The House of Clary und Aldringen, also known as Clary-Aldringen, is one of the most prominent Austro-Hungarian princely families. Originally from

Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giuli ...

, Northern Italy, one branch of the family moved to the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

around 1500 and to the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

around 1600, where it became one of the leading families of the Bohemian nobility. It produced several notable Austro-Hungarian statesmen, military officers and diplomats.

Origin

The ''Clario de Riva'' family were

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

s of

Riva del Garda Riva del Garda (''Rìva'' in local dialect) is a town and ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Trento of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It is also known simply as ''Riva'' and is located at the northern tip of Lake Garda. History Ri ...

. One brother moved to the neighboring County of Tyrol around 1500, in the service of

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself Ele ...

, the other brother sided with the emperor's enemy, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, and remained in the Friuli province where his descendants later extinguished. Franz von Clary moved from Tyrol to the

and acquired the Dobříčany estates at Liběšice in 1622/23, a property confiscated from protestants that were banned from Bohemia. Some Tyrolian possessions also remained in the family. His son Hieronymus von Clary married Countess Anna Maria von Aldringen, sister and heiress of the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

's Austrian general count Johann von Aldringen, in 1622. Their descendants were allowed by imperial decree to adopt the name and arms of both families. Ever since, the family has been known as ''Clary und Aldringen'' (or ''Clary-Aldringen'').

History

The princes of Clary und Aldringen have been one of the most prominent families of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

and the

The rise of the family started when Franz von Clary left his ancestral lands in Tyrol to settle in the

. In 1623, Clary bought properties in the

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...

region. However, it was the inheritance of Johann von Aldringen's estates through Franz's son's wife, Anna Maria von Aldringen, that made the Clary-Aldringens one of the most influential and wealthy Bohemian noble families. The Aldringens were a catholic noble family from the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...

. In 1634, Johann von Aldringen had received from

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were de ...

the ownership of lands in and around the wealthy city of Teplitz (

Teplice Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hi ...

), shortly before confiscated from the protestant count Vilém Kinský who had been assassinated together with

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

, with Aldringen being one of the plotters of this murder. However, Aldringen died in a battle the same year, without issue. After some inheritance quarrels among his siblings, Emperor Ferdinand II recognized his sister Anna Maria as heiress of the Teplice estates. Since then, the Clary-Aldringens were the most powerful nobles of the Sudetes, the German speaking northern parts of Bohemia. Consequently, the rise of the family sped up and, in 1666, the Clary-Aldringens were raised to the rank of

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 ...

Emperor Joseph I , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Vienna, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria , burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna , r ...

. In 1767, '' Reichsgraf'' Wenzel von Clary und Aldringen, the Imperial Treasurer (and

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

's private council member), was raised to princely rank. Members of the family became hereditary members of the Austrian '' Reichsrat'' (Imperial Council). From that date, the princely title of '' Fürst'' (Prince) von Clary und Aldringen was borne by the head of the family, who was styled as ''

Durchlaucht His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members ...

'' (Serene Highness). Junior members bore the title of ''

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

'' (Count) or ''Gräfin'' (Countess) von Clary und Aldringen and were styled as ''

Erlaucht His/Her Illustrious Highness (abbreviation: H.Ill.H.) is the usual English-language translation for ''Erlaucht'', a style historically attributed to certain members of the European aristocracy. It is not a literal translation, as the German word ...

'' (Illustrious Highness). During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the family's Teplitz castle was the headquarters of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon, uniting the monarchs of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

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 ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. There was first signed the triple alliance against

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

that led to the coalition victory at the nearby

Battle of Kulm :''See Battle of Chlumec for the 1126 battle at Kulm The Battle of Kulm was fought near the town Kulm () and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition. A French ...

and eventually instated the

Holy Alliance The Holy Alliance (german: Heilige Allianz; russian: Священный союз, ''Svyashchennyy soyuz''; also called the Grand Alliance) was a coalition linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It was created after ...

, officially signed in Paris on September 26, 1815. In 1832, two sisters of Prince Edmund (1813–1894) married into the

Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; lt, Radvila; be, Радзівіл, Radzivił; german: link=no, Radziwill) is a powerful magnate family originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. ...

