Duchy of Berg: Difference between revisions
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*[[Konrad Heresbach | Conrad Heresbach]] - Born August 28th, 1496 near Mettmann [[John Calvin | Calvinist Reformer]] and Educator. |
*[[Konrad Heresbach | Conrad Heresbach]] - Born August 28th, 1496 near Mettmann [[John Calvin | Calvinist Reformer]] and Educator. |
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*[[Neanderthal man]] - Born ca. 50,000 - 20,000 AD. Fossilised remains of a ''[[Homo neanderthalensis]]''. |
*[[Neanderthal man]] - Born ca. 50,000 - 20,000 AD. Fossilised remains of a ''[[Homo neanderthalensis]]''. |
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[[Heinrich Heine | Christian Johann Heinrich Heine]] - Born in December 13, 1797 in Düsseldorf. Famous German writer. |
* [[Heinrich Heine | Christian Johann Heinrich Heine]] - Born in December 13, 1797 in Düsseldorf. Famous German poet and writer. |
||
* [[Julius Plücker]] - Born June 16th, 1801 near [[Wuppertal]]-[[Elberfeld]] - Famous Mathematician and inventor of [[Plücker coordinates | Line Geometry]] |
* [[Julius Plücker]] - Born June 16th, 1801 near [[Wuppertal]]-[[Elberfeld]] - Famous Mathematician and inventor of [[Plücker coordinates | Line Geometry]] |
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* [[Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen]] - Born in March 27, 1845 in [[Remscheid]] [[Lennep]]. Discovered X-rays and gained the first [[Nobel_Prize_in_Physics | Nobel Prize]] in [[Physics]]. |
* [[Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen]] - Born in March 27, 1845 in [[Remscheid]] [[Lennep]]. Discovered X-rays and gained the first [[Nobel_Prize_in_Physics | Nobel Prize]] in [[Physics]]. |
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Revision as of 13:55, 12 October 2006
Berg was a medieval territory in today's North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was roughly located between the rivers Rhine, Ruhr and Sieg. Today this territory is still named after the medieval state and is called Bergisches Land.
History
The Earls of Berg, a junior line to the dynasty of the Ezzonen, emerged in 1101 and became the most powerful dynasty in the region. In 1160 the territory was divided into two portions, one of them later becoming the County of the Mark. In 1280 the counts moved their court from Schloss Burg on the Wupper river to the town of Düsseldorf.
The power of Berg was further enlarged in the 14th century. The county of Jülich was united with Berg in 1348. In 1380 the counts of Berg were elevated to dukes.
From 1521 the dukes of Berg ruled the duchy in personal union with Mark and the duchy of Cleves (Kleve). Much of present North Rhine-Westphalia (except for the clerical states of the Archbishop of Cologne and Bishop of Münster) was ruled by the dukes.
The ducal dynasty became extinct in 1609, when the last duke died, insane. A long dispute about the succession followed, before the territories were partitioned in 1614: Jülich and Berg were annexed by the Count Palatine of Neuburg, who had converted to Catholicism, while Cleves and Mark fell to the Elector of Brandenburg. Upon the extinction of the senior dynasty ruling the Palatinate in 1685, the Neuburg line inherited the Electorate, and generally made Düsseldorf their capital until the Elector Palatine inherited Bavaria as well in 1777.
Early Rulers of Berg
- Hermann I "Pusillus" count palatine of Lotharingia
- Adolf I of Lotharingia, Vogt of Deutz
- Adolf II of Lotharingia, Vogt of Deutz
Berg
- 1077-1082 Adolf I of Berg, 1st count of Berg
- 1082-1093 Adolf II of Berg-Hövel (Huvili), count of Berg
- 1093-1132 Adolf III, count of Berg
- 1132-1160 Adolf IV, count of Berg
- 1160-1189 Engelbert I, count of Berg
- 1189-1218 Adolf VI, count of Berg
- 1218-1225 Engelbert II of Berg, Archbishop of Cologne, Regent of Berg
- 1218-1248 Irmgard, heiress of Berg
Limburg
- 1218-1247 Henry IV Duke of Limburg, count of Berg
- 1247-1259 Adolf VII count of Limburg, count of Berg
French revolution, Grand Duchy of Berg
The French annexation of Jülich during the French revolutionary wars separated the two duchies, and in 1803 Berg was separated from the other Bavarian territories and given to a junior branch of the Wittelsbachs. In 1806, in the reorganization of Germany occasioned by the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Berg became a Grand Duchy under the rule of Napoleon's brother-in-law, Joachim Murat. The arms combined the red lion of Berg with the arms of the duchy of Cleves. The anchor and the batons were added because Murat was grandadmiral and marschall of the empire. Being married to Napoleons sister Murat was also entitled to the imperial eagle
.
When, in 1808, Murat was promoted to the Kingdom of Naples, Napoleon's infant nephew, Prince Napoleon Louis (1804–1831, elder son of Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland) became Grand Duke, and the territory was administered by French bureaucrats. The Grand Duchy's short existence came to an end with Napoleon's defeat in 1813, and in the peace settlement that followed, Berg, along with much of the Westphalian region, was annexed to Prussia, forming a part of the Rhine province.
Famous Residents
- Philippine Bausch - Born July 27th, 1940 in Solingen. Famous choreographer.
- Konrad Alexander Friedrich Duden - Born Januar 3rd, 1829 near Wesel. German orthographer, educator, and reformer of the German language
- Gustaf Gründgens - Born December 22nd, 1899 in Düsseldorf. Famous German actor.
- Felix Christian Klein - Born April 25th, 1849 in Düsseldorf - Famous Mathematician. Worked on the Theory of Functions and the Erlang program.
- Conrad Heresbach - Born August 28th, 1496 near Mettmann Calvinist Reformer and Educator.
- Neanderthal man - Born ca. 50,000 - 20,000 AD. Fossilised remains of a Homo neanderthalensis.
- Christian Johann Heinrich Heine - Born in December 13, 1797 in Düsseldorf. Famous German poet and writer.
- Julius Plücker - Born June 16th, 1801 near Wuppertal-Elberfeld - Famous Mathematician and inventor of Line Geometry
- Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen - Born in March 27, 1845 in Remscheid Lennep. Discovered X-rays and gained the first Nobel Prize in Physics.