View source for County of Mark

{{Short description|State of the Holy Roman Empire}}
{{Infobox country
|native_name            = {{native name|de|Grafschaft Mark}}
|conventional_long_name = County de La Mark
|common_name            = Mark or Marck
|era                    = [[Middle Ages]], [[Renaissance]]
|status                 = County
|empire                 = Holy Roman Empire
|year_start             = 12th century<!-- used to determine the established category -->
|year_end               = 1807
|life_span              = {{circa|1198}}–1807
|event_start            =
|date_start             =
|event1                 = United with [[Duchy of Cleves|Cleves]]
|date_event1            = 1391
|event2                 = Joined<br />{{spaces|4}}[[Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle]]
|date_event2            = 1500
|event3                 = Part of<br />{{spaces|4}}[[United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|Jülich-Cleves-Berg]]
|date_event3            = 1521
|event4                 = To [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]]
|date_event4            = 1614
|event_end              = Awarded to [[Grand Duchy of Berg|Berg]]
|date_end               =
|event_post             = To [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
|date_post              = 1815
|p1                     = Duchy of Saxony
|flag_p1                = Arms of the house of Ascania (ancient).svg
|border_p1              = no
|s1                     = Grand Duchy of Berg
|flag_s1                = Flag of the Grand Duchy of Berg (1806-1808).svg
|image_coat             = Mark wapen.svg
|image_map              = Locator County of Mark (1560).svg
|image_map_caption      = Map of the [[Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle]] around 1560,<br />County of Mark highlighted in red
|capital                = [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]]
|common_languages       =
|footnotes              =
}}

The '''County of Mark''' ({{langx|de|Grafschaft Mark}}, {{langx|fr|Comté de La Marck}} colloquially known as {{lang|de|Die Mark}}) was a [[county]] and [[Imperial State|state]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in the [[Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle]]. It lay south of [[Lippe (river)|Lippe]] river on both sides of the [[Ruhr]] river along the [[Volme]] and [[Lenne]] rivers.

The Counts de la Mark were among the most powerful and influential [[Westphalia]]n lords in the Holy Roman Empire. The name ''Mark'' derived from a small village Mark and the nearby Castle Mark, the latter was built between 1190 and 1202, both today incorporated in the unitary authority [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]], founded in 1226 by the first Count, Adolph de la Mark. His father used the older title Altena  or Berg-Altena.
The name of the county is recalled to the present-day {{lang|de|[[Märkischer Kreis]]}} district in lands south of the Ruhr in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], Germany, in 1975 when the districts were rearranged and the former district Altena was merged with former parts of neighbouring districts. The district Märkischer Kreis is only the southern part of the former county, the county is now divided between Märkischer Kreis, parts of Cities [[Bochum]], [[Dortmund]], [[Hagen]], [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] and the districts [[Kreis Unna]], [[Soest, Germany|Soest]] and [[Ennepetal]]

== Geography ==
The County of the Mark enclosed an area of approximately 3,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> and extended between the [[Lippe (river)|Lippe]] and [[Agger (river)|Aggers]] rivers (north-south) and between [[Gelsenkirchen]] and [[Bad Sassendorf]] (west-east) for about 75&nbsp;km. The east–west flowing [[Ruhr (river)|Ruhr]] separated the county into two different regions: the northern, fertile lowlands of [[Hellweg Börde]]; and the southern hills of the [[Süder Uplands]] ([[Sauerland]]). In the south–north direction the southern part of the county was crossed by the Lenne. In the region of the Lower Lenne was the County of [[Limburg-Hohenlimburg|Limburg]] (1243–1808), a fiefdom of [[Berg (state)|Berg]].

The seat of the Counts of the Mark [[von de Marck]] or [[de la Marck]] was originally the [[Altena|Burg Altena]] in the [[Sauerland]] region, but moved to ''Burg Mark'' near [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] in the 1220s. The county was bordered by [[Vest Recklinghausen]], the [[County of Dortmund]], the [[Bishopric of Münster]], the County of Limburg, [[Werden Abbey]], and [[Essen Abbey]].

== Coat of arms ==
[[File:Arms of the House of La Marck.svg|thumb|100px|left]]
The [[coat of arms]] of the county was ''"[[Or (heraldry)|Or]] a [[fess]] [[Variation of the field#Chequy|chequy]] [[Gules]] and [[Argent]] of three"''. These arms have been used by the city of [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] since 1226. Many other places in the area include the red and white checkered fess in their arms as a reference to the county and often to their founders.

