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The House of Schaffgotsch is the name of an old and influential
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
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...
family which dates back to the thirteenth century.


History

Around 1240, the first Schaffgotsch appears in a Silesian document as "Sibotho de nobili Familia Ovium" ("ovium" is the Latin word for "sheep", the translation of the German word ''Schaf(f)''). According to tradition, Sibotho came in the entourage of
Hedwig of Andechs Hedwig of Silesia ( pl, Święta Jadwiga Śląska), also Hedwig of Andechs (german: Heilige Hedwig von Andechs, la, Hedvigis; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarian comital House of Andechs, was Duchess of Silesia from 1201 and ...
and
Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all Polan ...
. One of Sibotho's successors, the knight Gotsche II Schoff (who died in 1420), bought extensive possessions in the foreland of the ''Riesengebirge''
Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif ...
and ''Iser''
Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains ( cz, Jizerské hory), or Izera Mountains ( pl, Góry Izerskie; german: Isergebirge), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera River, which rises a ...
at the end of the fourteenth century: the Kynast and Greiffenstein dominions. The Schaffgotsch family thus became the most important noble family in the Jelenia Góra Valley (Hirschberger Tal). In 1403, Gotsche II donated the church at Warmbrunn to the Cistercian provost. His family cherished the memory of Gotsche II Schoff, the originator of their wealth, by adopting the sobriquet "Gotsch". Later, both names were connected as ''Schaffgotsch''. Gotsche II's son Hans (who died in 1469) was the first of the family to be chancellor, court judge, and governor (german: Landeshauptmann) of the Principality of
Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh larges ...
-
Jawor Jawor (german: Jauer) is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975 to 1998 it was in the former Legnica Voivodeship). It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies appro ...
(Schweidnitz-Jauer). With his sons Anton, Kaspar, and Ulrich, the Schaffgotsch family split into three branches. Anton (who died in 1508) established the
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n branch, whose Seifersdorf and Kreppelhof-Reußendorf-Ullersdorf lines died out in the seventeenth century. This branch became Bohemian barons in 1674 and counts in 1681. The most notable members of the branch were Christoph Wilhelm (1687–1768), who was Landeshauptmann (governor) of Silesia; Johann Ernst Anton (1685–1768); senior burgrave of
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
; Johann Prokop (1748–1813), bishop of Budweis (now
České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...
); and Anton Ernst (1804–70), bishop of
Brünn Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inha ...
(now
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
). The branch, which until 1945 resided chiefly in eastern Bohemia, died out in 1993. The branch established by Hans's son Ulrich (1453–1543) ceased to exist in 1661; Christoph (1552–1601), grandson of Kaspar (1476–1534), had already succeeded to Ulrich's domain of Greiffenstein as early as 1578. Christoph, a Protestant, was the first ancestor of the Silesian branch of the family, which in 1766 split into the lines of Kynast-Warmbrunn and Wildschütz; Wildschütz, which resided in
Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...
, died out in the first half of the twentieth century. Christoph's son, Hans Ulrich (1595–1635), a Protestant like his father, was the only Schaffgotsch who married into a dynastic house: his wife, Barbara Agnes was a princess of Liegnitz Brieg (a descendant of the House of Ascania through her mother, Princess Anna Marie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was the daughter of Joachim Ernst, Duke of Anhalt; through her father, Barbara Agnes descended from dukes 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 ...
and from
Władysław II the Exile : ''This article refers to the 12th century Polish monarch. For the 14th century founder of the Jagiellon dynasty, see Jogaila, and for other monarchs with similar names, see Ladislaus II (disambiguation).'' Vladislaus II the Exile ( pl, Władys ...
) Hans Ulrich received all rights of a Silesian sovereign and was awarded the title ''Semperfrei'' by the Holy Roman emperor. As an imperial general, he served under
Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
but signed the first ''Pilsen Revers'', which the emperor considered a betrayal. Hans Ulrich was beheaded and the family were deprived of all their possessions; his son Christoph Leopold (1632–1703) converted to Roman Catholicism and recovered all estates except Trachenberg. In 1654, Christoph Leopold became a count and was made imperial legate in Poland. In 1683, he accompanied
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
at the
Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
as the ambassador of the emperor. He was court tutor and court judge in Schweidnitz and Jauer, and chamber president and upper governor (German: Oberlandeshauptmann) of Silesia. His son Johann Anton Gotthard (1665–1742), created an imperial count (German: Reichsgraf), was director of the Silesian district authority (German: Oberamt). After Kynast Castle had burnt down, struck by lightning in 1675, the family moved to nearby Warmbrunn Castle, an early 17th-century renaissance building. It also burnt down in 1777 and was replaced from 1784 with a large
neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
palace which remained the main residence of the head of the family until 1945. After the
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 ...
n capture of Silesia,
Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch Count Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch (3 July 1716 – 5 January 1795) was a German Prince-Bishop of Breslau and an important promoter of music. Ecclesiastical career Schaffgotsch was born in Bad Warmbrunn in the Riesengebirge mountains ...
(1715–1795) became bishop of Breslau, proposed by
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
who also made him a prince. When, during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
, the bishop went into exile in Bohemia, the king banned him for lifetime from returning. In the following generation, Johann Nepomuk Gotthard (1732–1808) received the title of "Erblandhofmeister". The family gained a seat in 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 ...
. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the family again split, into the Lower Silesian line of Warmbrunn-Kynast and the Upper Silesian of Koppitz. Due to the hot springs at Warmbrunn, the counts built a spa house and a theater in the early 19th century which became a fashionable retreat. When the Cistercian provost that Gotsche II Schoff had founded at Warmbrunn in 1381 was secularized in 1810, it became owned by the comital family and housed their 80,000 volume library and other collections. Count Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch (1831–1915) had married Johanna Gryczik in 1858, the adopted daughter and sole heir of zinc mine industrialist
Karl Godulla Karl Godulla, Carolus Godulla, in Polish language, Polish spelled Karol Godula (born 8 November 1781 in Makoschau, today Makoszowy, a subdivision of Zabrze, Silesia; died 6 July 1848 in Breslau, today Wrocław) was a Silesian self-made industrialist ...
and thus became one of the most important industrialists in Prussia. Their descendants, the Upper Silesian line, or Koppitz branch of the family, owned this huge business empire until 1945. The Lower Silesian line, with its large possessions in and around the ''Riesen''- and ''Iser Gebirge'' (Giant and Jesera Mountains), was considered the second wealthiest family of the region before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In the 1930s, the last lord of the Warmbrunn-Kynast estate, Friedrich (1883–1947), owned 27,668 hectares, the sixth largest enterprise in Prussia. In 1923 Anna Schaffgotsch inherited
Niederleis Niederleis is a town in the district of Mistelbach in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the no ...
Castle in Lower Austria, which is still owned by her descendants. In 1935, Averell Harriman, chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad, tasked Felix von Schaffgotsch (of Austria) with finding a location for a Union Pacific "resort investment" in the western United States. In January 1936, Felix notified Harriman that he had found a location outside Ketchum, Idaho, that would soon become the site of Union Pacific's Sun Valley Resort. During the resort's construction, he returned to Austria to recruit instructors for the Sun Valley ski school, who he confided to actor David Niven were, "all Nazis." Felix Schaffgotsch returned to the U.S. in time for the resort's opening, and remained a central figure in Sun Valley's early development. He returned to Europe after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, and entered the
Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
division
Florian Geyer Florian Geyer von Giebelstadt (also spelled ''Geier''; ''c''. 1490 – 10 June 1525) was a German nobleman, diplomat, and knight. He became widely known for leading peasants during the German Peasants' War. Early life Florian Geyer was born ...
as a first-lieutenant. He was killed fighting in the Caucasus on 11 August 1942, aged 38. After World War II, most members of the Schaffgotsch family were expelled from their homes because they were ethnic Germans, and the Communists confiscated their properties.


