The House of Lichnowsky or House of Lichnovský is the name of an influential Czech aristocratic family 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 ...

n and

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

n origin, documented since the 14th century.

History

The noble family first appeared in the

Duchy of Pless The Duchy of Pless (or the ''Duchy of Pszczyna'',Julian Janczakof Pszczyna" (in) Zarys dziejów kartografii śląskiej do końca XVIII wieku''(An outline for the History of Cartography till the End of the 18th century)'', Opole: 1976, Polish Acad ...

(Pszczyna) in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

, when one Estepan de Woszyczyki, probably from Woszczyce (german: Woschtitz) near

Orzesze Orzesze (german: Orzesche, Silesian: ''Ôrzeszŏ'') is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – metropolis with the population of 2 million. Located in the Silesian Highlands. I ...

, on 17 March 1377 obtained the office of a ''

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...

'' reeve in

Lędziny Lędziny (; german: Lendzin; szl, Lyńdźiny) is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It borders the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million which is located in the Silesian Highlands. Th ...

from the Přemyslid duke John of Opava. His descendant Hanuš (John) of Woszczyki, judge in the Upper Silesian

Duchy of Krnov The Duchy of Krnov ( la, Ducatus Carnoviensis, cs, Krnovské knížectví, pl, Księstwo Karniowskie) or Duchy of Jägerndorf (german: Herzogtum Jägerndorf) was one of the Duchies of Silesia, which in 1377 emerged from the Duchy of Troppau (O ...

from 1498 to 1507, by marriage acquired the estates of Lichnov in Moravia. He is first mentioned with his surname Lichnovský in a 1494 deed.

Ennoblements

* Franz Bernhard Lichnowsky (1664-1747):

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

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 Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

) with the

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular p ...

of an ''

Edler Edler () was until 1919 the lowest rank of nobility in Austria-Hungary and Germany, just beneath a ''Ritter'' (hereditary knight), but above untitled nobles, who used only the nobiliary particle ''von'' before their surname. It was mostly given to ...

von Woschtitz'' in 1702 * Karl Franz Leopold Bernhard Lichnowsky (1690-1742), son: Bohemian ''

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 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: ...

) on 1 January 1721,

Imperial Count 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 ...

on 27 May 1727 *''

Geheimrat ''Geheimrat'' was the title of the highest advising officials at the Imperial, royal or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic r ...

'' Friedrich Carl Johann Amadeus Lichnowsky (1720-1788), son: ''

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 A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

) in

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 ...

on 30 January 1773; the princely title was not recognised in

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 ...

until 30 December 1846 The head of the family was an hereditary member of the

Prussian House of Lords The Prussian House of Lords (german: Preußisches Herrenhaus) in Berlin was the upper house of the Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag), the parliament of Prussia from 1850 to 1918. Together with the lower house, the House of Repres ...

from 12 October 1854 and was granted the title of ''

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) in Prussia on 8 March 1860.

Notable members

Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky (german: Karl Alois Johann-Nepomuk Vinzenz Leonhard, Fürst Lichnowsky, also known as ''Carl Alois, Fürst von Lichnowsky-Woschütz''; 21 June 1761 – 15 April 1814) was the second Prince Lichnowsky and a chamberla ...

(1761–1814), patron of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. * Moritz Lichnowsky (1771–1837), younger brother of Karl Alois and a faithful friend of

* Eduard Lichnowsky (1789–1845), writer * Felix, Prince Lichnowsky (5 April 1814 – 18 September 1848), politician *

Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky Karl Max, Prince Lichnowsky (8 March 1860 – 27 February 1928) was a German diplomat who served as ambassador to Britain during the July Crisis and who was the author of a 1916 pamphlet that deplored German diplomacy in mid-1914 which, he argu ...

(8 March 1860 – 27 February 1928), German ambassador in London *

Mechtilde Lichnowsky Princess Mechtilde Lichnowsky, originally Mechtilde Christiane Marie ''Gräfin von und zu'' Arco-Zinneberg, later Mechtilde Peto (8 March 1879, in Schloss Schönburg, Pocking now in the Kreis Passau – 4 June 1958, in London) was a German aut ...

(1879-1958), his wife * Margarethe von Lichnowsky (1863–1954), wife of

Karol Lanckoroński Count Karol Lanckoroński () (born 4 November 1848 in Vienna; died 15 July 1933 in Vienna) was a Polish writer, art collector, patron, historian, traveler, and vice-president of the Society for Cultural Protection in his native Galicia. He was ...

External links

Genealogy of the Lichnowsky family
Silesian nobility Surnames of Silesian origin Moravian noble families Czech people of Polish descent Austrian noble families Austrian princes Austrian people of Czech descent Austrian people of Polish descent German noble families German people of Czech descent German people of Polish descent German princes Prussian nobility Noble titles created in 1773 {{Germany-hist-stub