Styrum
Encyclopedia
Immediate
Immediate may refer to:* Immediacy * Immediate Records, a British record label* The Immediate, an Irish rock group* Immediate Music, a music composition company...
lordship in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Mülheim an der Ruhr in 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...
, 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...
. It held no seat in the Diet
Diet (assembly)
In politics, a diet is a formal deliberative assembly. The term is mainly used historically for the Imperial Diet, the general assembly of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire, and for the legislative bodies of certain countries.-Etymology:...
, and was totally circumvened by the lordship of Broich
Broich
Broich may refer to several places in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany :*Broich, a part of Dormagen...
.
The exact date of construction of its castle is unknown. Styrum was already prosperous in Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
times before 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...
(late 8th century). In 1067 Styrum was given to the Abbacy of Kaiserswerth. After the murder of the Archbishop of Cologne
Archbishopric of Cologne
The Electorate of Cologne was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire and existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the temporal possessions of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne . It was ruled by the Archbishop in his function as prince-elector of...
, Engelbert of Berg
Engelbert II of Berg
Count Engelbert II of Berg, also known as Saint Engelbert, Engelbert of Cologne, Engelbert I, Archbishop of Cologne or Engelbert I of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne was Archbishop of Cologne and a saint; he was the victim of a notorious murder by a member of his own family.-Early life:Engelbert was...
, in 1225, the descendants of Frederick I of Isenberg gained ownership of Mülheim an der Ruhr and thereby of the castle as Lords of Styrum and took up residence. Here they founded the line of Counts of Limburg Styrum, a family that would later obtain important estates in Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
and the Lower Rhine
Lower Rhine
The Lower Rhine flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hoek van Holland, Netherlands.Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches. The main branch is called the Waal which flows from Nijmegen to meet the river Meuse; after which it is called Merwede...
. With the partition of the House of Limburg Styrum in 1644, Styrum passed to the line of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum
Limburg-Styrum-Styrum
Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was a County of medieval Germany, based in the Lordship of Styrum in modern North Rhine-Westphalia. Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was a partition of Limburg-Styrum in 1644...
.
Styrum was rebuilt in Baroque style in 1668, and it received its present form after a fire in 1738. In the mediatisation
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
of 1806, Styrum came under control of the Grand Duchy of Berg
Grand Duchy of Berg
The Grand Duchy of Berg was established by Napoleon Bonaparte after his victory at the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz on territories between the French Empire at the Rhine river and the Kingdom of Westphalia.-History:...
. The line of Limburg-Styrum-Styrum
Limburg-Styrum-Styrum
Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was a County of medieval Germany, based in the Lordship of Styrum in modern North Rhine-Westphalia. Limburg-Styrum-Styrum was a partition of Limburg-Styrum in 1644...
became extinct in 1808. The last count of the Styrum branch of the family, Ernst Maria Johan (deceased on 23 March 1809) in his will of 29 January 1808 donated Styrum to the sister of his wife: Maria Margaretha von Humbracht, who sold it in 1825.
Styrum was purchased by the German industrialist August Thyssen
August Thyssen
August Thyssen was a German industrialist.-Career and marriage:...
in 1890. His company gave the castle to the city of Mülheim in 1960. It was transformed into a restaurant, artist studio and community centre for the elderly in 1992.
The name "Styrum" originates from "Stiarhem", meaning "Bulls Home" in the early medieval local dialect.