The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windisch-Grätz, is an

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 ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

n aristocratic family, descending from

Windischgraz Slovenj Gradec (; german: Windischgrätz'', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belon ...

Lower Styria Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy o ...

(present-day Slovenj Gradec,

). The noble dynasty serving 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 ...

achieved the rank of ''

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 Empir ...

en'' in 1551, of Imperial Counts in 1682 and of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1804. The family belongs to high nobility.

History

Vischer - Topographia Ducatus Stiriae - 484 Windisch Graz - Slovenj Gradec

According to the

Almanach de Gotha 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 publish ...

, the family was first recorded in 1242. They temporarily served as '' ministeriales'' of the

Patriarchs of Aquileia The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in cer ...

, owners of

Slovenj Gradec Slovenj Gradec (; german: Windischgrätz'', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belo ...

until the mid 14th century. One Conrad of Windischgracz (d. 1339) acted as a Habsburg administrator in the Habsburg

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (german: Herzogtum Steiermark; sl, Vojvodina Štajerska; hu, Stájer Hercegség) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 180 ...

from 1323 onwards. The family owned Thal, Styria a former Von Graben possession, between 1315 and 1605. In 1574 the dynasty obtained ''

Inkolat Inkolat is a term from the rights of the nobility. It was obtained by either birth or formal admission into the societies of knights and landed gentry in the old Austrian and Czech lands. Only in Lusatia there was no ''Inkolat''; admission into th ...

'' in

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 ...

; later, however, several members converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and lost their estates in the course of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

. The Austrian diplomat Gottlieb of Windisch-Graetz (1630–1695) again converted to Roman Catholicism in 1682 and was elevated to the rank of Count of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria ...

, in the same year. In 1693 his son Ernest Frederick (1670–1727) acquired Červená Lhota Castle in Southern Bohemia, which his descendant

Joseph Nicholas of Windisch-Graetz Joseph Louis Nicholas, Count of Windisch-Graetz, Baron of Waldstein and Thal (6 December 1744 – 24 January 1802 in Štěkeň) was an Austrian nobleman, a member of the House of Windisch-Graetz, and was chamberlain to Archduchess Marie Antoine ...

(1744–1802) had to sell in 1755. Tachov-Schloss

In 1781 the family bought their new main seat, the West Bohemian

Tachov Tachov (; german: Tachau) is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Mže River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrative parts ...

. Count Alfred Candidus Ferdinand zu Windisch-Graetz (1787–1862) became the representative of the emperor at the Reichstag and was elevated to the rank of ''

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 of the Holy Roman Empire) in 1804. In order to obtain

imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

(and be himself a voting member of the Imperial Diet), he acquired the small imperial territories of Siggen and Eglofs in Southern Germany. This principality however was mediatized to the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which existe ...

only two years later, when the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria a ...

was established. Prince Alfred I later became a Field Marshal in the Austrian army. Alfred and his brother Weriand were both created Princes of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

in 1822, with Alfred and his successors being the first line of Princes of Windisch-Graetz (), and Weriand and his successors being the second line ().Almanach de Gotha, 1910 edition, pp 245-248, Justus Perthes Alfred acquired the former monastery at

Kladruby (Tachov District) Kladruby (german: Kladrau) is a town in Tachov District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,600 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Brod u Stříbra, Láz, Milevo, Pozorka, Tuněchody and Vrbice u Stříbra are ad ...

. His grandson Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, was an influential politician. He was succeeded by his nephew Ludwig Aladar, the owner of Sárospatak Castle, Hungary. Weriand, with the help of the rich dowry of his mother, Maria Leopoldine of Arenberg, acquired numerous castles in what is now

. After World War II, the estates in the Czechoslovak Republic as well as in Hungary and Yugoslavia were confiscated by communist regimes. The estate of Siggen is still owned by the elder line. File:Štěkeň castle3.jpg, Štěkeň Castle File:Kladruby 2014 02.JPG, Kladruby Abbey File:Sárospatak - Castle.jpg, Sárospatak Castle, Hungary File:Palais Windisch-Graetz Vienna April 2007 panorama.jpg, Palais Windisch-Graetz, Vienna Great Britain's Princess Michael of Kent is descended from this family through her maternal grandmother, while her husband

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were firs ...

is a first cousin once removed of Archduchess Sophie Franziska of Austria, Princess of Windisch-Graetz.

(Mediatized) Princes of Windisch-Graetz

(1744–1802) was the father of both of the men whose lines are given below.

Elder Line

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

(1787–1862), Count 1802–1804, 1st Prince 1804–1862 ** Alfred (1819–1876), 2nd Prince 1862–1876 ***

(1851–1927), 3rd Prince 1876–1927 ** ''Prince Ludwig (1830–1904)'' *** Ludwig Alfred (1882–1968), 4th Prince 1927–1968 **** Ludwig Aladar (1908-1990), 5th Prince 1968-1990 ***** Prince Alfred (b. 1939) – renounced his succession rights in 1966 ***** Anton (born 1942), 6th Prince 1990–present ** ''Prince Joseph (1832–1906)'' *** ''Prince Franz (1867–1947)'' **** ''Prince Otto (1913–2011)'' ***** Prince Johann-Nepomuck (b. 1953)