Castles

Stara Kamienica ruiny zamku1.jpg, Stara Kamienica Castle Chojnik(js)2.jpg, Kynast (Chojnik) Castle Burg und Schloss Greiffenstein Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Greiffenstein Castle at
Gryfów Śląski Gryfów Śląski (), simplified to Gryfów (german: Greiffenberg), is a historic town in Lwówek Śląski County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Gryfów Śl ...
(c. 1870) Park pałacowy w Żmigrodzie -18.jpg, Trachenberg Castle Jelenia Góra, Pałac Schaffgotschów - fotopolska.eu (295803).jpg, Warmbrunn Palace Warmbrunn-LangesHaus.jpg, Warmbrunn Monastery PL, Jelenia Góra-Sobieszów, Zespół ordynacji majątkowej Schaffgotschów - pałac DSC 0085.JPG, Hermsdorf unterm Kynast Castle Pałac w Kopicach,.jpg, Koppitz Palace Pałac Schaffgotschów ul Kościuszki - fot BMaliszewska.jpg, Schaffgotsch palace in Breslau


References


Sources

* U. Schmilewski, ''Schaffgotsch'', in
''Neue Deutsche Biographie'', Bd 22 (Rohmer-Schinkel), München 2005, p.536-538
(German) * Das schlesische Elysium, Arne Franke, Deutsches Kulturforum östliches Europa e. V., p. 16–19 (German) *A. Kuzio-Podrucki, ''Das Haus Schaffgotsch. Das wechselvolle Schicksal einer schlesischen Adelsdynastie'', Tarnowskie Góry 2009, (German) * A. Kuzio-Podrucki, ''Schaffgotschowie. Zmienne losy śląskiej arystokracji'', Bytom 2007, , (Polish) * About Family Schaffgotsch on the website

(English)


External links

* Polish Wikipedia: Family seat in Kopice * Palace in Kopice, destroyed by fire in 1958, Polish Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffgotsch Silesian nobility Austrian noble families German Bohemian noble families German noble families Silesian-German people