Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a historic county, principality and finally duchy located in modern Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain the highest Belgian aristocratic family.
First mentioned in the 12th century, it was named after the village Aremberg in the modern district of Ahrweiler, in the Rhineland-Palatinate.
Aremberg was originally a county. It became a state of the Holy Roman Empire (reichsunmittelbar) in 1549, was raised to a principality in 1576, and finally a duchy in 1645.
The territorial possessions of the dukes of Arenberg varied through the ages. Around 1789 the duchy was located in the Eifel region on the west side of the Rhine, and contained amongst others Aremberg, Schleiden and Kerpen.
However, although the Duchy itself was in Germany, from the 15th century on, the principal lands of the Dukes of Arenberg have been in modern day Belgium.
The pre-Napoleonic duchy had an area of 413 km² and a population of 14,800. It belonged to the Electoral…