House of Schönburg
Encyclopedia
Schönburg is the name of an old noble house, formerly with properties in present day Saxony
, Thuringia
and Bohemia
.
and Wechselburg
, since 1543, and also the lordship of Rochsburg, since 1548.
. For their estates in the Kingdom of Bohemia
, the counts of Schönburg were members of the Imperial College. On 7 August 1700, the collective house was raised to the status of Reichsgrafstand
, or imperial county: its branches were consequently raised in status one and all . With this, members of the house received the predicate Illustrious Highness
. The honor carried an important implication: the lordship was allodial, not a fief, thus the title, to the property and to the status, was inalienable (it could not be taken away). An allodial territory was a territory for which no feudal contract existed. It was subject to the emperor as sovereign but not to the emperor as overlord. Finally, at his coronation 9 October 1790, Leopold II raised the family to the status of a princely house
.
to recognize the family; in 1828 the Parliament vouchsafed the personal and family rights that had been abrogated in 1806. In 1878, the King of Saxony decreed that all members of the family were to be known as Illustrious Highness
.
The Soviet-directed agrarian land reform of September 1945 limited the size of any property, generally, to 1 square kilometre (0.386102158592535 sq mi). The Schönburg estates were confiscated, along with nearly 30000 square kilometres (11,583.1 sq mi) of other land and property.
, Hagensdorf, Hassenstein, Pürstein, Kaaden
, Schatzlar
, Trautenau
and Šumburk
.
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
and Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
.
History
For several hundred years the lords of Schönburg have appeared in the history of southwestern Saxony, beginning in 1130, with the mention of Ulricus de Schunenberg (also Sconenberg).Expansion of the house
The house of Schönburg is linked to other names over the century: Glachau since 1256, Lichtenstein (Saxony) since 1286, Waldenburg (Saxony) since 1378, the county of Harstein since 146l, the lordship of PenigPenig
Penig is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Zwickauer Mulde, 19 km northwest of Chemnitz. Penig housed a concentration camp during World War II....
and Wechselburg
Wechselburg
Wechselburg is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is well known for its twelfth century Benedictine monastery, theWechselburg Priory.- References :...
, since 1543, and also the lordship of Rochsburg, since 1548.
Jurisdiction and privileges
The territory of Schönburg overlapped into Saxony, Bohemia, and eventually Thuringia and all of it fell under the legal jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Consequently, the lords of Schönburg had different status in different areas under their possession, depending on whether there was over-lordship, and to whom. They were counted among the noble estates of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, and to the landed estates in the Kingdom of SaxonyKingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
. For their estates in the Kingdom of Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
, the counts of Schönburg were members of the Imperial College. On 7 August 1700, the collective house was raised to the status of Reichsgrafstand
Graf
Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
, or imperial county: its branches were consequently raised in status one and all . With this, members of the house received the predicate Illustrious Highness
Illustrious Highness
His/Her Illustrious Highness is the English-language form for a style used by various members of the European aristocracy....
. The honor carried an important implication: the lordship was allodial, not a fief, thus the title, to the property and to the status, was inalienable (it could not be taken away). An allodial territory was a territory for which no feudal contract existed. It was subject to the emperor as sovereign but not to the emperor as overlord. Finally, at his coronation 9 October 1790, Leopold II raised the family to the status of a princely house
Fürst
Fürst is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince.The term refers to the head of a principality and is distinguished from the son of a monarch, who is referred to as Prinz...
.
Mediatization 1803 and 1806
After the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, with many others of the nobility, the members of the house were named as Standesherren, and the family with once sovereign territorial lordship had to forfeit its judicial and legal rights, but retained its social and cultural standing as a sovereign family mediatized to Saxony. In 1818, the House petitioned the German ConfederationGerman Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
to recognize the family; in 1828 the Parliament vouchsafed the personal and family rights that had been abrogated in 1806. In 1878, the King of Saxony decreed that all members of the family were to be known as Illustrious Highness
Illustrious Highness
His/Her Illustrious Highness is the English-language form for a style used by various members of the European aristocracy....
.
Territories
The property over time has expanded to 15 square miles (38.8 km²). The same space today has 14 cities and 61,000 residents. The largest portion was a Saxon fiefdom.Changes in status
In 1569, the lordship was partitioned into Upper and Lower Schönburg. In 1700, Upper Schönburg was raised to the status of a county. At a meeting of the Saxon estates in 1740, Saxony assumed legal and military guardianship of the Schönburg lordship and over the next decade the estate was integrated into the Saxon legal and judicial structure. The old Upper Schönburg was partitioned to Schönburg-Hartenstein and Schönburg-Waldenburg in 1700.The Soviet-directed agrarian land reform of September 1945 limited the size of any property, generally, to 1 square kilometre (0.386102158592535 sq mi). The Schönburg estates were confiscated, along with nearly 30000 square kilometres (11,583.1 sq mi) of other land and property.
Bohemian Possessions
The Bohemian possessions included EidlitzÚdlice
Údlice is a village in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 1,040 inhabitants.-External links:*...
, Hagensdorf, Hassenstein, Pürstein, Kaaden
Kadan
Kadaň , is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The city lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Although it is situated in an industrial part of the Czech Republic there is no major industry within the city and people usually work in offices or have to commute. There are two...
, Schatzlar
Žaclér
Žacléř is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 3,600 inhabitants.Villages Bobr and Prkenný Důl are administrative parts of Žacléř.-External links:*...
, Trautenau
Trutnov
Trutnov is a city in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has a population of 31,239 and lies in the Krkonoše in the valley of the Úpa River....
and Šumburk
Şumna
Şumna is a commune in Rîşcani district, Moldova. It is composed of three villages: Şumna, Bulhac and Cepăria....
