Duchy of Limburg
Encyclopedia
The Duchy of Limburg, situated in the Low Countries
between the river Meuse
and the city of Aachen
, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire
. Its territory is now divided between the Belgian
provinces of Liège
(northeastern part) and Limburg
(for example Voeren and Rekem
), the Dutch
province of Limburg
(southern part), and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia
in Germany
(for example Herzogenrath
).
Its most important cities were Limbourg
, the capital, and Eupen
. Linguistically Limburg was situated on the border of Germanic
with Romance
Europe. While in the northern and eastern districts Limburgish
and Ripuarian dialects were spoken, the southwestern part around Herve
was dominated by Walloon
.
, but the region extending from the Scheldt
to the Rhine, was soon split out to become Germania Inferior
, with its capital at Cologne
, later reorganized as Germania Secunda
. Within this area, the future Duchy was within the Civitas Tungrorum, the polity of the Tungri
, with its capital at Tongeren. When Julius Caesar
first entered this area and took it under Roman control it was inhabited by a group of Belgic Gaulish tribes, the Condrusi
, Eburones
, Caeraesi, and Paemani
, who were referred to collectively as the Germani. They were in contact with both Gaul
ish and Germanic peoples. The language they spoke is not certain, and it is also not certain to what extent these earlier tribes can be equated to the Tungri, found in this same area only a few generations later, who are generally accepted to be speakers of a Germanic
language. (Tacitus
says that the Tungri used to be called the Germani and that other uses of the term are based on their old name.)
By late Roman times, the north of Germania Secunda was dominated by new tribes from over the Rhine, eventually coming under the name of Salian Franks
, and the east came under the Ripuarian Franks
. The Franks a Germanic people, came to dominate the whole of Germania Secunda, but the region of the Duchy of Limburg, being south of the military Bavay
-Tongeren-Heerlen
-Cologne
route remained relatively Romanized. Under the Merovingian and Carolingian
dynasties, Frankish rule expanded from the region around Limbourg to cover larger areas, and eventually began to replace roman imperial rule
. By the time of Charlemagne
, the first Frank to be called an emperor of Rome (in 800 AD), the kings of the Franks had come to be recognized as heirs to the Western Roman empire
. In the time of Charlemagne's grandsons (in 843 AD), the empire came to be divided into three sections, a western Romanized one corresponding very roughly to later France
, an eastern part, corresponding very roughly to Germany
, and a central one, Lotharingia
, later referred to as Lorraine, which was eventually absorbed into the eastern empire. The Duchy of Limburg, like most of modern Belgium, was within Lower Lorraine
. For a while, Lower Lorraine had its own single Duke
.
The territory of the duchy of Limburg was formed in the 11th century around the town of Limbourg
in present-day Wallonia. About 1020, Duke Frederick
of Lower Lorraine, a descendant of Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia
, had Limbourg Castle built on the banks of the Vesdre
river. His estates then comprised the districts of Baelen
(with Limbourg), Herve, Montzen (since 1975 part of Plombières
), Walhorn
, and the southwestern exclave of Sprimont
. They were inherited by Frederick's son-in-law Count Waleran of Arlon
, who about 1065 began to call himself a "count of Limburg". Waleran also claimed Frederick's ducal title, which was finally acknowledged by Emperor Henry IV
in 1101 in favour of Waleran's son Henry
. This meant that Lower Lorraine now had two Duchies, that of Brabant, and that of Limburg, and the title of Duke of Lothier
, still held by Brabant, eventually became ineffective.
As the Lorrainian ducal dignity was contested by the mighty Counts of Leuven
, landgraves of Brabant, Waleran's descendants confined themselves to a "duke of Limburg", and reached the confirmation by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
in 1165. The rise of the Limburg dynasty continued, when Duke Waleran III in 1214 became Count of Luxembourg
by marriage with the heiress Ermesinde
and his son Henry IV in 1225 became Count of Berg
as husband of heiress Irmgard
.