Younger Line

* Weriand (1790–1867), 1st Prince 1822–1867 ** Hugo (1823–1904), 2nd Prince 1867–1904 *** Hugo (1854–1920), 3rd Prince 1904–1920 **** Hugo (1887–1959), 4th Prince 1920–1959 ***** Maximilian (1914–1976), 5th Prince 1959–1976 ****** Mariano Hugo (born 1955), 6th Prince 1976–present, married 1990 Archduchess Sophie Franziska of Austria ******* Maximilian Hugo, Hereditary Prince of Windisch-Graetz (b. 1990) ******* ''Prince Alexis Ferdinand (1991-2010)'' ******* Larissa Maria Grazia Helen Leontina Maria Luisa (b.1996) ****** Prince Manfred (b. 1963) ******* Prince Nicolò (b. 1997) ******* Prince Brando (b. 2008) **** Prince Alfred Weriand (1890–1972), married Princess Marie Isabella zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg ***** Christiane Anna ***** Gottfried Maximilian ***** Hugo Weriand Antonius Franziskus Thomas Maria, married Caroline Knott ****** Constantin Weriand Alfred Maria (b. 1962) ******* Leopold Weriand ******* Otto Atticus ****** Franz Karl Weriand Gottlieb Albrecht Maria (b. 1964) ******* Maximiliana Anastasia Christiane Isabella (b. 2004) ******* Augustin George Veriand Franziskus Ferdinand (b. 2006) *** Princess Marie (1856–1929) ** Ernst Ferdinand of Windisch-Graetz (1827–1918), married Princess Kamilla Amalia Caroline Notgera zu

Oettingen-Spielberg The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of p ...

*** Karl Otto Hugo Weriand of Windisch-Graetz *** Otto Weriand of Windisch-Grätz, married

Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria hu, Erzsébet Mária Henrietta Stefánia Gizella , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria , mother = Princess Stéphanie of Belgium , spouse = , issue = , religion = Roman Catholicism , birth_place = Fra ...

*** Marie Gabriele of Windisch-Graetz

Coat of arms

Gules, a wolf's head couped argent. File:CoA Windisch-Graetz Family.svg, Original

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the family File:Wolves' heads (AP4D0187 1PS) (50237873421).jpg File:Habsburger BSB Cod icon 330 fol 07r.jpg

Notable family members

(1744-1802), chamberlain of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

* Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1787–1862), Austrian field marshal * Alfred III, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1851–1927), Austrian statesman * Princess Marie of Windisch-Graetz (1856–1929), married

Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg Duke Paul Frederick of Mecklenburg (german: Herzog Paul Friedrich zu Mecklenburg; 19 September 1852 – 17 May 1923) was a member of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and general of the Mecklenburg cavalry. Life Duke Paul Frederick was born i ...

in 1881 * Prince Otto Weriand of Windisch-Graetz (1873–1952), married

* Princess Stephanie of Windisch-Graetz (1909–2005), daughter of Prince Otto Weriand of Windisch-Graetz *

Stéphanie Windisch-Graetz Princess Stéphanie Windisch-Graetz (17 July 1939 – 12 July 2019) was the daughter of Prince Franz Joseph zu Windisch-Graetz and granddaughter of Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria. Archduchess Elisabeth was the daughter of Rudolf, Crown P ...

(b. 1939), daughter of Prince Franz Joseph of Windisch-Graetz (son of Prince Otto Weriand) * Mariano Hugo, Prince of Windisch-Graetz (b. 1955), married Archduchess Sophie Franziska of Austria in 1990 * Prince Arnold zu Windisch-Graetz (1929-2007), Lutheran pastor * Princess Katalin zu Windisch-Graetz (b. 1947), Hungarian designer

Former family estates in present-day Slovenia

File:HaasbergCastle-Slovenia.JPG, Haasberg Mansion ruins File:LUEG.jpg, Luegg -

Predjama Castle 300px, Predjama Castle Predjama Castle ( sl, Predjamski grad or , German: '' Höhlenburg Lueg'', it, Castel Lueghi) is a Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, in the historical region of Inner Carniola. It is l ...

Postojna Postojna (; german: Adelsberg, it, Postumia) is a town in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Postojna.

File:Grad Podsreda.jpg, Podstreda Castle File:Bogenšperk vhodna stran.JPG,

Bogenšperk Castle Bogenšperk Castle (; sl, Grad Bogenšperk, german: Schloss Wagensperg) is a 16th-century castle located in the Municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia. It is best known for its association with the 17th-century scientist and nat ...

File:Trebnik dvorec1.jpg, Trebnik Mansion, Slovenske Konjice File:Oplotnica Mansion.jpg, Oplotnica Mansion, Oplotnica File:Žiče Charterhouse 2015 159.JPG,

Žiče Charterhouse Žiče Charterhouse, also Seiz Charterhouse(german: Kartäuserkloster Seiz, la, Domus in Valle Sancti Johannis), was a Carthusian monastery or Charterhouse in the narrow valley of Žičnica Creek, also known as Saint John the Baptist Valley ( sl, ...

File:Logatec Castle.jpg, Logatec Mansion File:Bizeljsko Castle 01.JPG, Bizeljsko Castle File:Grad Strmol.JPG, Strmol Mansion, Rogatec

References

External links

* {{Authority control Austrian noble families