County of Tecklenburg

The County of Tecklenburg (Grafschafts Tecklenburg) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 12th century to 1808.

In the 12th century the county of Tecklenburg emerged in the region that is now called the "Tecklenburger Land" in the western foothills of the Teutoburg Forest. It was annexed by the neighbouring county of Bentheim in 1263, and Tecklenburg still had a count until the 19th century. Even today, some local descendents of the Bentheim / Tecklenburg families are sometimes considered as aristocrats. Much like many other European aristocrats, their family can be traced back to Charles the Great (800's) or is linked with the blood lines of old European royal families (e.g. in the case of the Bentheim-Tecklenburg there is a link with the House of Orange - the Dutch royal family).

Tecklenburg retained some of its medieval townscape to date. Main sites include the ruined castle (now serving as open air theatre during the Summer) and the Stadtkirche (the main, old church) including  tombs of the dukes of Tecklenburg and others prominent in the history of the county and city.