History
First mentioned in the 12th century, it was named after the village of Aremberg in the Ahr Hills, located in today's Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany.1549–1645
Aremberg was originally a county. It became a state of the Holy Roman Empire (''reichsunmittelbar'') in 1549, was raised to a princely county in 1576, then became a duchy in 1645.1789
The territorial possessions of the Dukes of Arenberg varied through the ages. Around 1789, the duchy was located in the Eifel region on the west side of the Rhine and contained, amongst others, Aremberg, Schleiden and Kerpen. However, although the duchy itself was in Germany, from the 15th century onward, the principal lands of the House of Arenberg, Dukes of Arenberg have been in what is now Belgium. The pre-Napoleonic duchy had an area of 413 km² and a population of 14,800. It belonged to the Electoral Rhenish Circle and was bordered by the duchy of Jülich, the Archbishopric of Cologne, the Archbishopric of Trier, and the Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, county of Blankenheim.1798
After the French occupation of the west bank of the Rhine around 1798 (see Treaty of Campo Formio and Treaty of Lunéville), the Duke of Arenberg received new lands: the county of Vest Recklinghausen, the Meppen, Germany, county of Meppen, and the Dülmen, lordship of Dülmen.1810
Arenberg joined Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine, although that did not prevent it from being German mediatisation, mediatised in 1810, with France annexing Dülmen and Meppen, and the duchy of Berg annexing Recklinghausen.1814
After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine, the former Arenberg territories were divided between the kingdom of Prussia and the kingdom of Hanover. In both Prussia and Hanover, the dukes became local peers subordinate to the king.1826
In 1826, the Arenberg territory in Hanover was named the duchy of Arenberg-Meppen, and it had an area of 2,195 km² and a population of 56,700. The county of Recklinghausen, in Prussia, had an area of 780 km² and a population of 64,700. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian aristocratic family. The immediate family members of the dukes are called by the nominal title of Prince of Arenberg. The ducal family descends agnatically from the House of Ligne. The Forest of Arenberg is located in northeastern France, and it is famous for its cobbled roads used in the classic cycle races, classic road cycle race Paris–Roubaix. Its areas saw extensive mining in the past.Counts, Princely Counts and Dukes
Counts of Arenberg (1117–1576)
* Franko (1117–1129) * Henry I (1129–1187) * Eberhard I (1188–1202) * Eberhard II (1202–1229) * Henry II (1220–1250) * Gerard (1252–1260) * John I (1260–1279) * Mathilde (1282–1299) * Eberhard ''(Count of County of Mark, Marck)'' (1282–1308) * Engelbert II (1308–1328) * Eberhard I, Count of Arenberg, Eberhard I (III) (1328–1387) * Eberhard II (1387–1454) ''Partition into Arenberg and Rochefort, Belgium, Rochefort'' * John II (1454–1480) * Eberhard III (1480–1496) * Eberhard IV (1496–1531) * Robert I (1531–1541) * Robert II (?–1536) * Robert III (1541–1544) * Margaret de La Marck-Arenberg, Margaret (1544–1576) * John III (1547–1568) * Charles (1568–1576)Princely Counts of Arenberg (1576–1645)
* Margaret de La Marck-Arenberg, Margaret (1576–1596) ''with'' Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg, Jean de Ligne * Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg, Charles (1576–1616) * Philippe-Charles, 3rd Count of Arenberg, Philip Charles (1616–1640) * Philip Francis (1640–1645)Dukes of Arenberg (1645–1810)
* Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg (1645–1675) * Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg (1675–1681) * Philippe Charles d'Arenberg, Philip Charles Francis, 3rd Duke of Arenberg (1681–1691) * Leopold Philippe d'Arenberg, Leopold, 4th Duke of Arenberg (1691–1754) * Charles Marie Raymond of Arenberg, Charles Marie Raymond, 5th Duke of Arenberg (1754–1778) * Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg, Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg (1778–1803) * Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg, Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg (1803–1810) ''German Mediatisation, Mediatised 1810''See also
* Arenberg-Nordkirchen * Arenberg Research-ParkReferences
Sources
External links
* This has a detailed account of the inheritance of the noble titles from the 13th century onward.