county · Germany and Central Europe
County of Bentheim
Origins
Bentheim Castle appears around 1050 to 1116 on a sandstone ridge on the Vechte river near the Dutch border. In the mid 12th century it passed to Otto, a younger son of the counts of Holland, whose descendants ruled it until 1421, when it was inherited by Everwijn of Götterswick, founder of the later house of Bentheim.
Rule and society
The county was small and rural, known for Bentheim sandstone, quarried and shipped down the Vechte to the Netherlands, where it was used in buildings such as the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Count Arnold II introduced the Reformed faith around 1588. The house split into several lines, including Bentheim-Steinfurt and Bentheim-Tecklenburg.
Decline and legacy
Bentheim was pawned to Hanover from 1753 to 1803. In 1806 the county was mediatised and incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Berg, then annexed by France. After 1815 it passed to the Kingdom of Hanover, and today it forms the district of Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- County of Bentheim was part of Holy Roman Empire1050 CE – 1806 CE
- County of Bentheim was part of Electorate of Hanover1753 CE – 1804 CE
More states of Germany and Central Europe →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Bentheim. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-bentheim
- MLA
- “County of Bentheim.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-bentheim. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “County of Bentheim.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-bentheim.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Bentheim’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-bentheim (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