 |
| Limburg-Stirum | |
|---|---|
| Mediatized German family | |
 Coat of Arms | |
| Parent house | Ezzonids → Berg |
| Country | Holy Roman Empire |
| Founded | 11th century as Counts of Berg |
| Founder | Adolf I, Count of Berg |
| Current head | Franz von Limburg Stirum |
| Titles | Imperial Count |
| Estate(s) | County of Berg, Altena, Isenberg, County of Limburg, Gemen, Styrum, Wisch, Bronkhorst and Borculo, Oberstein, etc. |
The House of Limburg-Stirum (or Limburg-Styrum), which adopted its name in the 12th century from the immediate county of Limburg an der Lenne in what is now Germany, is one of the oldest families in Europe.[citation needed] It is the eldest and only surviving branch of the House of Berg, which was among the most powerful dynasties in the region of the lower Rhine during the Middle Ages. Some historians[who?] link them to an even older dynasty, the Ezzonen, going back to the 9th century.
The Limburg-Stirum were imperial counts within the Holy Roman Empire, until they were mediatised in 1806 by the Confederation of the Rhine. Although undisputedly a mediatised comital family, having enjoyed a dynastic status for over 600 years until the collapse of the Empire, they were omitted from the Almanach de Gotha because the branches of the family possessing mediatised lands were extinct by the time (1815) that the Congress of Vienna established the German Confederation's obligation to recognise their dynastic status.
Since the 9th century, the family counted five Counts Palatine of Lotharingia, several Dukes of Westphalia, Bavaria, Carinthia and Swabia, seven Archbishops of Cologne, one Prince-Bishop of Speyer, more than ten bishops in the Holy Roman Empire, and at least two saints of the Catholic Church (Saint Richenza, celebrated on 21 March, and Saint Engelbert of Cologne, celebrated on 7 November).
The territorial authority of the family, counts of Berg since 1077, counts of Altena and Isenberg, then counts of Limburg since 1246, was significantly reduced following the opposition of Frederick II, Count of Isenberg to the aggression of his cousin, the Archbishop of Cologne, Engelbert II of Berg, leading to the murder of the latter. A cadet branch, the Counts van den Marck, later rose in importance as dukes of Cleves, Jülich and Berg, dukes of Nevers and Bouillon, counts of Schleiden, etc.
Today's members are mostly found in Belgium and The Netherlands.