The Countship of Isenburg-Limburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th and 14th centuries, based around the city of Limburg an der Lahn in modern Hesse, Germany. House of Limburg The short-lived House of Limburg (or House of Isenburg-Limburg) was a collateral line of the House of Isenburg. From the House of Limburg came several canons in Cologne and Trier. The House of Limburg also had familial relationships to the Houses of Nassau and Westerburg in addition to the other lines of the House of Isenburg. Territory and rights of the Lordship of Limburg The core of the territory was the town of Limburg an der Lahn and the Vogtship of St. George's Cathedral in Limburg. It also included the villages of Elz, Neesbach (a part of present-day Hünfelden), Oberbrechen and Werschau (both now parts of Brechen), and the Werode Zent. Along with it went the Lordship of Cleeberg, including the places Cleeberg, Oberkleen, and Ebergöns (all now part of Langgöns), Brandoberndorf (now part of Waldsolms), and a share of Schloss Schaumburg (in Balduinstein). The Lordship of Cleeberg and the share in Schaumburg, however, were later given away as a dowry. The feudal lords of the Countship of Limburg were the Landgraviate of Hesse, Archbishopric of Mainz, and the Holy Roman Empire, each owning a third. Limburg Castle was the residence of the Counts of Limburg, who built the majority of the structures still extant today. Gerlach I was probably the builder of the residential tower. In 1379 a fire burned parts of the castle. In 1400 John II built the southern two-story hall. The rulers of the house were buried in the Cathedral in Limburg. Construction of the cathedral had begun in 1212, and was completed by the counts in 1232. It remains the city church today. The town's Franciscan monastery was founded under Gerlach IV. John I of Limburg built St. Peter's Chapel between 1289 and 1298. History The Lordship of Limburg passed to the House of Isenburg between 1219 and 1221 as an inheritance through the male line of the extinct House of Leiningen. Gerlach IV of Isenburg who succeeded, with his brother Henry II, their father Count Henry I of Isenburg-Grenzau between 1220 and 1227, chose Limburg as his residence. He took the title Lord of Limburg in 1248. On May 22, 1258, Gerlach and Henry divided the inheritance between themselves. Gerlach