The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking noble

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

n and

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n 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 prince for the first time. Despite the annexation of their lands following the

German mediatisation German mediatisation (; ) was the major redistribution and reshaping of territorial holdings that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany by means of the subsumption and Secularization (church property), secularisation of a large number of ...

of 1806, the family retained their titles and still have representatives today.

Origins

The Oettingen family traces its descent back to , documented in 987, and his father Sieghard V. (, 'Sieghard, Count in Riesgau') from the Sieghardinger family, documented in 1007. These are also considered to be the ancestors of the

Staufer The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to List of German monarchs, royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 ...

s. The Oettingen family was first mentioned in 1147 with , a relative of the Imperial

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

who was granted the county surrounding the Imperial city of

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was ...

as a fief, possibly with his brother . The relationship between the family and the Hohenstaufens is also proven by documents. The family built Steinsberg Castle around 1200 as vassals of the Hohenstaufen dynasty From the 12th to the 14th century the family gained the largest secular territory in East Swabia. The county of Oettingen lay around the imperial city of Nördlingen in present-day Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg. At the end of the Old Kingdom in 1806, the area covered around and had around 60,000 inhabitants.

Main branches

From 1410, the county started its first divisions within the family, as noted below. Following the partitions, the remaining land was called ''Oettingen-Oettingen'' and was located in modern-day eastern

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

and western

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. This branch was

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, created

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

in 1674 but became extinct in 1731, when the county was divided and inherited by Oettingen-Spielberg (Princes since 1734) that obtained the town and castle of Oettingen, and

Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking 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 ...

(Princes since 1774).

Wallerstein

Oettingen-Wallerstein () is a noble family related to a former County in modern-day eastern

and western Bavaria, Germany. Oettingen-Wallerstein was twice created; first, as a partition of ''Oettingen'' (modern-day town of Oettingen in Bayern) in 1423 which became extinct in 1486 and was inherited by

Oettingen-Oettingen The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking 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 ...

, and the second time as a partition of Oettingen-Oettingen in 1557, as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

branch of the family. Oettingen-Oettingen suffered one partition, between itself and Oettingen-Spielberg in 1602. It was raised to a Principality in 1774 by

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

. In 1806, it was mediatised to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, and divided with the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

in 1810. At this time, the Principality had a territory of with 60,000 inhabitants.

Spielberg

Oettingen-Spielberg is a noble family and former principality in modern-day eastern

and western

, Germany. It was partitioned of

in 1602. It was raised to a Principality in 1734 (after it inherited the town and the castle of Oettingen in 1731), mediatised to the

in 1806, and divided with the

in 1810. The other still-existing branch of the Oettingen family is the

House of Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking 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 ...

Baldern

Oettingen-Baldern was a line of the Swabian-Franconian noble house of Oettingen. It was created by dividing the Oettingen-Alt-Wallerstein line in 1623. The Counts of Oettingen-Baldern died out in 1789. The possessions including Baldern Castle and Katzenstein Castle as well as the Sötern lordship went over to the Oettingen-Wallerstein line.

Rulers

House of Oettingen

Partitions of Oettingen under the Oettingen family

Table of rulers

Like the Reuss family and the

House of Schwarzburg The House of Schwarzburg was one of the oldest noble families of Thuringia, which is in modern-day central Germany. Upon the death of Prince Friedrich Günther in 1971, a claim to the headship of the house passed under Semi-Salic primogeniture t ...

, the Oettingen Family also has the tradition of numbering members of the family by order of birth, independently of having ruled or not. As so, the table below will present the birth numbering in comma "", followed, in brackets (), by the counting of those who actually ruled. Despite the more known divisions having begun only in the 15th century, it is clear (or at least hints to), by the simultaneous use of the title ''Comes Ötingen'' by various rulers at the same time, that the period 1141-1440 was also marked by various, but short-lived divisions between the counts. The un-definition of the concrete limits of the counts' possessions contributed to this as well.''The county of Oettingen has remained a "territorium non clausum" (a territory not precisely defined in terms of space)''. See Kudorfer, Dieter
Oettingen, Grafschaft/Fürstentum
in ''Historisches Lexikon Bayerns''. Therefore, in the referred period, it is unknown, in this early divisions of the land, which branch kept which part. As so, the divisions will be called, at this early stage of the history of the couts of Oettingen, as Part A, Part B and so on.

Lines of succession (post-mediatisation)

Mediatized line of Wallerstein

Oettingen Wallerstein Oettingen Spielberg - Tyroff AT

* Ludwig Kraft, 2nd Prince 1806–1823 (1791-1870) * Friedrich Kraft, 3rd Prince 1823-1842 (1793–1842) ** Karl Friedrich I, 4th Prince 1842–1905 (1840-1905) *** Karl Friedrich II, 5th Prince 1905–1930 (1877-1930) ***

Eugen Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pa ...

