Vest Recklinghausen
Encyclopedia
Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire
, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia
. The rivers Emscher
and Lippe
formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey
in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster
in the north. In the east, a fortification secured the border with Dortmund
and in the west it was bordered by the Duchy of Cleves
.
Today Vest Recklinghausen is part of the district of Recklinghausen
, with parts of Gelsenkirchen
, Oberhausen
and Bottrop
now added to the administration of Vest Recklinghausen. The term ´Vest´, describing a judicial district, is still used locally, for instance in a local radio station and in a local museum.
and thus it belonged to the Electoral Rhenish Circle
. The administrator lived in castle Westerholt
, located in Herten
. From 1446 to 1576 it was used as collateral, first pawned to the lords of Gemen
(now part of the city Borken
) and after 1492 to the Lords of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg, who pawned the territory back to the Archbishops of Cologne in 1576.
During the Cologne War
(1583-1589), Vest Recklinghausen was occupied and sacked several times by troops from both sides of the conflict. In 1583, although much of the territory was already Protestant, the Calvinist Elector of Cologne, Gebhard, Truchsess von Waldburg and his wife, Agnes
, ordered the destruction of the icons and decorative elements of the churches. In 1584, the territory was sacked again, this time by the competing archbishop, Ernst of Bavaria. In 1586, the territory was invaded by Martin Schenck and Hermann Cloedt
, who caused great damage
to the farms and small villages, and were besieged by Claude de Berlaymont
, also known as Haultpenne
, in the city of Werl
.
After the turmoil of the Cologne Wars, the administration of Vest Recklinghausen was divided in (circa 1600) in two districts: Recklinghausen continued to administer the eastern section, but Dorsten
assumed responsibility for the western section. The town of Recklinghausen
including the parish of Recklinghausen and the filial parishes Ahsen, Datteln
, Flaesheim, Hamm-Bossendorf, Henrichenburg, Herten
, Horneburg
, Oer
, Suderwich, Waltrop
and Westerholt
appertained to the eastern part of the Vest Recklinghausen. The western parishes included Dorsten
and the parishes Dorsten, Bottrop
, Buer
, Gladbeck
, Horst
, Kirchhellen, Marl, Osterfeld
and Polsum.
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On 4 September 1614 Ferdinand of Bavaria
, the successor to his uncle, Ernst of Bavaria, as the Elector of Cologne, forbade non-Catholic from staying in Vest Recklinghausen.
During the secularization of the ecclesiastical states in 1802-03, also known as the German Mediatisation
, the electorate was abolished and Vest Recklinghausen was annexed by the Lords of Arenberg. In 1811 it was added to the Grand Duchy of Berg
and in 1815 became part of the Prussia
n province of Westphalia
.
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...
, located in the center of today's 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...
. The rivers Emscher
Emscher
The Emscher is a relatively small river and tributary of the Rhine, flowing through the Ruhr area in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Its total length is 84km with an average discharge near the mouth into the lower Rhine of 16 m³/s .The Emscher has its source in Holzwickede, east of the...
and Lippe
Lippe
Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe....
formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey
Essen Abbey
Essen Abbey was a collegiate foundation for women of the high nobility in Essen. It was founded in about 845 by the Saxon Altfrid , later Bishop of Hildesheim and saint, near a royal estate called Astnidhi, which later gave its name to the religious house and to the town...
in the south , and to the Bishopric of Münster
Bishopric of Münster
The Bishopric of Münster was an ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lower Saxony...
in the north. In the east, a fortification secured the border with Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
and in the west it was bordered by the Duchy of Cleves
Duchy of Cleves
The Duchy of Cleves was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the town of Wesel, bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west...
.
Today Vest Recklinghausen is part of the district of Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
, with parts of Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
and Bottrop
Bottrop
Bottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives,...
now added to the administration of Vest Recklinghausen. The term ´Vest´, describing a judicial district, is still used locally, for instance in a local radio station and in a local museum.
Lordship of Vest Recklinghausen
Vest Recklinghausen was first mentioned in 1228 as a fiefdom of the Archbishopric of CologneArchbishopric 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...
and thus it belonged to the Electoral Rhenish Circle
Electoral Rhenish Circle
The Electoral Rhenish Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire, created in 1512.The circle derived its name from four of the seven prince-electors whose lands along the Middle Rhine comprised the vast majority of its territory....
. The administrator lived in castle Westerholt
Westerholt
Westerholt is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
, located in Herten
Herten
Herten is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the industrial Ruhr Area, approx...
. From 1446 to 1576 it was used as collateral, first pawned to the lords of Gemen
Gemen
Gemen was an immediate, sovereign lordship of the Holy Roman Empire, in the Lower Rhine region. Since Gemen had a vote in the Imperial Diet it was also an Imperial Estate. It was centered on Gemen, a small town and castle in the present municipality of Borken, western North Rhine-Westphalia.Gemen...
