The County of Ravensberg (german: Grafschaft Ravensberg) was a historical

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

. Its territory was in present-day eastern

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) 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 regio ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

at the foot of the Osning or Teutoburg Forest.

History

Die Grafschaft Ravensberg mit der Abtey Herford

Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th century; its first seat was

Ravensberg Castle Ravensburg is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. __NOTOC__ Ravensberg, Ravensburg, or Ravensburgh may also refer to: Places Buildings * , a castle in Sulzfeld, Baden-Württemberg * , ruin of a burgwall or gord in Neubrandenburg, Germany * ...

. The Counts of Ravensberg then had

Sparrenberg Castle Sparrenberg Castle, also known as the Sparrenburg (german: Burg und Festung Sparrenberg or ''Sparrenburg''), is a restored fortress in the Bielefeld-Mitte district of Bielefeld, Germany. It is situated on the Sparrenberg hill ( altitude) in the ...

built in Bielefeld , which they made their seat. They also owned Limberg Castle near . The county was later inherited by the Duchy of Berg in 1346, which in turn became part of the

Duchy of Jülich-Berg A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

in 1423, and ultimately the

United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg The so-called United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire between 1521 and 1666, formed from the personal union of the duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. The name was resurrected after the Congress of Vie ...

in 1521. After the War of the Jülich succession, in the

Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten (german: Vertrag von Xanten, links=no) was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from ...

in 1614, the County of Ravensberg came to the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...

, which became the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

in 1701, and was administered within Minden-Ravensberg from 1719–1807, when it was dissolved during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. Aside from Bielefeld, other communities in the County of Ravensberg were Borgholzhausen,

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...

, Steinhagen,

Versmold Versmold (; wep, Vassem) is a town in Gütersloh District in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located some 30 km west of Bielefeld. History In 1096 Versmold was first mentioned in a document, and is thus one of the olde ...

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel '' Th ...

, Isselhorst (now part of

Gütersloh Gütersloh () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. Gütersloh is the administrative centre for a district of the same name and has a population of 100,194 peo ...

), Enger, Hiddenhausen,

Rödinghausen Rödinghausen is a municipality in the district of Herford, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Rödinghausen is situated on the southern slope of the Wiehengebirge, approx. 20 km north-west of Herford and 25 km north of ...

, Spenge, Herford (except for Falkendiek),

Bünde Bünde ( Low German ''Buine'') is a town in the Herford district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Bünde is situated between Osnabrück (west), Hannover (east) and Bielefeld (south). Waterways The town is crossed from west to e ...

(except for Dünne and Spradow), Vlotho (except for Uffeln), Kirchlengern south of the Werre, Preußisch Oldendorf (except for Hedem and Lashorst) and

Bad Oeynhausen Bad Oeynhausen () is a spa town on the southern edge of the Wiehengebirge in the district of Minden-Lübbecke in the East-Westphalia-Lippe region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The closest larger towns are Bielefeld (39 kilometres southw ...

south of the Werre.

Rulers

House Calvelage-Ravensberg

*Until 1144 Hermann I *c. 1140 – c. 1170 Otto I *c. 1160 – c. 1180 Heinrich *c. 1175 – c. 1220 Hermann II *c. 1220 – 1244 Otto II *c. 1220 – 1249 Ludwig *1249–1306

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

*1306–1328 Otto IV *1328–1346 Bernard

House of Jülich

''1348–1395 in Personal union with

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states * Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...

, since 1437 with Jülich-Berg'' *1346–1360

Gerhard I Gerard I may refer to: * Gerard I, Count of Guelders Gerard I, Count of Guelders (c. 1060 – 8 March 1129) was Count of Guelders (Gelre in Dutch). He was the son of Theodoric of Wassenberg. He may have been married to Clementia of Aquitaine, a ...

*1360–1408

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

, 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

'' * 1511–1539

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 * Secon ...

* 1539–1592

William V William V may refer to: * William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030) *William V of Montpellier (1075–1121) * William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191) * William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181) *William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361) * Willia ...

* 1592–1609 John William I

House of Hohenzollern

''from 1614

Margraves of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Hol ...

and

Kings of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman ...

'' * 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 The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...

External links

Historical Map of Northrhine-Westphalia 1789
{{DEFAULTSORT:County Of Ravensberg Borgholzhausen 1807 disestablishments in Germany Ravensberg Ravensberg Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia States and territories established in the 1140s Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle Preußisch Oldendorf 1140s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire