Van Hoensbroeck is an aristocratic family with medieval origins in the town of Hoensbroek

Hoensbroek

Hoensbroek is a Dutch town in the municipality of Heerlen. It is situated in the southeast of Limburg, a province in the southeast of the Netherlands. Until 1982, Hoensbroek was a separate municipality....

 near Heerlen

Heerlen

Heerlen is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the province of Limburg. It forms part of Parkstad Limburg, , an agglomeration of about 220,000 inhabitants.After its early Roman beginnings and a rather modest medieval period, Heerlen...

 in Limburg

Limburg (Netherlands)

Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...

, The Netherlands. Nicolaes Hoen is the first known ancestor of the family; he was killed in the Battle of Baesweiler

Battle of Baesweiler

The Battle of Baesweiler was a conflict between the dukes of Brabant and Jülich.During this time, large groups of mercenaries roamed the lands of western Europe, bringing death wherever they came...

 in 1371. During many centuries, the family owned and lived on Hoensbroek Castle

Hoensbroek Castle

Castle Hoensbroek or Gebrookhoes is one of the largest castles in the Netherlands. It is situated in Hoensbroek, a town in the province of Limburg. This imposing watercastle is known as 'the most lordly stronghold between Rhine and Meuse'...

, which can still be visited today. They played an important social and political role in the region.

In the Netherlands a comital cadet branch survives. In Germany, the family continues to thrive as Marquess

Marquess

A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...

 & Marchioness

Marchioness

Marchioness could refer to:*A noblewoman with the rank of Marquess, or the wife of a Marquess.*The Marchioness, a pleasure boat that was sunk on the River Thames in 1989....

 and count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

s von und zu Hoensbroech.

Important members

• Cesar Constantijn Frans van Hoensbroeck (1724-1792), Prince-Bishop of Liège.

Literature

• Otto Hupp
  Otto Hupp
  Otto Hupp was a German graphical artist. His main working area was heraldry, yet he also worked as a typeface designer, creating commercial symbols and metal works....
  
  : Münchener Kalender 1930, Regensburg 1930 (in German).
• J. M. van de Venne et al.: Geschiedenis van Hoensbroek, Hoensbroek 1967 (in Dutch).