''For the town in Germany, translated as (wife or lady of the Mountain) see
Fraunberg, Bavaria
Fraunberg is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in 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 ...
.''
The family of the barons von Fraunberg, also known as the Fraunberger, is among the oldest in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
.
Their name derives from the village of
Fraunberg in the district of
Erding
Erding () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019.
The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty.
Erding is located around 31 kilometers nor ...
. They are documented since 945, when Heinrich von Fraunberger was mentioned in connection with
Costnitz am Bodensee.
Their main arms are Gules, a pale argent.
By 1245, the family of Gurren of
Haag had already begun using a horse salient as their
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
device. The word ''Gurre'' is
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 ...
now means a horse of poor quality, a nag or jade. Whether the family derived their name from the coat of arms or vice versa is not clear. The choice of name, however, implies that at the time the derogatory meaning of ''Gurre'' had not yet come into play. : the numerous representations show a lively, well fed horse.
The Fraunbergers adopted the Gurren coat of arms at the time of Sigfried I., to whom was granted the position of Count of Haag in 1245. The family of Fraunberg-Haag bore it alone. The branch of Fraunberger zu Fraunberg however quartered it with their main arms. Some descendants of the Fraunberger family have immigrated to the US and reside in the Clifton, Passaic, and Plainsboro New Jersey area.
On the death of Count Ladislaus von Fraunberg-Haag in 1567 the county was granted to the
Duke of Bavaria
The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...
.
With the local government reforms a large part of what was formerly the County of Haag came to the district of Erding. Numerous examples of the arms of Haag exist, particularly in churches and on boundary stones (see Schierl below)
References
*Schierl, W (1984): Historical borders in the district Erding. Erdinger country number 8, P. 24-47
*Wening, M. (1701–26): Historico topographica descriptio (Description and History of Upper and Lower Bavaria)
External links
Fraunberg community website
{{Authority control
German noble families