County of Bentheim

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County of Bentheim Grafschaft Bentheim
c. 1050–1806
Coat of arms
The County of Bentheim around 1350
Status	County
Capital	Bad Bentheim
Common languages	West Low German
Historical era	Middle Ages, Early modern period
• Bentheim Castle     mentioned	c. 1050
• Partitioned into     Bentheim-Bentheim and     Bentheim-Tecklenburg	1277
• Split off     Bentheim-Steinfurt	1454
• Split off     B.-Tecklenburg-Rheda	1606
• Annexed by Prussia and     Berg	1806
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Saxony Kingdom of Prussia Berg (state)

The County of Bentheim (Grafschaft Bentheim, Low German Benthem) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the south-west corner of today's Lower Saxony, Germany. The county's borders corresponded largely to those of the modern administrative district (Landkreis) of Grafschaft Bentheim.

Geographically, Bentheim is composed largely of fenland, and early settlement was concentrated along the banks of the rivers which pass through the county. Deposits of Bentheim sandstone formed the basis of a profitable export trade to other parts of present-day Germany and the Netherlands.