The House of Bassewitz is a German family of ancient nobility whose roots come from the

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

region. According to tradition, the family was named after the village of ''Basse'' (now a district of the municipality of Lühburg). In German hunter-language, ''Basse'' refers to a tusker or adult male

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

. A Tusker Courant is the family's heraldic animal.

History

Earliest references to the family include a document from 1254 in which ''Bernhardus de Bassewicze'' is mentioned. Another document from 1308 mentions ''Heinrich von Bassewitz''. It is unknown whether the family was among the German families immigrating the Mecklenburg region since the 12th century in the course of the German eastward expansion or whether the Bassewitz family was of Slavic origin. Slavic tribes (the

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

) settled in the area since the 7th century. At the time of colonization, German families took the name of the place where they settled as their surname, while at the same time, Wendish families began to adopt German names. In the early 14th century, the Bassewitz family was already documented as being in possession of several estates in Mecklenburg. It therefore seems more likely that the family is of Wendish origin. Among the first estates owned by the family since the late Middle Ages and considered by it to be ancestral houses (Stammhaus) are Basse, Dalwitz, Hohen Luckow, Prebberede, Levetzow and Lühburg. The family is split into two branches – the ''Mecklenburgian'' branch and the ''Wendish'' branch. It is believed that both branches divided in the 14th century and that their common progenitor is ''Hans von Bassewitz'' on Hohenluckow manor († 1397). The Mecklenburgian branch had estates in the territory of the Duchy of Mecklenburg while the Wendish branch owned estates in the former " Principality of Wenden". All current male members of the Wendish branch are descendants of Count Henning Friedrich von Bassewitz (1680–1749), who was awarded with a hereditary Holy Roman imperial countship (Reichsgraf) in 1726 by Emperor Karl VI for his diplomatic services. All legitimate male-line descendants of Count Henning Friedrich bear the name ''Graf von Bassewitz'' (

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

von Bassewitz). Four descendants of Count Henning Friedrich von Bassewitz held the highest office (prime minister) in

: Count Carl Friedrich (1720–1783) — President of the Privy Council Count Bernhard-Friedrich (1756–1816) – President of the Privy Council Count Henning Karl Friedrich (1814–1885) – President of the Privy Council Count Karl (1855–1921) – President of the State Ministry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1901 through 1914.

Elevations and Additions to the Coat of Arms

Counts von Bassewitz

Hereditary Holy Roman imperial countship granted to Henning Friedrich von Bassewitz in Vienna on 9 June 1726; incorporation into the Estonian Noble Corporation as of 29 January 1725.

Counts von Bassewitz-Levetzow

Bassewitz-Levetzow is a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n sub-branch of the comital branch originating from a unification of coat of arms and name with the Levetzow family and linked to the

fideicommissum A ''fideicommissum'' is a type of bequest in which the beneficiary is encumbered to convey parts of the decedent's estate to someone else. For example, if a father leaves the family house to his firstborn, on condition that they will bequeath it to ...

of Kläden manor; granted to Count Karl von Bassewitz in Baden-Baden on 2 October 1869; incorporation into Prussian nobility granted in Berlin on 7 November 1884 to his son and heir, Count Bernhard von Bassewitz. The last person to bear the name of a "Count von Bassewitz-Levetzow" was Count Georg Werner (1925–2016).

Prominent members of the family

* Count Henning Friedrich von Bassewitz (1680–1749), on Prebberede manor etc., Imperial Privy Councillor of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, President of the Privy Council and Chief Court Marshall of the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, President of the Privy Council of the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, recipient of the

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

* Sabine Elisabeth Oelgard von Bassewitz (1716-1790), German writer * Friedrich Magnus von Bassewitz (1773–1858), District President of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

1810 through 1848, Upper President of the

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

, Honorary citizen of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

* Gerdt von Bassewitz (1878–1923), writer * Countess Ina Marie von Bassewitz (1888–1973), spouse of

Prince Oskar of Prussia Prince Oskar Karl Gustav Adolf of Prussia (27 July 1888 – 27 January 1958) was the fifth son of German Emperor Wilhelm II and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. Biography Birth and family Prinz Oskar of Prussia w ...

* Werner Graf von Bassewitz-Levetzow (1894–1964) was a German officer in World War II {{Authority control Mecklenburgian nobility German noble families Bassewitz family