The House of Ahlefeldt is an ancient

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

. It has similar coat of arms with the von Rumohr family, which indicates that they have descended from one House.

Legend

According to legend, the family descended from "Hunold" Hunoldus comes de Schwabeck, whose great-grandson Konrad (Conradus baron de Alhefeld) 1152 participated in the murder of

Herman II, Count of Winzenburg Herman II, Count of Winzenburg (died 29 January 1152) was a son of Herman I, Count of Winzenburg and his second wife, Hedwig. She was either Hedwig of Assel-Woltingerode or Hedwig of Carniola-Istria. Herman II succeeded his father as Count of ...

, and then, in 1153, he went to serve King Sven III. In 1154 Konrad was overthrown, and he and his family had to flee from Denmark. However, written of records and evidence of these events are unavailable.

Origins

The family originated from

Westensee Westensee () is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The location of Westensee is south of the municipality of Bredenbek or Felde, but north of Emkendorf or Langwedel, and west of Schierensee. ...

near

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The earliest known ancestor is one Benedict von Ahlefeldt, (d c 1340), whose son and grandsons served King Waldemar of Denmark and received significant pawn fiefs and properties in Denmark. In

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

the family inherited estates Søgård, Nør, Königsförde-Lindau, Sakstorp and

Gelting Gelting is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the Baltic Sea, approx. 33 km northeast of Schleswig, and 30 km east of Flensburg. Gelting is part of the '' Amt'' (" ...

. In Holstein, Bossee, Lehmkulen, Wittmold, Deutsch-Nienhof, Emkendorf, Kl. Nordsee, Haseldorf and Fresenburg. Godske von Ahlefeldt (d. 1541) was the last

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Bishop of Schleswig The List of the Bishops of Schleswig contains the names of the bishops of the see in Schleswig ( da, Slesvig, en, italic=yes, Sleswick) in chronological order. Also Lutheran bishops, who officiated after 1542, superintendents and general superint ...

Imperial Counts of Rixingen

Friedrich von Ahlefeldt (1623-1686) was raised ''ad personam'' in 1665 to ''Heiliger Römischer Reichsgraf'',

Count of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

in immediate vassalage to the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. But in 1669 he bought the

County of Rixingen A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

(later passed to the

Dukes of Richelieu Duke of Richelieu (french: duc de Richelieu) was a title of French nobility. It was created on 26 November 1629 for Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu (known as Cardinal Richelieu) who, as a Roman Catholic clergyman, had no issue to pass it down ...

in 1751), thus becoming the real sovereign count. Friedrich's daughter, Countess Christiane von Ahlefeldt-Rixingen (1659-1695) from his first marriage to Countess Magarethe Dorothea zu Rantzau (1642-1665) married

Frederick Louis, Count of Nassau-Ottweiler Frederick Louis of Nassau-Ottweiler (13 November 1651 – 25 May 1728) was a member of the House of Nassau. Biography He was born in Ottweiler, the son of John Louis, Count of Nassau-Ottweiler and Countess Palatine Dorothea Catherine of Birken ...

. His two daughters from his second marriage to Countess Marie Elisabeth zu Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (1648-1724), Countess Charlotte Sibylla (1672-1726) married Count Georg Ludwig zu Solms-Rödelheim (1664-1715) and Countess Sophie Amalie von Ahlefeldt-Rixingen married

Prince Frederick William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg Prince Frederick William of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg-Horetonburg (18 November 16683 June 1714) was a member of the House of Oldenburg and a Prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. He was the youngest son of Duke E ...

. His two sons followed him as Governors in Schleswig and Holstein. The son from his first marriage, Count Friedrich von Ahlefedt (1662–1708), married Christiane Charlotte Gyldenløve in 1687, an illegitimate daughter of King Christian V of Denmark and Sophie Amalie Moth, Countess of Samsøe. His son from his second marriage, Count Carl von Ahlefeldt, inherited the dominions of Rixingen and Mörsberg in 1686, which he later passed on to his brother-in-law, Count Friedrich Ludwig von Nassau-Ottweiler. After the death of his older half-brother in 1708 Carl inherited the county of

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

with Tranekær Castle.

Denmark line

His kinsman, High royal councillor Burchard von Ahlefeldt received in 1672 letters patent as Danish count and the position of Lensgrave. He inherited the county of

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

which was later inherited by his cousins, Imperial Counts von Ahlefeldt. One of his grandsons, Count Christian von Ahlefeldt inherited the county of

Laurvig Larvik () is a town and municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality of Larvik has about 46,364 inhabitants. The municipality has a 110 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, one of the two official counties ever in that country (the other was

Jarlsberg Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway. The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarlsberg og Larviks amt'') were renamed ...

, which belonged to the House of Wedel). In 1785 he received the royal licence to himself and his descendants to bear the name Ahlefeldt-Laurvig.

Holdings

The Ahlefeldt family accumulated large holdings of land on the territories of today's Germany and Denmark: *

Olpenitz Olpenitz (Danish: Olpenæs) is a part of the town Kappeln in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, at the mouth of the Schlei firth to the Baltic Sea. From 1964 until 2006, Olpenitz was the site of one of three major naval bases of the German Navy in the Ba ...

(at

Kappeln Kappeln ( da, Kappel) is a town in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the north bank of the Schlei, approx. northeast of Schleswig, and southeast of Flensburg. For the eastern Angeln and the n ...

) * Saxtorf (at

Schwansen Swania (german: Schwansen, da, Svans or ''Svansø'', meaning "swan island/peninsula") is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. It is located between the Eckernförde Bay to the south and the Schlei (English ...

) * Königsförde-Lindau (at the

Eider Canal The Eider Canal (also called the Schleswig-Holstein Canal) was an artificial waterway in southern Denmark (later northern Germany) which connected the North Sea with the Baltic Sea by way of the rivers Eider and Levensau. Constructed between 1 ...

), the County of

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

with Tranekær Castle *

Barony of Lehn Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the Brit ...

Egeskov Castle Egeskov Castle ( da, Egeskov Slot) is located near Kværndrup, in the south of the island of Funen, Denmark. The castle is Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle. History Egeskov was first mentioned in 1405. The castle structure was er ...

* Tranekær Castle,

Eriksholm Castle Eriksholm Castle is a manor house located at the foot of the Isefjord inlet, 6 km south-east of Holbæk, in east Denmark. The history of the estate dates back to 1400 but today's house was built in 1788 to a Neoclassical design by Caspar Fred ...

, Fjællebro, Hjortholm, Møllerup, Skovsbo and

Ulstrup Castle Ulstrup Castle is a manor house located at the small town of Ulstrup, southwest of Randers, in western Denmark. History Ulstrup Castle traces its history back to the end of the 14th century when it was owned by Jens Brandsen. Later owners includ ...

Gallery

File:Detlev von Ahlefeldt (1480-1572).jpg, Detlev von Ahlefeldt (1480-1572) File:Benedikt von Ahlefeldt (1492-1513).jpg, Benedikt von Ahlefeldt (1492-1513) File:Hans von Ahlefeldt (1620-1694) 01.jpg, Hans von Ahlefeldt (1620-1694) File:Burchard von Ahlefeldt (1634-1695).jpg, Burchard von Ahlefeldt (1634-1695) {{Commons category, Ahlefeldt family, Ahlefeldt Danish noble families German noble families