County of Rietberg

Rietberg County
Grafschaft Rietberg
State of the Holy Roman Empire (until 1806)
1237–1807
Capital		Rietberg
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Became Reichsfrei     county	1237
•	Raised to     Imperial county	1353
•	Subordinated to     Landgraviate of Hesse	1807
•	Mediatised to     Westphalia	1807
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Westphalia Kingdom of Westphalia

The County of Rietberg (German: Grafschaft Rietberg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was situated on the upper Ems in Westphalia between the Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn and the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. It existed as an independent territory from 1237 to 1807, when it was mediatised to the Kingdom of Westphalia.

History

Rietberg was first mentioned as 'Rietbike' around the year 1100. This name refers to Ried which is an old name for reed and to 'Bach', which means creek. There was a castle that dated back to the 11th century. From 1237, it was home to the family of Wenzel Adam von Kaunitz, Count Rietberg. From this time on, the part 'Berg' in the name Rietberg refers to the existence of a castle which is called 'Burg' in German. Since that time, Rietberg was an independent German territory until the year 1807. In the Middle Ages, the Rietberg county was a very small state. Nevertheless, Rietberg had its own militia, its own currency, and its own laws. Even foreign policy, on a small scale, was conducted independently. Until the 17th century, Rietberg coined its own money.

In the year 1807, Rietberg became mediatised to the Kingdom of Westphalia. The title Count Rietberg remains extant in the House of Liechtenstein, with Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein and each born member of his dynasty and their dynastic wives bearing the title currently.

Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (1500–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire
Ecclesiastical	Cambrai (until 1678) Corvey1 Liège Minden2 Münster Stavelot–Malmedy1 Osnabrück Paderborn Utrecht (until 1548) Verden (until 1648)	The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (red) within the Holy Roman Empire (white)
Prelates	Corvey2 Essen Herford Kornelimünster Stavelot–Malmedy2 Thorn Werden
Secular	Cleves with Mark East Frisia1 Jülich–Berg Guelders Minden1 Moers1 Nassau-Dillenburg1 Verden1
Counts and lords	From 1500 Bentheim Bronkhorst (until 1719) Diepholz East Frisia (until 1667) Horne3 (until 1614) Hoya Lingen3 Lippe Manderscheid (until 1546) Moers (until 1541) Nassau Diez Hadamar Dillenburg (until 1664) Oldenburg (until 1777) Pyrmont Ravensberg3 Reichenstein Rietberg Salm-Reifferscheid Sayn Schaumburg Tecklenburg Virneburg Wied Winneburg and Beilstein Zimerauff? From 1792 Anholt Blankenheim and Gerolstein Gemen Gimborn Gronsfeld Hallermund Holzappel Kerpen-Lommersum Myllendonk Reckheim Schleiden Wickrath Wittem Status uncertain Delmenhorst Fagnolle Schaumburg Hesse Lippe Spiegelberg Steinfurt
Cities	Aachen Cologne Dortmund Duisburg? Herford? Verden (until 1648) Warburg?
1 from 1792 2 until 1792 3 without seat in Imperial Diet ? status uncertain Circles est. 1500: Bavarian, Swabian, Upper Rhenish, Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Franconian, (Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512: Austrian, Burgundian, Upper Saxon, Electoral Rhenish     Unencircled territories

Coordinates: 51°47′57″N 8°26′05″E / 51.79917°N 8.43472°E / 51.79917; 8.43472