Imperial circle of the Holy Roman Empire
The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle during the mid 16th century (after the Burgundian treaty of 1548 ) Historical map of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle of 1710 by Peter Schenk the Elder The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (German : Niederrheinisch-Westfälischer Reichskreis , Dutch : Nederrijns-Westfaalse Kreits ) was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire . It comprised territories of the former Duchy of Lower Lotharingia , Frisia and the Westphalian part of the former Duchy of Saxony .
The circle was made up of numerous small states, however the Counts De la Marck were able to collect a significant amount of territories, the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg from 1521 on. The Empire's largest ecclesiastical territory was held by the Prince-Bishops of Münster .
Composition The circle was made up of the following states:
Transfers The Duchy of Guelders passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 The Duchy of Luxembourg passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1512 The County of Drenthe passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 The Lordship of Groningen passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 The Lordship of Overijssel passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 The Bishopric of Utrecht passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 The County of Zutphen passed to the Burgundian Circle in 1548 References
Imperial Circles in the 16th Century Historical Maps of Germany The list of states making up the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle is based in part on that in the German Wikipedia article Niederrheinisch-Westfälischer Reichskreis. (in German) List of the imperial circles of 1532External links Media related to Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle at Wikimedia Commons