Lordship of Myllendonk

Lordship of Myllendonk Herrschaft Mylendonk (German)
1166–1794
Coat of arms
Myllendonk is shown in green to the left of the centre, north-east of the yellow Lordship of Wickrath.
Status	State of the Holy Roman Empire
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Government	Feudal Lordship
Lord of Myllendonk
History
• Lord first mentioned	1166
• Gained imperial immediacy	1700
• Conquered by France	1794
Succeeded by French First Republic
Today part of	North Rhine-Westphalia

The Lordship of Myllendonk (sometimes spelled "Millendonk") was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in western North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was bordered by the Duchy of Jülich to the west and north, the Lordship of Dyck to the south, and the Archbishopric of Cologne to the east and southeast. The lordship contained Korschenbroich and the Castle of Myllendonk. From 1700, Myllendonk was an Imperial Estate with a vote in the Bench of Counts of Westphalia.

History

The Lords of Myllendonk are first mentioned in 1166 as belonging to one of the most important lines in the Lower Rhine. The Dukes of Guelders gained overlordship of the territory in 1268, and overlordship passed to the Archbishopric of Cologne in 1279. The line was annexed to the Pesch Myllendonk family in 1263, and in c. 1350 passed to the House of Mirlaer which renamed itself to Myllendonk-Mirlaer. Myllendonk was eventually inherited by Johann Jakob, Count of Bronckhorst and Anholt, the Dukes of Croÿ in 1682, the Countess of Berlepsch in 1694, and through the female inheritance to the Counts of Ostein in 1700. Myllendonk was also raised to the Bench of Counts of Westphalia in 1700 as an Imperial immediate Estate.

Counts of Ostein

Count of arms of the Counts of Ostein

The Counts of Ostein ruled Myllendonk until 1794 when the French conquered the German territory on the western side of the Rhine River. The Counts of Ostein were compensated with the secularised Abbacy of Buchau in 1803. Myllendonk itself remained French until the Congress of Vienna awarded the territory to Prussia in 1814. The following year the Lordship was abolished and the territory was annexed into the newly created Province of Rhineland.