The families (german: Hübsche Familien, meaning 'families at court' at the time the term was in use) were the third elite class of the

Electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district An ...

and

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...

in the 18th and early 19th centuries, after the

nobility 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 ...

and the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. At the time Hanover was in a

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with the United Kingdom. The group consisted of the higher

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and the elite of university-educated civil servants, and played a significant role in the governing of Hanover, often as higher civil servants.

Klaus Mlynek Klaus Mlynek (born 16 January 1936) is a German historian and scientific archivist. The long-term director of the Stadtarchiv Hannover is one of the editors and authors of the ', an encyclopedia of Hanover. Life Born in Poznań, Poland, Mlyne ...

: ''Hübsche Familien.'' In: '' Stadtlexikon Hannover'', . The use of the word in the sense of "courtly", "genteel", "presentable at court" is so archaic (etymologically related to , 'courtly') that it is not even mentioned in modern German dictionaries; nowadays it only means "pretty, handsome" (in addition to similar metaphorical meanings that these English equivalents also have), which is why most German speakers misunderstand .hübsch
on DWDS.dehübsch
" '' Grimmsches Wörterbuch''. The families have been described as a "state patriciate." In contrast to old noble families which tended to favour military careers, families placed emphasis on academic education, especially legal education, and favoured careers in the civil service. The families were a form of .

Notable families

Albrecht family The Albrecht family is a North German family whose members have been prominent as civil servants, politicians and businesspeople. The family is descended from Barthold Albrecht (born 1557), who was a pastor in Bodenwerder. Numerous of his descenda ...

Baring family The Baring family is a German and British family of merchants and bankers. In Germany, the family belongs to the ''Bildungsbürgertum'', and in England, it belongs to the aristocracy. History The family's earliest known ancestor is Peter Baring ...

Literature

* Joachim Lampe: ''Aristokratie, Hofadel und Staatspatriziat in Kurhannover. Die Lebenskreise der höheren Beamten an den kurhannoverschen Zentral- und Hofbehörden 1714–1760.'' In ''Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Niedersachsen und Bremen'', Folge 24: ''Untersuchungen zur Ständegeschichte Niedersachsens'', vol. 2, Historische Kommission für Niedersachsen und Bremen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1963. * Henning Rischbieter (ed.): ''Hannoversches Lesebuch oder: was in Hannover und über Hannover geschrieben, gedruckt und gelesen wurde'', vol 1: ''1650–1850'', 3rd edition, Hanover: Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft, , p. 64f. and p. 145ff. * H. Barmeyer: ''Hof und Hofgesellschaft in Hannover.'' In Hans-Dieter Schmid (ed.): ''Hannover – am Rande der Stadt'', in the series ''Hannoversche Schriften zur Regional- und Lokalgeschichte'', vol. 5, Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, 1992, , . *

: ''Hübsche Familien.'' In Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (ed.) among others: '' Stadtlexikon Hannover. Von den Anfängen bis in die Gegenwart.'' Schlütersche, Hannover 2009, , .

References

{{reflist Electorate of Hanover Kingdom of Hanover Social class subcultures Social history of the Holy Roman Empire Social class in Germany