| Duchy of Arenberg Herzogtum Arenberg | |
| |
| 1645 - 1801 & 1803 - 1810 | |
| Capital Circle Bench |
Castle Arenberg Electoral Rhenish Council of Princes |
| |
| Raised from Principality | 1645 |
| Ceded to France | 1801 |
| New Duchy | 1803 - 1810 |
The Duchy of Arenberg (also called "Aremberg") was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire, based around Castle Arenberg in Ahrweiler in the north of modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The Duchy itself was bordered by the County of Blankenheim to the west and south, the Archbishopric of Trier to the very southeast, the Archbishopric of Cologne to the east, and the Duchy of Jülich to the north. The Duchy was raised from a principality in 1645, and was a county before 1576. It was an immediate state of the empire and a member of the Electoral Rhenish Circle from 1549.
The County of Arenberg was first mentioned in 1117, and was again mentioned in 1166. In 1282 Eberhard II of the Marck became the count of Arenberg through his marriage with the heiress Matilda. In 1308 he gave Arenberg to his second son Eberhard I as an independent state. In 1454 Arenberg was partitioned into Arenberg and Rochefort lines. The Counts of Arenberg acquired extensive territories in modern Belgium, France and Germany. In 1547 the main line of Counts had become extinct and Arenberg passed through the marriage of Countess Margaret to the House of Ligne. The state was raised two years later to immediate status, and was again raised in 1576 to princely rank.
In 1795 the territories of Arenberg were occupied by the French, and the duchy was formally ceded by the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. In 1803 the Dukes were compensated by new territories secularised of the County of Vest Recklinghausen (from the Archbishopric of Cologne), the Principality of Meppen (from the Bishopric of Münster) and, in 1806, the Siegneury of Dülmen (from Croÿ-Dülmen). France annexed these territories in 1810 to enforce the Continental Blockade. The Cognress of Vienna in 1815 granted the Duchy of Arenberg to Prussia.
See also:[]
- House of Arenberg
- List of Rulers of Arenberg
| Electoral Rhenish Circle |
|---|
| Arenberg | Beilstein | Coblenz | Cologne | Lower Isenburg | Mainz | Palatinate Rheineck | Thurn and Taxis | Trier |
Earlier Members |
| Gelnhausen | Neuenahr | Reifferscheid | Selz | St Maximin |