The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region that included the present-day village of Aremberg. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot made the Arenbergs the wealthiest and most influential noble family of the Habsburg Netherlands. The family's Duchy of Arenberg was a sovereign state until it was mediatized in 1810. As such, the Arenbergs belong to the small group of families that constitute the .

The current head of the house bears the title of Duke of Arenberg, while all other members are princes or princesses. They all enjoy the style of Serene Highness.

In 1827, Prince Pierre d'Arenberg, third son of the 6th Duke of Arenberg, was granted the French noble title of duke by King Charles X and was made a hereditary peer of France. His descendants form a French cadet branch of the family, the head of which holds the French ducal title (duc d'Arenberg).

Lords of Arenberg DateName (birth–death)Notes1032 Ulrich, Viscount of Cologne1061–1074 Franco I.1082–1135 Arnold1106–1135 Franco II.1136–1159 Heinrich I. Gerhard1166/67–1197 Heinrich II. de Arberg Eberhard (1200–1218) ∞ Aleidis of Molsbergalso Countess of Freusburg Heinrich III. (1220–1252) Gerhard ∞ Mechthild von Holte Johann (1267–1280) married Johanna von Jülich, sold Viscounty of Cologne Mechthild In 1299, married Count Engelbert II. von der Mark

Counts of Arenberg Date (reign)NameNotes1299–1328Count Engelbert II von der Mark Count of La Marck and, by marriage, Lord of Arenberg1328–1387Count Eberhard I von der Marck-Arenberg Lord of Arenberg1387–1454Count Eberhard II von der Marck-Arenberg Lord of Sedan, and Arenberg1454–1480Count Johann von der Marck-Arenberg Lord of Sedan, and Arenberg1480–1496Count Eberhard III von der Marck-Arenberg Lord of Arenberg; brother of Robert I, Lord of Sedan and chatelain of Bouillon1496–????Count Robert I von der Marck-Arenberg????–1536Count Robert II von der Marck-Arenberg1536–1541Count Robert III von der Marck-Arenberg Upon his death in 1541, the male line ended and his sister Margaret ruled the territory1541–1568Countess Margaret von der Marck-Arenberg Married Jean de Ligne in 1547, who became her co-ruler until his death in 15681568–1616Charles, Count of Arenberg Elevated to Princely Count in 1576, along with his mother Margaret

Princely Counts and later Dukes of Arenberg

The marriage contract in 1547 between Margaret von der Marck, Countess of Arenberg, and Jean de Ligne stipulated that their offspring would abandon the name of Ligne (to which house they belonged) and adopt the name and arms of Arenberg. On 5 March 1576, Emperor Maximilian II raised Margaret and her son Charles to the rank of Princely Count (German: Gefürsteter Graf). As such, the Arenbergs sat and voted on the bench of secular princes in the Imperial Diet. On 9 June 1644, Emperor Ferdinand III bestowed the title of Duke of Arenberg (German: Herzog von Arenberg) on Charles' grandsons, Philip-Francis and Charles-Eugene, as well as on all legitimate descendants of Charles and his brother Robert, Prince of Barbançon (father of Albert, Prince of Barbançon).

Meanwhile, the marriage in 1587 of Princely Count Charles to Anne de Croÿ, the sister and heiress of Charles III de Croÿ (the last Duke of Aarschot of the House of Croÿ), subsequently brought the Arenbergs a series of titles in 1612, as well as vast estates in the Habsburg Netherlands. The senior title was that of Duke of Aarschot. It had been created in 1534, it was the first (and until 1627 the only) ducal title in the Netherlands, and it carried the dignity of a Spanish Grandee. The lands of the Arenbergs gave them a seat in the second estate of the Provincial States of Brabant and of Hainaut.

Since the Arenbergs were now indisputably first among the nobility of the Habsburg Netherlands, it became customary for successive Dukes of Aarschot to receive the Order of the Golden Fleece shortly after their succession to the title. Staunch supporters of the Habsburgs, they held high offices at the Court of Brussels, sat on the Counsel of State, were employed on embassies (notably the embassy to King James I of England that negotiated the Treaty of London of 1604) and acted as provincial governors in Hainaut and the Franche-Comté. Occupying high military commands could likewise be called something like their birthright.

In 1605, Charles d'Arenberg and Anne de Croÿ bought the Land of Enghien of King Henry IV of France, and they made it their principal seat in the Netherlands. Initially inspired by the example set by Robert Cecil at Theobalds House, the Arenbergs created gardens at Enghien that came to enjoy an international reputation. In testimony of the patronage given to the Capuchins, the order's convent at Enghien became the necropolis of the Arenbergs.

With the Duchy of Aarschot came the secondary country seat of Heverlee and the vast forest of Meerdaal. In keeping with their high status, the Arenbergs also owned a residence in Brussels. After its destruction in the bombardment of 1695, the Arenbergs had to settle for rented accommodation until acquiring the stately Egmont Palace in 1754. It was to remain in the family's possession until 1918.