However, upon the death of Henry's son Waleran IV in 1279, leaving only one heiress Irmgard, who had married Count Reginald I of Guelders
but died childless in 1283, the War of the Limburg Succession
broke out. The Duke of Brabant
won the final Battle of Worringen
in 1288, thereby gaining control of the Duchy of Limburg with the consent by King Rudolph I of Germany
. Though it shared the fate of Brabant, Limburg remained a separate Imperial State
, which in 1404 passed from Joanna of Brabant
to Anthony of Valois
, son of the Burgundian
duke Philip the Bold
. With the Burgundian heritage of Mary the Rich
, it was bequested to her husband Maximilian I
from the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1482. Combined with the Landen van Overmaas (the lands beyond the Meuse: Dalhem
, Herzogenrath
and Valkenburg
) and Maastricht
, the duchy became one of the Seventeen Provinces
held by the Habsburgs within the Burgundian Circle
established in 1512. Significant towns in Limburg proper were Herve, Montzen, Lontzen
, Eupen
, Baelen and Esneux
.
After the abdication of Emperor Charles V
in 1556, the Burgundian fiefs were bequested to his son King Philip II of Spain
. The stern measures of the Council of Troubles
implemented by Philip's governor Duke Fernando Álvarez de Toledo of Alba
sparked the Eighty Years' War, ended by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia
. An area known as Limburg of the States
, consisting of parts of Overmaas, was ceded to the Dutch Republic
. In 1661, the Dutch and the Spanish agreed on the partition of the county of Dalhem
. The remainder of the duchy (including Limburg proper) remained under Spanish rule as part of the Southern Netherlands
, passing to Austrian
rule under the Treaty of Utrecht
in 1713.
When the region was occupied by the French
in 1794, the Overmaas lands of Limburg of the States became part of the département of Meuse-Inférieure
, while the Austrian duchy of Limburg proper was disbanded and was incorporated into the département of Ourthe.
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
between the river Meuse
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
and the city of Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. Its territory is now divided between the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
provinces of Liège
Liège (province)
Liège is the easternmost province of Belgium and belongs to the Walloon Region. It is an area of French and German ethnicity. It borders on the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and in Belgium the provinces of Luxembourg, Namur, Walloon Brabant , and those of Flemish Brabant and Limburg . Its...
(northeastern part) and Limburg
Limburg (Belgium)
Limburg is the easternmost province of modern Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern Belgium. It is located west of the river Meuse . It borders on the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant...
(for example Voeren and Rekem
Lanaken
Lanaken is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2007 Lanaken had a total population of 24,724. The total area is 59.00 km² which gives a population density of 415 inhabitants per km²....
), the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
(southern part), and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(for example Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running along the middle of a main road.-History:...
).
Its most important cities were Limbourg
Limbourg
Limbourg is a medieval town located in the province of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium.On 1 January 2008 Limbourg had a total population of 5,680. The total area is 24.63 km² which gives a population density of 231 inhabitants per km²...
, the capital, and Eupen
Eupen
Eupen is a municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border , from the Dutch border and from the "High Fens" nature reserve...
. Linguistically Limburg was situated on the border of Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
with Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
Europe. While in the northern and eastern districts Limburgish
Limburgish language
Limburgish, also called Limburgian or Limburgic is a group of East Low Franconian language varieties spoken in the Limburg and Rhineland regions, near the common Dutch / Belgian / German border...
and Ripuarian dialects were spoken, the southwestern part around Herve
Herve
Herve is a Walloon municipality of Belgium in Province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Herve had a total population of 16,772. The total area is 56.84 km² which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km²....
was dominated by Walloon
Walloon language
Walloon is a Romance language which was spoken as a primary language in large portions of the Walloon Region of Belgium and some villages of Northern France until the middle of the 20th century. It belongs to the langue d'oïl language family, whose most prominent member is the French language...
.
History
In Roman times, Limburg was at first situated in the Roman province of Gallia BelgicaGallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of Gallia Belgica, the Belgae, consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes...
, but the region extending from the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
to the Rhine, was soon split out to become Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior
Germania Inferior was a Roman province located on the left bank of the Rhine, in today's Luxembourg, southern Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and North Rhine-Westphalia left of the Rhine....
, with its capital at Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, later reorganized as Germania Secunda
Germania Secunda
In the early fourth-century Notitia Dignitatum, Germania Secunda , situated along the Lower Rhine and administered by a Consularis, was the name under the Dominate of Germania Inferior, a military border territory which had been established under the Flavian reorganization of the Roman Empire, out...
. Within this area, the future Duchy was within the Civitas Tungrorum, the polity of the Tungri
Tungri
The Tungri were a tribe, or group of tribes, who lived in the Belgic part Gaul, during the times of the Roman empire. They were described by Tacitus as being the same people who were first called "Germani" , meaning that all other tribes who were later referred to this way, including those in...