== History ==
[[File:Altena Burg 20051030.jpg|thumb|left|View of [[Altena Castle]] and [[Lenne]] in [[Altena]]]]
Originally belonging to a collateral line of the counts of [[Berg (state)|Berg]] at Altena, the territory emerged under the name of '''Berg-Altena''' in 1160. About 1198 Count [[Frederick I, Count of Berg-Altena|Frederick I]] purchased the ''Mark Oberhof'', a [[common land|parish land]] (''Feldmark'') on the territory of the Edelherren of Rüdenberg, liensmen of the [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]] archbishop [[Philip I (archbishop of Cologne)|Philip von Heinsberg]]. Here Frederick had the Mark Castle (''Burg Mark'') erected as the residence of the new "Counts of the Mark". The nearby town of [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] was founded by his son [[Adolf I, Count of the Mark]] in 1226, it soon became most important settlement of the county and was often used as residence.

In the 1288 [[Battle of Worringen]], Count [[Eberhard II, Count of the Mark|Eberhard II]] fought on the side of Duke [[John I, Duke of Brabant|John I of Brabant]] and Count Adolph V of Berg against his liege, the Cologne archbishop [[Siegfried II of Westerburg]], titular Duke of [[Westphalia]]. As Brabant and its allies were victorious, the County of Mark gained supremacy in southern Westphalia and became independent of the [[Electorate of Cologne|Archbishopric of Cologne]]. The territory of Mark was for long restricted to the lands between the Ruhr and Lippe rivers ("Lower Mark"). New territories in the north ("Higher Mark") were gained during the 14th century in wars against the [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster]].

In 1332 Count [[Adolf II, Count of the Mark|Adolph II]] married Margarete, the daughter of Count [[Dietrich VIII, Count of Cleves|Dietrich VIII of Cleves]]. Adolph's younger son [[Adolf III of the Marck|Adolph III]] upon the death of Dietrich's brother Count [[John, Count of Cleves|John]] acquired the [[Duchy of Cleves|County of Cleves]] on the western banks of the [[Rhine]] in 1368. In 1391 Adolph III also inherited the Mark from his elder brother [[Engelbert III, Count of the Mark|Engelbert III]] and united both counties as "Cleves-Mark" in 1394.

In 1509 the heir to the throne of Cleves-Mark [[John III, Duke of Cleves|John III the Peaceful]] married [[Maria of Jülich-Berg|Maria]], the daughter of Duke William IV of Berg and [[Duchy of Jülich|Jülich]]. In 1511 he succeeded his father-in-law in Jülich-Berg and in 1521 his father in Cleves-Mark, resulting in the rule of almost all territories in present [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] in [[personal union]], except for the ecclesiastical states. The dynasty of Jülich-Cleves-Berg became extinct in 1609, when the insane last duke [[John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|John William]] had died. A long dispute about the succession followed, before the territory of Mark together with Cleves and [[County of Ravensberg|Ravensberg]] was granted to the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] Elector [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund of Hohenzollern]] by the 1614 [[Treaty of Xanten]] (generally accepted in 1666). It then became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] after 1701.

In 1807 the County of the Mark passed from Prussia to [[First French Empire|France]] in the [[Treaties of Tilsit]]. In 1808 [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] then gave Mark to the elevated [[Grand Duchy of Berg]], which was divided into four [[Departments of France|departments]] along the lines of Napoleonic France. Mark was in the Ruhr Department until the collapse of French power in 1813, when it returned to Prussia.

The Prussian administrative reform of 30 April 1815 placed Mark within Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg, [[Province of Westphalia]]. The Hohenzollern Prussian sovereigns remained Counts of the "Prussian County of the Mark" until 1918.
The "County of the Mark" has no official meaning anymore, but is used to informally refer to the region in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]].

