Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda

Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire, located in present northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia and southwestern Lower Saxony, Germany.

In 1701, Brandenburgian troops occupied Tecklenburg, as there had been a dispute about the county with the counts of Solms-Braunfels since 1577, and the latter sold their rights to Brandenburg.

In 1756 the residence was moved from Hohenlimburg to Rheda, which remains the main seat of the family to this day.

In 1803 the secularized monasteries of Herzebrock and Clarholz, both located within the territories, were taken over by the counts.

However, their sovereignty ended with the mediatisation in 1808 when the county became part of the Grand Duchy of Berg, and after the Congress of Vienna (1815) of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Current Coat of arms of the Princes and Counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda
Coat of arms of the Counts of Bentheim Tecklenburg-Rheda, Tyroff: Wappenbuch des höheren Adels der deutschen Bundesstaaten , 1846–1865