, with its capital at Tongeren. When Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
first entered this area and took it under Roman control it was inhabited by a group of Belgic Gaulish tribes, the Condrusi
Condrusi
The Condrusi were a Germanic tribe of ancient Belgium, which takes its name from the political and ethnic group known to the Romans as the Belgae. The Condrusi were probably located in the region now known as Condroz, named after them, between Liège and Namur...
, Eburones
Eburones
The Eburones , were a Belgic people who lived in the northeast of Gaul, near the river Meuse and the modern provinces of Belgian and Dutch Limburg, in the period immediately before it was conquered by Rome. They played a major role in Julius Caesar's account of his "Gallic Wars", as the most...
, Caeraesi, and Paemani
Paemani
The Paemani were a tribe of Gallia Belgica, mentioned by Julius Caesar in his commentary of his Gallic Wars. They were one of a group of tribes listed by his local Remi informants as the Germani, along with the Eburones, Condrusi, Caeraesi , and Segni...
, who were referred to collectively as the Germani. They were in contact with both Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
ish and Germanic peoples. The language they spoke is not certain, and it is also not certain to what extent these earlier tribes can be equated to the Tungri, found in this same area only a few generations later, who are generally accepted to be speakers of a Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
language. (Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
says that the Tungri used to be called the Germani and that other uses of the term are based on their old name.)
By late Roman times, the north of Germania Secunda was dominated by new tribes from over the Rhine, eventually coming under the name of Salian Franks
Salian Franks
The Salian Franks or Salii were a subgroup of the early Franks who originally had been living north of the limes in the area above the Rhine. The Merovingian kings responsible for the conquest of Gaul were Salians. From the 3rd century on, the Salian Franks appear in the historical records as...
, and the east came under the Ripuarian Franks
Ripuarian Franks
Ripuarian Franks is a distinction of the Frankish people made by a number of writers in the Latin language of the first several centuries of the Christian Era...
. The Franks a Germanic people, came to dominate the whole of Germania Secunda, but the region of the Duchy of Limburg, being south of the military Bavay
Bavay
Bavay is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies 15 m. ESE of Valenciennes by railway.-History:Under the name of Bagacum or Bavacum, the town was the capital of the Nervii and, under the Roman Empire, an important center of roads, the meeting-place of which was marked by a...
-Tongeren-Heerlen
Heerlen
Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...
-Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
route remained relatively Romanized. Under the Merovingian and Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
dynasties, Frankish rule expanded from the region around Limbourg to cover larger areas, and eventually began to replace roman imperial rule
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. By the time of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, the first Frank to be called an emperor of Rome (in 800 AD), the kings of the Franks had come to be recognized as heirs to the Western Roman empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
. In the time of Charlemagne's grandsons (in 843 AD), the empire came to be divided into three sections, a western Romanized one corresponding very roughly to later France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, an eastern part, corresponding very roughly to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and a central one, Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
, later referred to as Lorraine, which was eventually absorbed into the eastern empire. The Duchy of Limburg, like most of modern Belgium, was within Lower Lorraine
Lower Lorraine
The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia , established in 959 was a stem duchy of the medieval German kingdom, which encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, the northern part of the German Rhineland and a part of northern France east of the Schelde river.It was created out...
. For a while, Lower Lorraine had its own single Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
.
The territory of the duchy of Limburg was formed in the 11th century around the town of Limbourg
Limbourg
Limbourg is a medieval town located in the province of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium.On 1 January 2008 Limbourg had a total population of 5,680. The total area is 24.63 km² which gives a population density of 231 inhabitants per km²...
in present-day Wallonia. About 1020, Duke Frederick
Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Frederick of Luxembourg was the count of Malmedy from 1035 and duke of Lower Lorraine from 1046. He was a younger son of Frederick, lord of Gleiberg, and Ermentrude, and grandson of Siegfried, Count of Luxembourg, hence his name....
of Lower Lorraine, a descendant of Count Palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia
Wigeric of Lotharingia
Wigeric or Wideric was the count of the Bidgau and held the rights of a count within the city of Trier. He received also the advocacy of the Abbey of Saint RumboldThe abbey founded by St. Rumbold in the 6th, 7th or 8th century and a 9th century St...
, had Limbourg Castle built on the banks of the Vesdre
Vesdre
thumb|right|250px|The course of the VesdreThe Weser or Vesdre is a river in eastern Belgium, in the province of Liège, and is a right tributary to the river Ourthe. Its source lies in the High Fens , close to the border with Germany near Monschau...
river. His estates then comprised the districts of Baelen
Baelen
Baelen is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Baelen had a total population of 4,060. The total area is 85.73 km² which gives a population density of 47.36 inhabitants per km².-People living in Baelen:...
