duchy · Germany and Central Europe

Duchy of Jülich

1003 CE – 1794 CE (approx.) · capital Jülich

A Rhineland county turned duchy between Aachen and Cologne, whose union with Cleves and Berg created a powerful state and a famous succession crisis.

Origins

A count named Gerhard appears in the Jülichgau around 1003, and his family built a county around the old Roman town of Jülich west of the Rhine. The counts fought the archbishops of Cologne for supremacy in the lower Rhineland, sharing the victory at Worringen in 1288 with Berg and Brabant.

Rule and society

Count William V was made margrave in 1336 and duke in 1356. In 1423 Jülich united with the Duchy of Berg, and in 1521 with the Duchy of Cleves and the County of the Mark, forming the United Duchies. Duke William the Rich built Jülich into an Italian Renaissance fortress town with a citadel.

Decline and legacy

When the last duke, John William, died in 1609, the Jülich succession crisis between Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg nearly sparked a European war. The Treaty of Xanten in 1614 gave Jülich and Berg to Palatinate-Neuburg. French revolutionary armies took Jülich in 1794, and in 1815 it became Prussian.

Connections (4)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Jülich. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-julich
MLA
“Duchy of Jülich.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-julich. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Jülich.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-julich.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Jülich’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-julich (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