, Mathilde (1806–1896) married Prince Wilhelm Radziwiłł (1797-1870), a son of Louise of Prussia, while her younger sister Leontine (1811-1890) married Wilhelm's younger brother, Prince Bogusław Fryderyk Radziwiłł. During the 19th century, the family hosted royalty several times at their Teplitz castle: in 1835, they received King Frederick William III of Prussia, Emperor

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

and Emperor Franz I of Austria, hosting a ceremony in memory of the treaty of the Sixth Coalition; in 1849, they received Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and Kings Frederick William IV of Prussia and Frederick-August II of Saxony; in 1860, they received Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and the Prince-Regent William of Prussia. During the late 19th century, the princely family maintained great influence within the Austrian nobility. It thus played an important role in

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

and

diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

, as illustrated by the two younger brothers of Prince Carlos (1844–1920), Austro-Hungarian diplomat Prince Siegfried (1848–1929) and his brother, the Minister-President of Austria Count Manfred (1852–1928). Siegfried's son Alfons (1887–1978) became the seventh prince, and took over the management of the family estate in 1920, after the Kingdom of Bohemia had become part of the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslo ...

. He lost several thousand hectares in a land-reform, but redeveloped the family enterprises, including a brewery, spa resorts, restaurants, a coal mine, two sawmills, brickworks, lime works and a woodworking factory. However he lost his Bohemian ancestral estates through communist confiscation in 1945. Following the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, the family has since lived in Frankfurt,

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 ...

, and in Venice,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Since March 2007, the head of the family is Hieronymus, 9th Prince of Clary und Aldringen (born 1944).

Notable members

* '' Reichsgraf'' Johann von Aldringen (1584–1634), commandant of the Austrian army during the

* Prince Wenzel von Clary und Aldringen, first Prince of Clary und Aldringen * Princess Elizabeth-Alexandrine von Clary und Aldringen, ''née'' Countess de Ficquelmont, daughter of Count Charles-Louis and Countess Dorothea de Ficquelmont, ''née'' Tiesenhausen * Prince Siegfried von Clary-Aldringen (1848–1929), prominent Austro-Hungarian diplomat, son of the above * Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen (1852–1928), Austro-Hungarian statesman,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Austrian imperial lands of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

and Styria,

minister-president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. I ...

of the Austrian part of the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

(1889), and brother of the above

Residences

The Clary-Aldringens were great

landowners In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land owned by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individual ...

, therefore they possessed enormous estates in Bohemia,

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

and

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. The most important of all of their estates was that of Tepliz, which comprised the eponymous city as well as more than 70 towns and villages. It was one of the largest noble estates of the Sudetes and one of the largest private properties of Bohemia before its confiscation according to the Beneš decrees. In consequence, the Clary-Aldringens had many residences, the grandest being: * Schloss

(''Teplice Palace''), the primary seat of the family from the 16th century until its confiscation in 1945; * Palais Mollard-Clary, the family palace in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(sold in 1922); * Palazzo Clary in Venice, to this day owned by the present prince; * Schloss Herrnau (''Herrnau Castle'') in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

, to this day owned by a younger branch of the counts of Clary-Aldringen.

Dubí Dubí (; german: Eichwald) is a spa town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,800 inhabitants. Administrative parts Town parts and villages of Běhánky, Bystřice, Cínovec, Drahůnky, Mstiš ...

's St-Mary's Church was built on the order of the Clary-Aldringens between 1898 and 1906 as a copy of the

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

church Santa Maria dell'Orto, to become their new family church. File:Palais Mollard-Clary, Vienna June 2006 322.jpg, Clary-Aldringen Palace in Vienna File:Palazzo Clary Venezia Zattere.jpg, Palazzo Clary, Venice File:SchlossHerrnau Eschenbachg21 3.jpg, Herrnau castle,

Marriages

The Clary und Aldringen family is related by marriage to many other prominent families, including the following: Radziwill, Glam Gallas,

Mensdorff-Pouilly The House of Mensdorff-Pouilly is the name of a noble family originally from Lorraine. The family derived its name from the barony of Pouilly at Stenay in Meuse. Through Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Emmanuel von Mensdorff-P ...

, Ficquelmont, Pejácsevich, de Baillet-Latour,

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; german: Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) is a prominent Czech noble family originating from the Kingdom of Bohemia. During th ...

Eltz The House of Eltz was a noted German noble family of the ''Uradel''. The Rhenish dynasty has had close ties to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia since 1736. History Though older sources mentioned one Eberhard zu Eltz, a Frankish citizen of Trier ...

, Donnersmarck, and Hohenzollern Hechingen File:Elisabeth Clary-Aldringen.jpg, Elisabeth-Alexandrine de Ficquelmont, princess von Clary und Aldringen and her daughter, Edmée, countess di Robilant e Cereaglio File:Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen.jpg, Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen

Bibliography

* Alfons Clary-Aldringen, Memoirs: „Geschichten eines alten Österreichers“ ''(History of an old Austrian)'', Ullstein publishers, Frankfurt 1977, * Diana Mosley, Prince and Princess Clary. ''Loved Ones'', London 1985, pp. 132–153,

References

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