.
Saga of the Coat of Arms
The origins of the family crest are not documented. According to "legend,"
...in the last battle, Charlemagne was hard-pressed against the Saxon Duke Wettekind. Most of his followers had already fallen, only he alone resisted the onslaught of the enemy. Suddenly, one of them struck his shield with a stone-like fist and it splintered into pieces. Charlemagne had only his sword for his defense. One of his fallen companions lifted his shield for Charlemagne’s defense. Immediately after the battle was won, Charlemagne discovered that the man who saved him had survived, and recognized him as a Schönburg. Charlemagne took a simple silver shield without markings. Using three fingers -- his ring, middle and pointing finger of his right hand -- which was wounded and bloody, he stroked twice over the silver shield, so that there were two red stripes, and said, “Schönburg, this is from now forward your Mark, blood on the Coat of arms of your house.
Partial list of the Name bearers
- Friedrich von Schönburg (died 1312), Count of KaadenKadanKadaň , is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.The city lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Although it is situated in an industrial part of the Czech Republic there is no major industry within the city and people usually work in offices or have to commute. There are two...
- Adelheid von Dohna (died 15 June 1342/52), born von Schönburg-Glauchau, Coutess, Wife of Otto (Heide)
- Alois Fürst von Schönburg-HartensteinAlois Schönburg-HartensteinAlois Schönburg-Hartenstein, was a military officer in the Austro-Hungarian army and as a Prince of Schönburg-Hartenstein, a member of the Austrian nobility. He briefly served from March to July 1934 as the minister of defense in the First Austrian Republic.From 1899 to 1913 he was president of...
(1858-1944), Austrian lieutenant general - Sophie Fürstin von Albanien (1885–1936), born Princess von Schönburg-Waldenburg
- Joachim, Count von Schönburg-GlauchauJoachim, Count von Schönburg-GlauchauJoachim, Count von Schönburg-Glauchau was the head of the noble house of Schönburg. Dispossessed and expelled from his homeland in 1945, he and his family migrated to the Rhineland, where he was an author and journalist...
(1929-1998), writer, CDU member of the Bundestag 1990-1994 - Gloria, Countess of Schönburg-Glauchau, Princess of Thurn and TaxisGloria, Princess of Thurn and TaxisGloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis is a princess, by marriage, of the German Thurn und Taxis House.-Biography:Gloria was born on 23 February 1960, the daughter of Joachim, Count...
(born 1960) - Alexander, Count von Schönburg-GlauchauAlexander, Count von Schönburg-GlauchauAlexander Count of Schönburg-Glauchau is a German journalist and writer.- Life :Alexander of House of Schönburg is the son of Joachim, Count von Schönburg-Glauchau, and Beatrix, Countess Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék. His siblings are Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis, also known as Princess...
(born 1969), German journalist and writer - Christoph, Count von Schönburg-Glauchau (born 1962), Federal prize winner (films) 2005, sound designer of the Oscar-winning film "The Lives of OthersThe Lives of OthersThe Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR's secret police...
" (2007)
Literature
- Konrad Müller: Schönburg. Die Geschichte des Hauses bis zur Reformation, Leipzig 1931.
- Matthias Frickert: Die Nachkommen des 1. Fürsten von Schönburg. Klaus Adam, Glauchau 1992.
- Heinrich Graesse: Deutsche Adelsgeschichte. Reprint-Verlag, Leipzig 1999 (Reprint d. Ausg. von 1876), ISBN 3826207041.
- Hermann Grote: Herren, Grafen und Fürsten von Schönburg, in: Stammtafeln mit Anhang, Calendarium medii aevi, S. 252 f., Leipzig 1877, Nachdruck: ISBN 3-921695-59-7
- Adolph Grützner: Monographie über das fürstliche und gräfliche Haus Schönburg. Leipzig 1847.
- Otto Posse: Die Urahnen des Fürstlichen und Gräflichen Hauses Schönburg. Dresden 1914
- Walter SchlesingerWalter SchlesingerWalter Schlesinger was a German historian of medieval social and economic institutions, particularly the history of power and the nobility, colonization and settlement of the Slavic frontiers and urban development...
: Die Schönburgischen Lande bis zum Ausgang des Mittelalters. Schriften für Heimatforschung 2, Dresden 1935. - Walter Schlesinger: Die Landesherrschaft der Herren von Schönburg. Eine Studie zur Geschichte des Staates in Deutschland. Quellen und Studien zur Verfassungsgeschichte des Deutschen Reiches in Mittelalter und Neuzeit IX/1, Böhlau, Münster/Köln 1954.
- Theodor Schön: Geschichte des Fürstlichen und Gräflichen Gesamthauses Schönburg. Urkundenbuch Bd. 1-8, Nachtragsband. Stuttgart/Waldenburg, 1901ff.
- Michael Wetzel: Schönburgische Herrschaften. Beiheft zur Karte C III 6 des Atlas zur Geschichte und Landeskunde von Sachsen. Leipzig/Dresden 2007, ISBN 978-3-89679-610-3
- Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelslexikon Band XIII, Band 128 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 2002,
- Joachim Bahlcke u. a.: Handbuch der historischen Stätten Böhmen und Mähren, Kröner-Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-520-32901-8, S. 864
- Johann Georg Théodor Graesse: Geschlechts-, Namen- und Wappensagen des Adels deutscher Nation, Verlag Schönfeld, 1876, S. 142-143
External links
- Fürsten, Grafen und Herren von Schönburg in der Sächsischen Biografie
- Wappen der v.Schönburg in Wappenbuch besonders deutscher Geschlechter, Augsburg, 1515 - 1650
- Eintrag über Schönburg in Meyers Konversationslexikon