Die Grafschaft Limburg vom 13. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert

The county of Limburg, which was dissolved in 1808, is no longer recognisable on current maps; its territory has been absorbed into the present-day cities of Hagen, Iserlohn and Schwerte. Its origins go back to the 13th century, they lead deep into the dynastic history of the South Westphalian region. Various divisions of inheritance in the counties of Mark and Berg as well as the disputes following the death of the Archbishop of Cologne in 1225 created the conditions for the establishment of the small dominion, which was feudally dependent on the Duchy of Berg until 1669, after which it became independent of the Empire. The government of Limburg by the Counts of Isenberg and their successors, the Princes of Bent-heim-Tecklenburg, is portrayed. A separate chapter is devoted to Hohenlimburg Castle, as well as to the estates, the Reformation, the dissolution of the dominion and its succession in the 19th century. This clearly shows the county's position as part of the 'third' Westphalia - i.e. as one of those small dominions that existed in the 18th century alongside the ecclesiastical and Brandenburg-Prussian territories. An appendix of sources and numerous illustrations complement the concise presentation.