Lordship of Winneburg and Beilstein

The Lordship of Winneburg and Beilstein (German: Herrschaft Winneburg und Beilstein) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire situated on the Moselle River around Winneburg Castle near Cochem. It should not be confused with the County of Beilstein, or Nassau-Beilstein, which belonged to the House of Nassau.

The Lords of Winneburg were firstly mentioned in a 1304 deed, they also acquired the estates of the neighbouring Beilstein Castle in 1362. In the following decades the Lords of Winneburg and Beilstein were forced to give their lands in pawn to the Archbishops of Trier, who after a feud finally seized the property in 1488, only to lend it back as a fiefdom a few years later.

After the Winneburg-Beilstein line had become extinct, the descendants of the Trier archbishop Lothar von Metternich (1551–1623) from 1635 on called themselves Freiherren von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein and were elevated to Imperial counts in 1679. The last Count Franz George Karl lost his territory to France by the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville. He was however compensated by Emperor Francis II with the possession of secularised Ochsenhausen Abbey and the princely title in 1803.

According to the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, Winneburg-Beilstein together with the Rhineland fell to Prussia in 1815. Franz George Karl's son, Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich took the chance to buy the ruin of Winneburg Castle in 1832 but never rebuilt it.

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)

Map of a large region (in white) including all the territory of modern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, plus parts of most neighbouring countries, including most of Northern Italy. Some of the northwest part region is highlighted in color, including Münster, most of the Netherlands and parts of modern Belgium.

The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (red) within the Holy Roman Empire (white)

Prelates

Secular

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

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

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