The House of Guttenberg is a prominent

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

n noble family. It traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh von Blassenberg (Plassenberg), though the first mention in a document is dated 1158. The name Guttenberg is derived from Guttenberg in present-day

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 ...

, and it was adopted by a Heinrich von Blassenberg around 1310.

History

The Plassenberg family members were ''

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...

'' of the

Counts of Andechs The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in the 12th and 13th centuries. The counts of Dießen-Andechs (1100 to 1180) obtained territories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ul ...

(later the Dukes of Andechs-Meranien) and used as their seat the

Plassenburg Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs (later th ...

of Kulmbach. The castle of Guttenberg remains the main seat of the family. The family currently consists of two branches: the elder branch, von und zu Guttenberg, and the younger Steinhausen branch. In 1700, the family rose from the rank of ''Reichsritter'' (

Imperial Knight The Free Imperial knights (german: link=no, Reichsritter la, Eques imperii) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility ('' edelfrei'') and the minister ...

) to ''Reichsfreiherr'' ( Baron of the Holy Roman Empire). After 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 ...

dissolved, they were given the rank of ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

'' (Baron) of Bavaria (1814 and 1817). According to historian Werner Wagenhöfer, the Guttenberg family is the most researched family of the low nobility in Franconia, along with the Seckendorff and Bibra families.

Prominent members

Johann Gottfried von Guttenberg Johann Gottfried Freiherr von Guttenberg (6 November 1645 – 14 December 1698) was the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1684 until his death. The House of Guttenberg was a prominent Franconian noble family, named after Guttenberg Castle. J ...

, Prince-Bishop of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

(1684–1698) * Emil Freiherr von Guttenberg (1841–1941), Austrian politician * Elisabeth Johanna Freifrau von und zu Guttenberg (1900–1998), chair of the ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholischer Frauen Bayerns'' *

Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg Karl Ludwig Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (22 March 1902 – 23/24 April 1945) was a member of the German anti-Nazi resistance. He was executed in the aftermath of the failure of the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The von Guttenberg ...

(1902–1945), anti-Nazi activist and Catholic monarchist *

Karl Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg Karl Theodor Maria Georg Achaz Eberhardt Josef Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (23 May 1921 – 4 October 1972) was a German politician of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU). He was parliamentary secretary of state in the Chancellor's O ...

(1921–1972), German CSU politician *

Enoch zu Guttenberg Georg Enoch Robert Prosper Philipp Franz Karl Theodor Maria Heinrich Johannes Luitpold Hartmann Gundeloh Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (29 July 1946 – 15 June 2018) was a German conductor. He also owned the large winery estate Weingut Reichs ...

(1946–2018), conductor * Karl-Theodor Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (born 1971), German CSU politician, former Federal Minister of Commerce and Minister of Defense in the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

second Merkel Cabinet The Second Merkel cabinet (German: ''Kabinett Merkel II'') was the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany during the 17th legislative session of the Bundestag. Installed after the 2009 federal election, it left office on 17 December 2013 ...

s * Philipp Anton Christoph Freiherr von Guttenberg, Domherr of

Localities with the Guttenberg coat-of-arms

Image:Wappen von Guttenberg.svg, Coat-of-arms of municipality of Guttenberg Image:DEU Kirchlauter COA.svg, Coat-of-arms of municipality of

Kirchlauter Kirchlauter is a municipality in the Bavarian Administrative Region of Lower Franconia in the district of Haßberge in Germany. It is a part of the Verwaltungsgemeinde of Ebelsbach. Geography Kirchlauter lies in the Main-Rhön Region (Bavarian P ...

Image:DEU Sulzdorf COA.svg, Coat-of-arms of municipality of Sulzdorf an der Lederhecke Image:DEU Rugendorf COA.svg, Coat-of-arms of municipality of Rugendorf Image:Wappen Breitbrunn.png, Coat-of-arms of municipality of

Breitbrunn Breitbrunn is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Haßberge (district), Haßberge in Bavaria in Germany. References

Haßberge (district) {{Haßberge-geo-stub ...

Image:Wappen Bindlach.png, Coat-of-arms of municipality of

Bindlach Bindlach is a municipality in the district of Bayreuth in Upper Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. The town is adjacent immediately north of the town of Bayreuth. The population count of December 2006 was 7197 inhabitants. History The name Bindlach ...

Image:DEU Ködnitz COA.svg, Coat-of-arms of municipality of

Ködnitz Ködnitz is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach 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 th ...

References

* ''Genealogisches Handbuch des in Bayern immatrikulierten Adels'', ''Band XXV'', 2004, pages 420–430. {{DEFAULTSORT:Guttenberg, House of Guttenberg Barons of the Holy Roman Empire