The House of Hatzfeld, also spelled Hatzfeldt, is the name of an ancient and influential German noble family, whose members played important roles in the history of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

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 em ...

and

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 ...

History

They belonged to

high nobility Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke) ...

originally from

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

. The family is first mentioned in 1138 and has its ancestral seat in

Hatzfeld Hatzfeld (Eder) is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Hatzfeld lies in west Hesse 25 km northwest of Marburg and north of the Sackpfeife (674 m-high mountain) in the valley of the Eder. ...

. In 1418 the family inherited Wildenburg Castle near

Friesenhagen Friesenhagen is a municipality in the north of the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in Western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most p ...

, a Lordship with

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

, from the Lords of Wildenburg.

Titles

Melchior von Hatzfeld Melchior Graf von Gleichen und Hatzfeldt (Westerwald, 20 October 1593 – Powitzko, 9 January 1658) was an Imperial Field Marshal. He fought in the Thirty Years' War first under Albrecht von Wallenstein and Matthias Gallas, then received an i ...

(1593–1658), Imperial

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, became the first

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: ...

in 1635. He was enfeoffed with Trachenberg Castle in

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 ...

in 1641, and Gleichen Castle with the town of

Wandersleben Wandersleben is a village and a former municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the municipality Drei Gleichen Drei Gleichen is a municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germ ...

in Thuringia in 1651. Franz Phillip Adrian became the first Prussian

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

(''Prince of Hatzfeld-Gleichen-Trachenberg'') in 1741 (the branch extinguished in 1794). The ''Hatzfeldt-Werther-Schönstein'' branch inherited Trachenberg and became Prussian ''Princes of Hatzfeldt and Trachenberg'' in 1803 and Prussian ''Dukes of Trachenberg'' in 1900 (still existing). They lost their estates, including Trachenberg, when Silesia became part of Poland in 1945, whose Communist government expelled most of Silesia's German population. The ''Hatzfeld-Wildenburg-Weisweiler'' branch inherited Crottorf, Schönstein, Kalkum as well as numerous other properties in 1794 and became Prussian ''Princes of Hatzfeld-Wildenburg'' in 1834 (the branch extinguished in 1941 and was inherited by Count Hermann von Dönhoff who took on the name of his mother's family as ''Count von Hatzfeldt-Dönhoff''). He is one of the largest landowners in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, also owning the castles of Crottorf and Schönstein.

Notable members

(1593–1658), field marshal in the

Franz von Hatzfeld Franz von Hatzfeld (13 September 1596 – 30 July 1642) was the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg from 1631 to 1642 and the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg from 1633 to 1642. Franz von Hatzfeld was born in Crottorf, near Friesenhagen, on 13 September ...

(1596–1642), Prince-Bishop of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

* Carl Friedrich Hatzfeldt zu Gleichen (1718–1793), Austrian statesman * Franz Ludwig von Hatzfeld (1756−1827), Prussian general * Sophie von Hatzfeldt (1805–1881), "The Red Countess" *

Max von Hatzfeld Count Maximilian Friedrich Karl Franz von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg (7 June 1813 – 19 January 1859) was a Prussian aristocrat and diplomat. By birth he was member of an ancient House of Hatzfeld. Early life Maximilian was born in Berlin on 7 Ju ...

(1813–1859), diplomat * Paul von Hatzfeld zu Wildenburg (1831–1901), diplomat and Foreign Secretary of Germany * Elisabeth von Hatzfeldt (1839–1914), Princess of Carolath-Beuthen * Hermann von Hatzfeldt zu Trachenberg (1848–1933), politician * Prince Franz Edmund J.G.V. von Hatzfeldt zu Wildenburg (1853-1910), race-horse owner. * Princess Clara von Hatzfeldt zu Wildenburg (1860-1928), heiress. * Georg von Hatzfeld (1929–2000), publisher, politician

Residences

File:Forsthaus Wildenburg.JPG, Ruin of Wildenburg Castle File:Friesenhagen - Schloss Crottorf 01 ies.jpg, Crottorf Castle near

(since 1563 owned by the family) File:Schloss Schönstein 2.jpg, Schönstein Castle near

Wissen Wissen is a town in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg, approximately 12 km northeast of Altenkirchen. Wissen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") ...

(since 1589 owned by the family) File:Schloss Trachenberg Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Trachenberg, Silesia (today

Żmigród Żmigród (german: Trachenberg) is a town in Trzebnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Żmigród. Geography The town lies in the historic Lower Sile ...

, Poland, 1641-1945 owned by the family) File:Duesseldorf Kalkum v SW.jpg, Kalkum Castle near

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

(early 18th century until 1946) Regierungsgebäude und Dominikanerkirche in Breslau.jpg,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

(Breslau) Palais Hatzfeld (1765)

History

Titles

Notable members

Residences

See also