 3, Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2007,
online Text


External links


Edicts of the Duchy of Berg and the County of Mark, 1418–1816 online


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, County of Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle Subdivisions of Prussia States and territories established in 1198 States and territories disestablished in 1807 1198 establishments in Europe 1190s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1610s disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire Former monarchies