| County of Vest Recklinghausen Grafschaft Vest Recklinghausen | |
| |
| fl. 1228 - 1815 | |
| Capital Circle Bench |
Herten none none |
| Annexed by Cologne | 12th Century |
| Mentioned | 1228 |
| To Arenberg | 1802 |
| To France | 1810 |
| To Berg | 1811 |
| To Prussia | 1813 |
| Abolished | 1815 |
The County of Vest Recklinghausen was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire, located north of Essen and Dortmund south of the Lippe River. Vest Recklinghausen was part of the Prince-Archbishopric of Cologne, although it was ruled by local governors which resided in Herten. The governorship was pawned in 1576. Vest Recklinghausen was annexed to Arenberg in 1802, the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1811, and was included in the Prussian Province of Westphalia in 1815.
History of Vest Recklinghausen[]
The territory of Vest Recklinghausen was annexed by the Archbishops of Cologne in the early 12th Century. The first historical mention of the County occurred in 1228. In 1446 the Lords of Gemen were appointed governors of the territory, and when their house became extinct it passed to Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg who pawned the territory back to the Archbishops in 1576. The Dukes of Arenberg annexed the territory in 1802 at the beginning of the mediatisation. They held the County until 1810, when Napoleon Bonaparte of France annexed the entire Duchy as part of the Continental Blockade. It was attached to the Grand Duchy of Berg in 1811, and was conquered by the Prussians in 1813. Vest Recklinghausen was abolished in 1815 when it was incorporated into the newly created province of Westphalia.