The House of Moltke is the name of an old German noble family. The family was originally from

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, but apart from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, some of the family branches also resided throughout

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. Members of the family have been noted as pigfarmers, high military officers and major landowners in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

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 ...

History

The family is descended from ''Fridericus Meltiko'', a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

from Mecklenburg who lived in the mid 13th century. The family was awarded with the title of

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 13.12.1834 in Denmark. They were also created Counts in Prussia on 17.2.1868 by King William I of Prussia.

People

Adam Gottlob Moltke Count Adam Gottlob von Moltke (10 November 171025 September 1792) was a Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, and Favourite of Frederick V of Denmark. Moltke was born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg. His son, Joachim Godske Moltke, and his gra ...

(1710–1792), Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat * (1738–1800), Danish general * Joachim Godske Moltke (1746–1818), Prime Minister of Denmark, son of Adam Gottlob Moltke *

Adam Wilhelm Moltke Adam Wilhelm Moltke, 3rd Count of Bregentved (25 August 178515 February 1864) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, civil servant and politician, who in 1848-1852 was the first Prime Minister of Denmark under the new constitutional monarchy outline ...

(1785–1864), Danish Prime Minister, son of Joachim Godske Moltke * Helmuth von Moltke the Elder (1800–1891), Chief of the Prussian, and then German, General Staff * Adam Friedrich Adamson von Moltke (1816–1885), Danish administrative lawyer and district president * Kuno von Moltke (1847–1923), German general *

Helmuth von Moltke the Younger Graf Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke (; 25 May 1848 – 18 June 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a German general and Chief of the Great German General Staff. He was also the nephew of '' Generalfeldmarschall'' ''Graf'' Helmuth ...

(1848–1916), Chief of the German General Staff * Otto von Moltke (1851–1881), German-Danish military officer * Heinrich Karl Leonhard von Moltke (1854–1922), German-Danish vice admiral in the Imperial German Navy *

Harald Moltke Harald Viggo Moltke (14 December 1871 – 24 June 1960) was a Danish painter, author and explorer. Among his activities Moltke, participated as draftsman in four Arctic expeditions. Early life and education Harald Moltke was born in Helsingø ...

(1871–1960), Danish painter and Arctic explorer *

Hans-Adolf von Moltke Hans-Adolf Helmuth Ludwig Erdmann Waldemar von Moltke (29 November 188422 March 1943) was a German landowner in Silesia who became a diplomat. He served as ambassador in Poland during the Weimar Republic. After the German invasion of Poland, he ...

(1884–1943), German diplomat * Else Moltke (1888–1986), Danish writer and feminist * Erik Moltke (1901–1984), Danish art historian *

Helmuth James Graf von Moltke Helmuth James Graf von Moltke (11 March 1907 – 23 January 1945) was a German jurist who, as a draftee in the German Abwehr, acted to subvert German human-rights abuses of people in territories occupied by Germany during World War II. He w ...

(1907–1945), German jurist, pacifist, head of the anti-Nazi Kreisau Circle, executed for treason for hosting a group planning to create a democracy after the fall of the Third Reich * Gebhardt von Moltke (1938-2019), German diplomat * James von Moltke (1970– ), German banker, current Chief Financial Officer of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

. * Carl Moltke (1869-1935), German-born Danish politician and ambassador. * Count Carl Adam Moltke (1908–1989), Member of the Danish Mission to the United Nations * Alexandra Isles (1945-) (née Moltke), Soap opera actress, model, and former mistress of

Claus von Bülow Claus von Bülow (born Claus Cecil Borberg; 11 August 1926 – 25 May 2019) was a Danish-born British lawyer, consultant and socialite. In 1982, he was convicted of both the attempted murder of his wife Sunny von Bülow (born Martha Sharp ...

Places

Cape Harald Moltke Cape Harald Moltke ( da, Kap Harald Moltke) is a headland in Peary Land, North Greenland. Administratively it is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park. History The cape was named by Lauge Koch after Danish painter, author and explorer ...

, North Greenland * Cape Moltke, SE Greenland

References

Literature

* Ernst Heinrich Kneschke: ''Neues allgemeines deutsches Adels-Lexicon''. Friedrich Voigt, Leipzig 1859 * Olaf Jessen: ''Die Moltkes. Biographie einer Familie''. C. H. Beck, München 2010,
Rezension
* Ernst Münch: "Die Moltkes im Ringen um ihr Stammgut Toitenwinkel bei Rostock". In: ''Herrschaft. Machtentfaltung über adligen und fürstlichen Grundbesitz in der Frühen Neuzeit.'' Böhlau Verlag, Köln Weimar 2003
S. 3–26
* Jochen Thies: ''Die Moltkes: Von Königgrätz nach Kreisau. Eine deutsche Familiengeschichte''. Piper Verlag, München 2010, *

Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...

, ''Adelslexikon'' Band IX, Band 116 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1998, {{Authority control Danish noble families German noble families Swedish unintroduced nobility Military families of Germany