County of Horne

County of Horne
Graofsjap Häör (Limburgish)
Graafschap Horn (Dutch)
920–1795
Coat of arms of Horne
Coat of arms
Lordship of Horne (1350)
Lordship of Horne (1350)
StatusCounty
CapitalHorn
Common languagesLimburgish, Dutch
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
920
1568
1795
• Concordat
10 September 1801
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Maasgau
Meuse-Inférieure
French First Republic
The County of Horn in the 18th century
Map showing the Imperial Abbey of Thorn, the County of Horne and the barony of Kessenich
Castle Horn

Horne (also Horn, Hoorn or Hoorne) is a small historic county of the Holy Roman Empire in the present day Netherlands and Belgium. It takes its name from the village Horn, west of Roermond. The residence of the counts of Horne was moved from Horn to Weert in the 15th century.

After the execution in 1568 of Philip de Montmorency who died without male heirs, the Prince-Bishop of Liège, as suzerain of Horne, was declared the direct lord and new count. The bishops ruled the county in personal union. Horne maintained its own laws and customs as well as its financial autonomy. The county included the communes of Neer, Nunhem, Haelen, Buggenum, Roggel, Heythuysen, Horne, Beegden, Geystingen and Ophoven.[1]

It was suppressed in 1795, when it was occupied by the French, and it became part of the French département Meuse-Inférieure.

  1. ^ Bulletin de la Commission centrale de statistique, Brussels, 1857, vol. 7, p. 136.