Broich was a Lordship 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 ...

based around the castle of Broich 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. The

Counts of Limburg Hohenlimburg and Broich The house of ''Limburg Hohenlimburg'' (later ''Limburg-Hohenlimburg-Broich'') took its name in the 12th century from the county of Limburg on the river Lenne in today's Germany. After Diederick of Isenberg had claimed part of the former property o ...

ruled the Lordship of Broich. As from 1479, they ruled the Lordship of Broich and half of the

County of Limburg Hagen-Hohenlimburg (formerly known as Limburg an der Lenne, changed to Hohenlimburg in 1903; Westphalian: ''Limmerg''), on the Lenne river, is a borough of the city of Hagen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hohenlimburg was formerly the chi ...

(in condominium with Neuenahr-Alpen). The Lordship of Broich was a strategic location of whose overlordship the powers 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 ...

and the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

had fought over constantly, and the dispute continued after the creation of the line. In 1432 the Dukes of

Cleves Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and later a duchy ...

had succeeded in gaining overlordship from

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 ...

, which led to the combined forces of Berg and the Archbishopric of Cologne capturing the territory in 1443, effectively destroying the castle of Broich. Until 1449 the County of Limburg-Hohenlimburg-Broich was divided between the brothers count William and count Dietrich. In 1449 the

counts of Limburg Hohenlimburg and Broich The house of ''Limburg Hohenlimburg'' (later ''Limburg-Hohenlimburg-Broich'') took its name in the 12th century from the county of Limburg on the river Lenne in today's Germany. After Diederick of Isenberg had claimed part of the former property o ...

became embroiled in a succession dispute with Neuenahr-Alpen. The dispute quickly led to armed warfare, and in 1460 both parties were made subject to an arbitration of the Archbishop of Cologne. Since 1479 the county of Limburg Lenne was ruled in condominium between Dietrich and Von Neuenahr married with count William's onliest doughter. The County came to an end with 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 ...

. In 1505 he married his adopted heiress Amoena of Sayn to Count Wirich V of Daun-Frankenstein, and with his death in 1508 the Castle and Lordship of Broich and his partitial rule in Limburg were inherited by them.

Counts of Limburg-Broich (1439–1508)

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