(with Limbourg), Herve, Montzen (since 1975 part of Plombières
Plombières
Plombières is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006, Plombières had a total population of 9,672. The total area is 53.17 km² which gives a population density of 182 inhabitants per km². The municipality Plombières consists of the villages...
), Walhorn
Walhorn
Walhorn is a village in the municipality of Lontzen, in the German speaking area of the province of Liège, Belgium.The HSL 3 passes immediately next to Walhorn....
, and the southwestern exclave of Sprimont
Sprimont
Sprimont is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Sprimont had a total population of 12,782. The total area is 74.28 km² which gives a population density of 172 inhabitants per km²....
. They were inherited by Frederick's son-in-law Count Waleran of Arlon
Waleran I of Limburg
Waleran I , called Udon, was the count of Arlon from AD 1052 and Limburg from 1065. He was the son of Waleran, Count of Arlon. He was also the advocate of the abbey of Sint-Truiden....
, who about 1065 began to call himself a "count of Limburg". Waleran also claimed Frederick's ducal title, which was finally acknowledged by Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
in 1101 in favour of Waleran's son Henry
Henry, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Henry I was the count of Limburg and Arlon from 1082 to his death and duke of Lower Lorraine between 1101 to 1106. He was the son of Waleran I of Limburg and Jutta, daughter of Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine....
. This meant that Lower Lorraine now had two Duchies, that of Brabant, and that of Limburg, and the title of Duke of Lothier
Duke of Lothier
Lothier refers to the territory within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, governed by the Dukes of Brabant and their successors after 1190 until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1796....
, still held by Brabant, eventually became ineffective.
As the Lorrainian ducal dignity was contested by the mighty Counts of Leuven
Counts of Leuven
Near the end of the 10th century, the County of Leuven emerged when granted to Lambert I by the German Emperor. Originally limited by the rivers Demer, Dijle and Velp, that is more or less the region known today as Hageland, the County of Leuven rapidly increased in size and power...
, landgraves of Brabant, Waleran's descendants confined themselves to a "duke of Limburg", and reached the confirmation by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
in 1165. The rise of the Limburg dynasty continued, when Duke Waleran III in 1214 became Count of Luxembourg
County, Duchy and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
The County, later Duchy of Luxembourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg.-History:...
by marriage with the heiress Ermesinde
Ermesinde of Luxembourg
Ermesinde of Luxembourg , also known as Ermesinde of Namur, was the Countess of Luxembourg, Laroche and Durbuy between 1197 and 1247. She was the only child of Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg and Namur, and his second wife Agnes of Guelders.Prior to her birth, her aging father Henry IV had designated...
and his son Henry IV in 1225 became Count of Berg
Berg (state)
Berg was a state – originally a county, later a duchy – in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed from the early 12th to the 19th centuries.-Ascent:...
as husband of heiress Irmgard
Irmgard of Berg
Irmgard of Berg, heiress of Berg , was the child of Adolf VI count of Berg and Berta von Sayn.She married in 1217 Henry IV, Duke of Limburg , who became count of Berg in 1225. Henry IV of Limburg-Berg died on 25 Feb 1246; their descendants were counts of Berg, the county of Berg leaving the...
.
However, upon the death of Henry's son Waleran IV in 1279, leaving only one heiress Irmgard, who had married Count Reginald I of Guelders
Reginald I of Guelders
Reginald I of Guelders . was Count of Guelders from January 10 1271 until his death.He was the son of Otto II, Count of Guelders and Philippe of Dammartin....
but died childless in 1283, the War of the Limburg Succession
War of the Limburg Succession
The War of the Limburg Succession, was a series of conflicts between 1283 and 1289 for the succession in the Duchy of Limburg.The cause of the War of the Limburg Succession was the death of Waleran IV, Duke of Limburg in 1280, and his only daughter Ermengarde of Limburg in 1283. Waleran IV had no...
broke out. The Duke of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
won the final Battle of Worringen
Battle of Worringen
The Battle of Worringen was fought on June 5, 1288, near the town of Worringen , which is now the northernmost borough of Cologne...
in 1288, thereby gaining control of the Duchy of Limburg with the consent by King Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
. Though it shared the fate of Brabant, Limburg remained a separate Imperial State
Imperial State
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet assemblies. Several territories of the Empire were not represented, while some officials were non-voting members; neither qualified as Imperial States.Rulers of Imperial States were...