(now part of the city Borken
Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia
-Neighbouring places:* Raesfeld* Heiden* Südlohn* Rhede* Velen-Division of the town:Borken consists of 12 districts:-History:The name comes from the German word "Burg" or "Burk" and gradually changed to "Burke", then "Burken" and finally to "Borken". Around the year 800 the village was being used...
) and after 1492 to the Lords of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg, who pawned the territory back to the Archbishops of Cologne in 1576.
During the Cologne War
Cologne War
The Cologne War devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North-Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany...
(1583-1589), Vest Recklinghausen was occupied and sacked several times by troops from both sides of the conflict. In 1583, although much of the territory was already Protestant, the Calvinist Elector of Cologne, Gebhard, Truchsess von Waldburg and his wife, Agnes
Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben was Countess of Mansfeld and the daughter of Johann Georg I, of Mansfeld Eisleben. She converted Gebhard, Seneschal of Waldburg, the Prince-Elector of Electorate of Cologne and archbishop of the Diocese of Cologne to the Protestant faith, leading to the Cologne War...
, ordered the destruction of the icons and decorative elements of the churches. In 1584, the territory was sacked again, this time by the competing archbishop, Ernst of Bavaria. In 1586, the territory was invaded by Martin Schenck and Hermann Cloedt
Hermann Friedrich Cloedt
Hermann Friedrich Cloedt was commander of the garrison at Neuss , near Duisburg, in July 1586, when the city was destroyed by the Duke of Parma's Army of Flanders. He died in the defense of Neuss.-Biography:...
, who caused great damage
Werl
Werl is a town located in the district of Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Werl is easily accessible because it is located between the Sauerland, Münsterland, and the Ruhr Area...
to the farms and small villages, and were besieged by Claude de Berlaymont
Claude de Berlaymont
Claude de Berlaymont , lord of Haultpenne was a Flemish military commander in Spain's Army of Flanders during the Eighty Years' War.-Family:...
, also known as Haultpenne
Haultpenne
The Castle Haultepenne, also spelled Haultpenne, located in Gleixhe in the town of Flémalle, is a part medieval, part renaissance structure. It is known for its red brick and uniquely shaped tower. For several centuries, the castle was in the possession of a Flemish noble family, Berlaymont...
, in the city of Werl
Werl
Werl is a town located in the district of Soest in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Werl is easily accessible because it is located between the Sauerland, Münsterland, and the Ruhr Area...
.
After the turmoil of the Cologne Wars, the administration of Vest Recklinghausen was divided in (circa 1600) in two districts: Recklinghausen continued to administer the eastern section, but Dorsten
Dorsten
Dorsten is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of just below 80,000.Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln...
assumed responsibility for the western section. The town of Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
including the parish of Recklinghausen and the filial parishes Ahsen, Datteln
Datteln
Datteln is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on a crossroads of four canals , which makes it the biggest canal junction in Europe, approx...
, Flaesheim, Hamm-Bossendorf, Henrichenburg, Herten
Herten
Herten is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the industrial Ruhr Area, approx...
, Horneburg
Horneburg
Horneburg is a municipality southwest of Hamburg in the district of Stade in Lower Saxony.Horneburg is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Horneburg.-History:Horneburg belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen...
, Oer
Oer
Oer is the name of a German noble family from Oer-Erkenschwick, Westphalia.*Antonia Baronin Pilars de Pilar , court lady of the duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin...
, Suderwich, Waltrop
Waltrop
Waltrop is a town in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, approx. 15 km east of Recklinghausen and 15 km north-west of Dortmund.-Division of the town:...
and Westerholt
Westerholt
Westerholt is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
appertained to the eastern part of the Vest Recklinghausen. The western parishes included Dorsten
Dorsten
Dorsten is a town in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and has a population of just below 80,000.Dorsten is situated on the western rim of Westphalia bordering the Rhineland. Its historical old town lies on the south bank of the river Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln...
and the parishes Dorsten, Bottrop
Bottrop
Bottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives,...
, Buer
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Gladbeck
Gladbeck
Gladbeck is a city in the district of Recklinghausen in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The name ´Gladbeck´ evolves from Low German, originally spoken in the area around Gladbeck. ´Glad´ means something like gleamy and ´beck´ means about brook. However, the brook Gladbeck flows under the ground...
, Horst
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Kirchhellen, Marl, Osterfeld
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
and Polsum.
Ferdinand of Bavaria
-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Munich, one of the sons of William V, Duke of Bavaria.His parents decided early that he would have church life, and they sent him to the Jesuit school at Ingolstadt for education in early 1587. He quickly became a canon in: Mainz, Cologne, Würzburg, Trier, Salzburg,...
, the successor to his uncle, Ernst of Bavaria, as the Elector of Cologne, forbade non-Catholic from staying in Vest Recklinghausen.
During the secularization of the ecclesiastical states in 1802-03, also known as the German 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....
, the electorate was abolished and Vest Recklinghausen was annexed by the Lords of Arenberg. In 1811 it was added to 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:...
and in 1815 became part of the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n province of Westphalia
Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
.