== Counts de la Mark ==
[[File:Grafschaft Mark 1791 Friedrich C Mueller.jpg|thumb|375px|A 1791 map of the County of Mark by German cartographer [[Friedrich Christoph Müller]] (1751–1808)]]
The [[House of La Marck]] is a [[Cadet branch|cadet]] branch of [[Duchy Berg|Berg]] dynasty. Another surviving line of the [[Duchy Berg|House of Berg]] (more senior but less prominent in European History) became counts of [[Isenberg]], then count of Limburg and [[Limburg Styrum]].
* 1160–1180 [[Eberhard I, Count of Berg-Altena|Eberhard I]], son of [[Adolf IV, Count of Berg]]
* 1180–1198 [[Frederick I, Count of Berg-Altena|Frederick I]], son of [[Eberhard I, Count of Berg-Altena|Eberhard I]]
* 1198–1249 [[Adolf I, Count of the Mark|Adolph I]], son of [[Frederick I, Count of Berg-Altena|Frederick I]]. First Count of the House to name himself Count de La Marck in 1202; he scarcely used the titles of Berg and Altena
* 1249–1277 [[Engelbert I, Count of the Mark|Engelbert I]]
* 1277–1308 [[Eberhard II, Count of the Mark|Eberhard II]]
* 1308–1328 [[Engelbert II, Count of the Mark|Engelbert II]]
* 1328–1347 [[Adolf II, Count of the Mark|Adolph II]]
* 1347–1391 [[Engelbert III, Count of the Mark|Engelbert III]]
* 1391–1393 [[Adolf III of the Marck|Adolph III]], brother of Engelbert III, Count of Cleves since 1368 and former Bishop of Münster and Archbishop of Cologne
* 1393–1398 [[Dietrich, Count of the Mark|Dietrich]]
* 1398–1448 [[Adolph I, Duke of Cleves|Adolph IV]], son of Adolf III, also Count of Cleves 1394–1417, Duke of Cleves 1417–1448
* 1437–1461 [[Gerhard, Count of Mark|Gerhard]], brother of Adolf IV – Regent in the county, not allowed to use the title Count de la Mark in his own rights
* 1448–1481 [[John I, Duke of Cleves|John I]], son of Adolph IV, also Duke of Cleves since 1448
* 1481–1521 [[John II, Duke of Cleves|John II "The Babymaker"]], son, also Duke of Cleves
* 1521–1539 [[John III, Duke of Cleves|John III "the Peaceful"]], son, also Duke of Jülich-Berg since 1511
* 1539–1592 [[William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|William "the Rich"]], son, also Duke of Jülich-Berg, Duke of Guelders 1538–1543
* 1592-1609 [[John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg|John William]], son, son, also Duke of Jülich-Berg

=== House of Hohenzollern ===
* 1614–1619 [[John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg|John Sigismund of Hohenzollern]]
* 1619–1640 [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg|George William]], son
* 1640–1688 [[Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg|Frederick William I]], son
* 1688–1713 [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick I]], son, ''[[King in Prussia]]'' from 1701
* 1713–1740 [[Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William I]], son, King in Prussia
* 1740–1786 [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II]], son, King ''of'' Prussia from 1772
* 1786–1797 [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]], nephew, King of Prussia
* 1797–1807 [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III]], King of Prussia
''To France by the 1807 [[Treaties of Tilsit|Treaty of Tilsit]], incorporated into [[Grand Duchy of Berg]]''

== See also ==
* [[de la Marck]] (French spelling of the family name which is often used in English)

== Further reading ==
* [[Julius Menadier]]: ''Die Münzen der Grafschaft Mark.'' Dortmund 1909.
* [[Aloys Meister]]: ''Die Grafschaft Mark, Festschrift zum Gedächtnis der 300-jährigen Vereinigung mit Brandenburg-Preußen.'' 2&nbsp;Bde., Dortmund 1909.
* Margarete Frisch: ''Die Grafschaft Mark. Der Aufbau und die innere Gliederung des Gebietes besonders nördlich der Ruhr''. Aschendorff, Münster in Westfalen 1937.
* Margret Westerburg-Frisch (Hrsg.): ''Die ältesten Lehnbücher der Grafen von der Mark (1392 und 1393).'' Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission Westfalens, Bd.&nbsp;28: ''Westfälische Lehnbücher,'' Bd.&nbsp;1, Münster in Westfalen 1967.
* Uta Vahrenhold-Huland: ''Grundlagen und Entstehung des Territoriums der Grafschaft Mark.'' Dortmund 1968.
* Norbert Reimann: ''Die Grafen von der Mark und die geistlichen Territorien der Kölner Kirchenprovinz (1313–1368).'' Historischer Verein, Dortmund 1973.
* [[Ernst Dossmann]]: ''Auf den Spuren der Grafen von der Mark.'' Mönnig, Iserlohn 1983, {{ISBN|3-922885-14-4}}.
* Oliver Becher: ''Herrschaft und autonome Konfessionalisierung. Politik, Religion und Modernisierung in der frühneuzeitlichen Grafschaft Mark.'' Klartext-Verlag, Essen 2006, {{ISBN|3-89861-512-X}}.
* [[Stephanie Marra]]: ''Grafen von der Mark, Herzöge von Kleve-Mark und Jülich-Kleve (Hof).'' In: Werner Paravicini (Hrsg.): ''Fürstliche Höfe und Residenzen im spätmittelalterlichen Reich,'' Bd.&nbsp;3, Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2007, {{ISBN|3-7995-4522-0}}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160307201941/http://resikom.adw-goettingen.gwdg.de/artikel.php?artikelid=25&id=$id&option=go online Text]

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=pro&ID=55 Edicts of the Duchy of Berg and the County of Mark, 1418–1816 online]
* [http://www.hoeckmann.de/germany/ruhr-area.htm Map of the County of Mark in 1789]

{{Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle}}
{{Territories and provinces of Prussia}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, County of}}
[[Category:County of Mark| ]]
[[Category:Counties of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia]]
[[Category:Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Prussia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1198]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1807]]
[[Category:1198 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:1190s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1610s disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]