During the War of the First Coalition, the Arenbergs lost their territories on the Left Bank of the Rhine. In 1803, Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg, was compensated with Recklinghausen and Meppen in Germany, and in 1806 also with the county of Dülmen, together named the Duchy of Arenberg. In 1810, Napoleon occupied it; in 1815, the Congress of Vienna returned it at first but then mediatized Meppen in favor of the Kingdom of Hanover and Recklinghausen in favor of the Kingdom of Prussia. The House of Arenberg received the rights and rank of a mediatized house.

Duke Engelbert-Marie (1872-1949) acquired Schloss Nordkirchen in 1903, but he was expropriated of (or forced to sell) his vast property in Belgium after World War I, due to his service as an officer in the Imperial German Army. His German property was inherited by his three children, and major parts of it were granted to a charitable trust in 1989 by his daughter-in-law, Duchess Mathildis ( Calley).

Gallery

List of heads of the House of Arenberg PeriodName and main titles (birth–death)Notes1576–1599 Margaret, 1st Princely Countess of Arenberg (1527–1599)married Jean de Ligne (1528–1568)1599–1616 Charles, 2nd Princely Count of Arenberg (1550–1616)son of Jean and Margaret1616–1640 Philippe-Charles, 3rd Princely Count of Arenberg and 6th Duke of Aarschot (1587–1640)son of Charles and Anne de Croÿ, Duchess of Aarschot1640–1674 Philippe François, 1st Duke of Arenberg and 7th Duke of Aarschot (1625–1674)son of Philippe-Charles1674–1681 Charles Eugene, 2nd Duke of Arenberg and 8th Duke of Aarschot (1633–1681)half-brother of Philippe François1681–1691 Philippe-François-Charles, 3rd Duke of Arenberg and 9th Duke of Aarschot (1663–1691)son of Charles Eugene1691–1754 Léopold-Philippe, 4th Duke of Arenberg and 10th Duke of Aarschot (1690–1754)son of Philippe-François-Charles1754–1778 Charles-Marie-Raymond, 5th Duke of Arenberg and 11th Duke of Aarschot (1721–1778)son of Léopold-Philippe1778–1820 Louis Engelbert, 6th Duke of Arenberg, 12th Duke of Aarschot, 1st Duke of Meppen and 1st Prince of Recklinghausen (1750–1820)son of Charles-Marie-Raymond1820–1861 Prosper Louis, 7th Duke of Arenberg, 13th Duke of Aarschot, 2nd Duke of Meppen and 2nd Prince of Recklinghausen (1785–1861)son of Louis Engelbert1861–1875 Engelbert-Auguste, 8th Duke of Arenberg, 14th Duke of Aarschot, 3rd Duke of Meppen and 3rd Prince of Recklinghausen (1824–1875)son of Prosper Louis1875–1949 Engelbert-Marie, 9th Duke of Arenberg, 15th Duke of Aarschot, 4th Duke of Meppen and 4th Prince of Recklinghausen (1872–1949)son of Engelbert-Auguste. He was father-in-law of Italian Royal Prince Filiberto, Duke of Genoa1949–1974 Engelbert-Charles, 10th Duke of Arenberg, 16th Duke of Aarschot, 5th Duke of Meppen and 5th Prince of Recklinghausen son of Engelbert-Marie, married Valeria zu Schleswig-Holstein, a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria as only child of Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein 1974–1992 Erik Engelbert, 11th Duke of Arenberg, 17th Duke of Aarschot, 6th Duke of Meppen and 6th Prince of Recklinghausenbrother of Engelbert-Charles He adopted two stepchildren (including Laetitia d'Arenberg), father-in-law of the Grand Duke of Tuscany1992–2011 Jean, 12th Duke of Arenberg, 18th Duke of Aarschot, 7th Duke of Meppen and 7th Prince of Recklinghausensecond cousin once removed of Erik -- married Princess Sophie of Bavaria, youngest daughter of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria2011–present Léopold, 13th Duke of Arenberg, 19th Duke of Aarschot, 8th Duke of Meppen and 8th Prince of Recklinghausenson of Jean

See also List of noble families in Belgium Mediatised houses

Notes

References Franz Josef Heyen, ed. Die Arenberger in der Eifel (Koblenz, 1987). Franz Josef Heyen, ed. Die Arenberger in Westfalen und Emsland (Koblenz, 1990). Marc Derez, a.o., eds. Arenberg in de Lage Landen: Een hoogadellijk huis in Vlaanderen en Nederland (Louvain, 2002). Marie Cornaz. The Dukes of Arenberg and Music in the Eighteenth Century. The Story of a Music Collection (Brepols, Turnhout, 2015).

External links

Arenberg Foundation website Arenberg Foundation – History of the House of Arenberg () European Heraldry – Arenberg coat of arms ()