County of Horne

County of Horne
Graafschap Horn
State of the Holy Roman Empire
920–1795
Coat of arms
Lordship of Horne (1350)
Capital		Horn
Languages		Limburgish (Dutch)
Religion		Roman Catholicism
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Established	920
•	Personal union	1568
•	Annexed by France	1795
•	Concordat	10 September 1801
Succeeded by Meuse-Inférieure

The County of Horn in the 18th century

Map showing the Imperial Abbey of Thorn, the County of Horne and the barony of Kessenich

Castle Horn

Horne (also Horn, Hoorn or Hoorne) is a small historic county of the Holy Roman Empire in present Netherlands and Belgium. It takes its name from the village Horn, west of Roermond. The residence of the counts of Horne was moved from Horn to Weert in the 15th century.

After the execution in 1568 of Philip de Montmorency who died without male heirs, the Prince-Bishop of Liège, as suzerain of Horne, was declared the direct lord and new count. The bishops ruled the county in personal union. Horne maintained its own laws and customs as well as its financial autonomy. The county included the communes of Neer, Nunhem, Haelen, Buggenum, Roggel, Heythuysen, Horne, Beegden, Geystingen and Ophoven.

It was suppressed in 1795, when it was occupied by the French, and it became part of the French département Meuse-Inférieure.

Rulers of Horne

Lords of Horne

• Engelbert de Hurne,
• Engelbert de Hurnen,
• Henry van Horn, † 1196
• William,
• Engelbert,
• Gerhard van Horn
• William I., † 1264/65,
• Engelbert van Horn, 1212/64
• William II., † 1300/1301,
• William III., † 1301,
• Gerhard I., † 1330,
• William IV., † 1343,
• Gerhard II., X 1345,
• William V., 1344/57
• William VI., † 1417,
• William VII., † 1433,

Counts of Horn

• Jacob I., † 1488,
• Jacob II., † 1530,
• Jacob III., X 1531,
• John, † 1540
• Philippe de Montmorency
• The Prince-Bishops of Liège, 1568-1795

Sources

• Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln Band XVIII (1998) Tafel 62ff und Band XIV (1991) Tafel 122