, which in 1404 passed from Joanna of Brabant
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant , also known as Jeanne, was the heiress of Duke John III, who died in Brussels, December 5, 1355. Her mother was Marie d'Évreux.- Family :...
to Anthony of Valois
Anthony, Duke of Brabant
Anthony, Duke of Brabant, also known as Antoine de Brabant, Antoine de Bourgogne and Anthony of Burgundy , was Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg. Anthony was the son of Philip II, Duke of Burgundy and Margaret III of Flanders, and brother of John the Fearless...
, son of the Burgundian
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
duke Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
. With the Burgundian heritage of Mary the Rich
Mary of Burgundy
Mary of Burgundy ruled the Burgundian territories in Low Countries and was suo jure Duchess of Burgundy from 1477 until her death...
, it was bequested to her husband Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
from the Austrian House of Habsburg in 1482. Combined with the Landen van Overmaas (the lands beyond the Meuse: Dalhem
Dalhem
Dalhem is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Dalhem had a total population of 6,486. The total area is 36.06 km² which gives a population density of 180 inhabitants per km²....
, Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath
Herzogenrath is a municipality in the district of Aachen in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It borders the Dutch town of Kerkrade, the national border in one section running along the middle of a main road.-History:...
and Valkenburg
Valkenburg aan de Geul
Valkenburg aan de Geul is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.-History:Siege and conquest were characteristic of the history of Valkenburg. Each event is withheld, followed by subsequent restorations. This most definitely holds for the castle perched atop of a hill in the middle of the...
) and Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, the duchy became one of the Seventeen Provinces
Seventeen Provinces
The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 15th century and 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France , and a small part of Western Germany.The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by...
held by the Habsburgs within the Burgundian Circle
Burgundian Circle
The Burgundian Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1512 and significantly enlarged in 1548. In addition to the Free County of Burgundy , the circle roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e...
established in 1512. Significant towns in Limburg proper were Herve, Montzen, Lontzen
Lontzen
Lontzen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Lontzen had a total population of 5,071. The total area is 28.73 km² which gives a population density of 177 inhabitants per km²....
, Eupen
Eupen
Eupen is a municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border , from the Dutch border and from the "High Fens" nature reserve...
, Baelen and Esneux
Esneux
Esneux is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Esneux had a total population of 13,072. The total area is which gives a population density of 384 inhabitants per km²....
.
After the abdication of Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
in 1556, the Burgundian fiefs were bequested to his son King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. The stern measures of the Council of Troubles
Council of Troubles
The Council of Troubles was the special tribunal instituted on September 9, 1567 by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, governor-general of the Habsburg Netherlands on the orders of Philip II of Spain to punish the ringleaders of the recent political and religious "troubles" in the...
implemented by Philip's governor Duke Fernando Álvarez de Toledo of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...
sparked the Eighty Years' War, ended by the 1648 Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
. An area known as Limburg of the States
Generality Lands
The Generality Lands, Lands of the Generality or Common Lands were about one fifth of the territories of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, that were directly governed by the States-General...
, consisting of parts of Overmaas, was ceded to the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. In 1661, the Dutch and the Spanish agreed on the partition of the county of Dalhem
Dalhem
Dalhem is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège. On January 1, 2006 Dalhem had a total population of 6,486. The total area is 36.06 km² which gives a population density of 180 inhabitants per km²....
. The remainder of the duchy (including Limburg proper) remained under Spanish rule as part of the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
, passing to Austrian
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
rule under the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
in 1713.
When the region was occupied by the French
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
in 1794, the Overmaas lands of Limburg of the States became part of the département of Meuse-Inférieure
Meuse-Inférieure
Meuse-Inférieure is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. It is named after the river Meuse. Its capital was Maastricht....
, while the Austrian duchy of Limburg proper was disbanded and was incorporated into the département of Ourthe.
See also
- Dukes of Limburg
- Duchy of Limburg (1839-1866)Duchy of Limburg (1839-1866)The Duchy of Limburg was created and formed from the eastern part of the Province of Limburg as a result of the Treaty of London in 1839. De jure it was a separate polity in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands while at the same time a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Until...
- Limburger cheeseLimburger cheeseLimburger is a cheese that originated during the 19th century in the historical Duchy of Limburg, which is now divided among modern-day Belgium, Germany, and Netherlands. The cheese is especially known for its pungent odor commonly compared to body odor....
- Neutral Moresnet