Bonstetten was the name of a noble family originally from

Bonstetten, Switzerland Bonstetten is a village in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History Bonstetten is first mentioned in 1120 as ''Buonstetin'', though this reference is debated. In 1184 it was mentioned as ''Bowensteden''. Geogr ...

(now in the Swiss canton of Zürich). First mentioned in 1122 with one ''Henricus de Bonstadin'', the family held the office of reeves in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

in the 13th century, and several members acted as judges in

Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is par ...

in the 13th and 14th century. In the 14th century, they acquired Oberelsass, Aargau and Sundgau, rising to considerable prominence and entering marital ties with the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. Hermann von Bonstetten was prince-abbot of St Gall during 1333–1360. In the 15th century, the family lost its prominence and was reduced to the status of local lower nobility. In 1498, they received a confirmation of their

baronial 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 knigh ...

status from Maximilian I. The family now became part of the patriciate of Zürich and

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

. The Zürich line was extinct in 1606. Humanist

Albrecht von Bonstetten Albrecht von Bonstetten (c. 1443-c. 1504) was a Swiss humanist of the later 15th century. A member of the baronial '' von Bonstetten'' family, he entered Einsiedeln Abbey at a young age, and after studies in Fribourg and Basel he returned to Ei ...

(d. c. 1504) was from the Berne line. The Berne line prospered, and produced a number of prominent politicians and officers in the early modern period, now also styled ''de Bonstetten'' (as in Charles Victor de Bonstetten, 1745–1832; Walther von Bonstetten, 1867-1949).

References

* Ernst Baumeler: ''Die Herren von Bonstetten – Geschichte eines Zürcher Hochadelgeschlechts im Spätmittelalter.'' Chronos, Zürich 2012. * *

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 ...

, Band 53, 1972. *

, Band 109, 1995, 45 ff. {{Authority control Swiss nobility