Portion of monument portraying the brutality of the battle

The Battle of Worringen was fought on June 5, 1288 near the town of Worringen (also called Woeringen), which is now considered to be a suburb of Cologne. Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem The battle was fought for the possession of the duchy of Limburg, and was one of the largest battles in Europe in the Middle Ages. This article deals with the historical duchy of Limburg for other meanings see Limburg.

After duke Waleran IV of Limburg died in 1282, the duchy of Limburg was inherited by his daughter Irmgard, wife of count Reinoud I of Guelders. Waleran IV or Walram IV (d1279 was the Duke of Limburg from 1247 to his death She died childless a year later, and her husband claimed the duchy. This claim was recognized by King Rudolph I of Germany. Rudolph I, also known as Rudolph of Habsburg ( German: Rudolf von Habsburg, Latin Rudolfus) May 1, 1218 &ndash

However, Walram's brother Adolf of Berg also claimed the duchy after Irmgard's death. Berg was a medieval territory in today's North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He sold his claim in 1283 to duke John I of Brabant, who wanted to enlarge his territory and reunite the former duchy of Lorraine. John I of Brabant, also called John the Victorious ( Leuven 1252/1253 &ndash May 3, 1294 in Leuven) was Duke of Brabant Lorraine (Lorraine Lothringen is a historical area in present-day northeast France. The duchy of Limburg was important for John of Brabant as it was on the trade route to the Rhine. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge

Between 1283 and 1288, there were several smaller confrontations between both sides, none of them decisive. In the meanwhile, most of the other local powers chose sides. The archbishop of Cologne, Count Henry VI of Luxemburg and his brother Walram I of Ligny, and count Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg joined forces with the Guelders side, while the counts of Loon, Tecklenburg and Waldeck were allied with Brabant. Bishops and Archbishops of Cologne Bishops of Colonia Agrippina, 88–784 All names before Maternus ('II' are to be approached with considerable Adolf or Adolph (c 1255 &ndash 2 July 1298 was the King of Germany from 1292 until 1298 The County of Loon (Graafschap Loon, Comté de Looz) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, lying in present-day Belgium. Tecklenburg is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Waldeck (or later Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and until 1929 a constituent state of

In 1288, Reinoud sold his rights to Limburg to Henry of Luxemburg, just before peace talks were scheduled. This angered John of Brabant, who started a campaign against Reinoud. The two sides finally met at Worringen, a castle on the Rhine, which was taken by the archbishop of Cologne. The citizens of Cologne however fought on the side of Brabant.

In the earliest phases of the battle, John of Brabant and Henry of Luxemburg met. In this fight, Henry was killed by a Brabant knight. Soon after that, the archbishop of Cologne entered the battle with too little support from his army, and he was captured by the count of Berg. The battle ended in a victory for Brabant when Reinoud of Guelders was captured and lord Walram of Valkenburg had to retreat. Walram of Ligny was killed.

The number of deaths at the battle of Worringen is estimated at 1100 at the Guelders side and 40 on the Brabant side. The battle meant a rise in power of Brabant and Berg, while the city of Cologne gained its independency from the archbishop. The duchy of Limburg was added to the duchy of Brabant in 1289. Jan van Heelu wrote a chronicle of the Battle of Worringen. Jan van Heelu (lived 13th Century) was a Flemish writer Between 1288 - 1294, he wrote a chronicle of the Battle of Woeringen