Tiesenhausen is the name of a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

nobility family. The origins of the family are in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. During the

Baltic crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around the ...

they settled in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

in the first half of the 12th century. Bishops Albert of Riga and Herman of Tartu had a sister whose husband Engelbertus de Tisenhuse was the progenitor of the family in the Baltic. After some time in southern Livonia in the early stages of occupation, Engelbertus joined his brother-in-law bishop Herman to obtain the northern Livonian country of

Ugaunia Ugandi (Latin: ''Ungannia'' or ''Ugaunia''; lv, Ugaunija; Low German: ''Uggn'') was an independent county between the east coast of Lake Võrtsjärv and west coast of Lake Pskov, bordered by Vaiga, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Sakala, Tālava, and Th ...

around

Otepää Otepää (formerly Nuustaku) is a town in Valga County, southern Estonia, it is the administrative centre of Otepää Parish. Otepää is a popular skiing resort, popularly known as the "winter capital" of Estonia (in contrast to the "summer c ...

and Tartu. It was Ugaunia where the family held its main early properties and positions. Engelbertus' son married a daughter of the castellan of

Koknese Koknese () is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the right bank of the Daugava River. It has a population of nearly 3,000. According to the provisions of the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, Koknese gained ...

in Latgale and through this marriage, the family claims descent from indigenous princes of the Latgalians. Some branches of Tisenhusen clan settled later to the Latvian

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

holdings of Ergli and Berzaune. From the ancestral place of Ugaunia, sons of the family managed to obtain estates in other parts of Estonia, also so-called

Danish Estonia Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

and Osilia- Rotalia, both by services and by marriages. ( Raplamaa was apparently a favorite place in northern Estonia for them to obtain estates.) In Livonia they became one of the wealthiest and most important noble lineages between the 14th and 16th centuries. During the changeful history of Livonia several members of the family served under various suzerains, first under the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( la, Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, german: Schwertbrüderorden) was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderi ...

and the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

and later in

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

Tyzenhauz Tyzenhaus (, , , ) was a noble family of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of German extraction. It was active in the Duchy of Livonia, Duchy of Courland and the northern Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Among the best-known members of the family were ...

"), Swedish and Tsarist Russian (" Тизенгаузен") service.

Notable members

* Ferdinand von Tiesenhausen (1782–1805), Russian military officer whose death in Austerlitz inspired Tolstoi's character

Andrei Bolkonsky Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky (russian: Андрей Николаевич Болконский) is a fictional character in Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel ''War and Peace''. He is the son of famed Russian general Nikolai Bolkonsky, who raises An ...

in War and Peace * Dorothea von Tiesenhausen (1804–1863), Countess de Ficquelmont by marriage, famous for her letter-writing telling her life as a

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

aristocrat in 19th century's Europe * Gerhard von Tiesenhausen (1878–1917), Baltic-German architect in Russia * Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen (1913–2000), U-boat captain *

Georg von Tiesenhausen Georg Heinrich Patrick Baron von Tiesenhausen (May 18, 1914 – June 4, 2018) was a Baltic-German-born American rocket scientist. After being brought to the United States in 1953 as part of Operation Paperclip, he was part of Wernher von Braun' ...

(1914–2018), German-American rocket scientist.

Estates

* Rapla Manor (''Rappel''), in Rapla, Estonia * Alu Manor (''Allo''), near Rapla * Valtu Manor (''Waldau''), near Rapla (was destroyed during the Revolution of 1905) * Hertu Manor (''Hermet''), near Rapla *Castle of Fall (''Schloß Fall''), in Keila-Joa, Estonia * Sausti Manor (''Groß-Sauß''), Estonia * Rokiškis Manor (''Rokischken Castle''), in

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in "- ...

, Lithuania (see picture above) * Lubeja Manor (''Gut Lubey''), Latvia

References

External links

Genealogic Handbook of the Baltic Knighthoods, 1930
{{Authority control German noble families Lower Saxon nobility Swedish nobility Swedish people of German descent Baltic-German people Russian nobility