Sophia of Rheineck

Sophia of Rheineck, also known as Sophie of Salm, Countess of Bentheim (c. 1120 – 26 September 1176 in Jerusalem) was a German noblewoman. Her father was Count Otto I of Rheineck, the son of the anti-king Hermann of Salm. Her mother was Gertrud of Northeim. She was married to Dirk VI, Count of Holland.

Sophia built new churches in the abbeys of Egmond and Rijnsburg. In 1138, she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with her husband. During their return journey, they visited the pope in Rome.

After her husband's death, she made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella and two more pilgrimages to Jerusalem in 1173 and 1176. During the latter visit, she died in the St. Mary's hospital of the Teutonic Knights in Jerusalem.^[1] She was buried in Jerusalem.^[1]

Issue

1. Dirk, known as "the Pilgrim" (Peregrinus) (c. 1138 – 1151), buried in Egmond
2. Floris III (c. 1140 – 1 August 1190 at Antioch), who succeeded his father as Count of Holland in 1157
3. Otto (c. 1140/1145 – 1208 or later), who inherited his mother's possessions and became Count of Bentheim
4. Baldwin (c. 1149 – 30 April 1196), who was Provost at St. Maria in Utrecht and later Bishop of Utrecht from 1178 until his death
5. Dirk (c. 1152 – 28 August 1197 in Pavia), who also became Bishop of Utrecht, in 1197, but died the same year
6. Sophia, who became abbess of Rijnsburg Abbey in 1186
7. Hedwig (d. 28 August 1167), who was a nun at Rijnsburg
8. Gertrud, died in infancy
9. Petronilla

External links

• Biography (Dutch)

References