Mark (earldom)
| County of Mark | ||||||||||
| Grafschaft Mark (de) | ||||||||||
| State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||
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.svg) Map of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle around 1560,
County of Mark highlighted in red |
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| Capital | Hamm | |||||||||
| Government | Principality | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages, Renaissance | |||||||||
| • | Established | 12th century | ||||||||
| • | United with Cleves | 1391 | ||||||||
| • | Joined Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle |
1500 | ||||||||
| • | Part of Jülich-Cleves-Berg |
1521 | ||||||||
| • | To Brandenburg | 1614 | ||||||||
| • | Awarded to Berg | 1806 | ||||||||
| • | To Prussia | 1815 | ||||||||
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Coat of arms
The County of Mark (German: Grafschaft Mark, French: Comté de La Marck colloquially known as Die Mark) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers.
The Counts of the Mark were among the most powerful and influential Westphalian lords in the Holy Roman Empire. The name Mark is recalled in the present-day Märkischer Kreis district in lands south of the Ruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The northern portion (north of the Lippe river) is still called Hohe Mark ("Higher Mark"), while the former "Lower Mark" (between the Ruhr and Lippe Rivers) is—for the most part—merged in the present Ruhr area.
The County of the Mark enclosed an area of approximately 3,000 km² and extended between the Lippe and Aggers rivers (north-south) and between Gelsenkirchen and Bad Sassendorf (west-east) for about 75 km. The east-west flowing 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 (1243–1808), a fiefdom of Berg.
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