, 6th Prince 1930–1969 (1885-1969), politician **** Karl Friedrich III, 7th Prince 1969–1991 (1917-1991) ***** Moritz, 8th Prince 1991–present (born 1946

****** Karl Eugen,

Hereditary Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Wallerstein (born 1970) ******* Princess Helena (born 1995) ******* Prince Johannes (born 1998) ******* Prince Eugen (born 2004) ****** Prince Ludwig-Maximilian (born 1972) ******* Prince Felix (born 2003) ******* Prince Dominik (born 2007) ****** Prince Friedrich-Alexander (born 1978) ***** Prince Kraft Ernst (born 1951) ****** Prince Philipp-Karl (born 1983) ****** Prince Leopold-Ludwig (born 1987)

Mediatised line of Spielberg

* Johann Aloys III Anton, 4th Prince 1806–1855 (1788–1855) ** Otto I Karl, 5th Prince 1855–1882 (1815–1882) *** Franz Albrecht II, 6th Prince 1882–1916 (1847–1916) *** Emil, 7th Prince 1916–1919 (1850–1919) **** Otto II Joseph, 8th Prince 1919–1952 (1879–1952) ***** Aloys Philipp, 9th Prince 1952–1975 (1920–1975) ****** Albrecht Ernst, 10th Prince 1975–present (born 1951) ******* Franz Albrecht,

of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (born 1982) ******** Prince Louis-Albrecht of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (born 2019)

Other important members

Irmengard of Oettingen Irmengard of Oettingen ( – 6 November 1389) was a princess of the House of Oettingen, Counts von Oettingen by birth, and by marriage, Electorate of the Palatinate, Countess Palatine of the Rhine and, as a widow, a Dominican Order, Dominican ...

, Countess Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1304–1389) * Elisabeth of Oettingen, Landgravine of Leuchtenberg (c. 1360–1406) * Wolfgang I of Oettingen, Count of Oettingen-Oettingen (1455-1522) *

Maria Magdalena of Oettingen-Baldern Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, Margravine of Baden-Baden (1619-1688) * Maria Dorothea Sophia of Oettingen-Oettingen (1639-1698), second wife of Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg *

Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen (20 March 1671 – 3 September 1747) was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She was the maternal grandmother of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, Emperor Peter II of Russia and also Charles I, Duke of ...

(1671-1747), wife of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She was the maternal grandmother of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa, Tsar Peter II of Russia, Queen Elisabeth Christine of Prussia and Queen Juliane Marie of Denmark and Norway. * Maria Anna of Oettingen-Spielberg (1693-1729), wife of

Joseph Johann Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein Joseph Johann Adam (25 May 1690 – 17 December 1732) was the Prince of Liechtenstein from 1721 to his death in 1732. Born in Vienna, he was the only living son of Anton Florian, Prince of Liechtenstein and Eleonore Barbara von Thun und Hohenste ...

* Princess Gabriele of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (b. 1953), daughter of the 9th Prince * Princess Nora zu Oettingen-Spielberg (b. 1990), daughter of Albrecht Ernst, Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg. Married 2017, Lord Max Percy, youngest son of Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland * Cleopatra, Hereditary Princess of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (b. 1987), wife of Franz Albrecht, Hereditary Prince of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg

Residences

The following castles are still owned by the Princes of Oettingen-Spielberg and Oettingen-Wallerstein: Oettingen Schloss 1.JPG, Oettingen Wallerstein Schloss.jpg, Wallerstein Schloss Baldern 140707.jpg, Baldern (near

Bopfingen Bopfingen ( Swabian: ''Bopfeng'') is a small city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Ostalbkreis, between Aalen and Nördlingen. It consists of the city Bopfingen itself and its suburbs Aufhausen, Baldern, Flochberg, Kerkin ...

) Schloss Hohenaltheim Südseite.JPG, Hohenaltheim Harburg_in_Schwaben,_Burg_20170826_001.jpg, Harburg Burg Spielberg.jpg, Dornstadt Schloss Hirschbrunn 166.JPG, Schloss Hirschbrunn

References

External links

* *
genealogie-mittelalter.de

Website of the Prince of Oettingen-Spielberg

*
Counts of Oettingen in the ADB
*

Bibliography

* Fürstlich Oettingen-Wallerstein'sche Bibliothek (1985) ''Oettingen-Wallerstein'sche Musiksammlung''. München: K. G. Saur (reproduced on 3819 microfiches) * Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Band IX, C. A. Starke Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-7980-0816-7 (= Adelslexikon, Gesamtreihe Band 116) (for further references). * Teresa Neumeyer: ''Dinkelsbühl. Der ehemalige Landkreis'' Kommission für bayerische Landesgeschichte München 2018 (= Historischer Atlas von Bayern, 40. Franken I), ISBN 978-3-7696-6562-8 (). * ''Europäische Stammtafeln. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europäischen Staaten'', Bd. V. Von Frank Baron Freytag von Loringhoven aus dem Nachlass hrsg. von Detlev Schwennicke, Marburg 1978, Tafeln 152–155. * * * Jacob Paul Lang: ''Materialien zur oettingischen älteren und neueren Geschichte'', Bd. 2, Wallerstein 1773. * ''Zedlers Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexikon'', Bd. 25, Leipzig und Halle 1740, Sp. 801–820. * {{coord missing, Germany Swabian noble families Counties of the Holy Roman Empire Counts of the Holy Roman Empire House of Oettingen