The House of Festetics (singular, not plural) or Feštetić (in Croatian) is the name of a historic noble family of Hungarian counts and princes which dates back to 15th century. A prominent family during the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

, they are mostly known for the baroque

Festetics Palace The Festetics Palace is a Baroque palace located in the town of Keszthely, Zala County, Zala, Hungary. The building now houses the Helikon Palace Museum. The palace's construction, started by Kristóf Festetics family, Festetics in 1745, lasted ...

and the Viennese

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Tasziló Festetics.

Counts Festetics of Tolna

The progenitor of the family is considered to be Peter Festetics or ''Petrus Ferztheschych'' from Roženica,

Pokupsko Pokupsko is a village and a municipality in Croatia in the Zagreb County. In the 2011 census, there were a total of 2,224 inhabitants, in the following settlements: * Auguštanovec, population 125 * Cerje Pokupsko, population 84 * Cvetnić B ...

, whose name was mentioned as such in the protocol from the second part of the 15th century. Born during the reign of

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

, he held large estates throughout

Turopolje Turopolje () is a region in Croatia between the capital city Zagreb and Sisak. The administrative center of the Turopolje region is the town of Velika Gorica. Geography Turopolje forms part of Posavina, a region south of Zagreb bordering th ...

, southwest of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. Another protocol from 1570 mentions Mihovil Festetics (probably Peter's son), who served as

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

of the

Bishop of Zagreb The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Zagreb (; ) is the central Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, and the present archbishop is Dražen Kutleša. It ...

. On 8 August 1746, Mihovil's descendants, Josef and Kristof Festetics (the two sons of the second marriage of Paul Festetics) added ''de Tolna'' to their surname (''von Tolna'' in Austria). On 5 November 1766, Josef's eldest son Pal Festetics de Tolna (1725–1782) was made a

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: ...

by Queen

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

of Hungary. On 24 February 1772, Kristof's eldest son Pal Festetics de Tolna (1722–1782) was made a count by Queen Maria Theresa of Hungary, who was also Archduchess of Austria and Holy Roman Empress. The title of count was hereditary, inheritable by all legitimate male-line descendants of the family.

Princes Festetics of Tolna

On 21 June 1911, Count Tassilo Festetics de Tolna (1850–1933) was made a prince (''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

'') with the style of

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...

(''Durchlaucht'') by King Francis Joseph I of Hungary. His grandson, Prince Georg (born 1940) is the current head of the house and third Fürst.

Dutch nobility incorporation

In 1973, Count Dénes Festetics de Tolna (1943) was incorporated in the

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class consisting of individuals or families recognised as nobility, noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Con ...

with the title of count; the title of count(ess) is inheritable by all male-line descendants.

Notable members

Among the other prominent members of the family are: * Antal Festetics (born 1937), Austrian biologist *

Andor Festetics Count Andor Festetics de Tolna (17 January 1843 – 16 August 1930) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Agriculture between 1894 and 1895. He was married to Lenke Pejacsevich de Verőcze. One of his three sons was Sándor Fe ...

(1843–1930), Hungarian politician *

György Festetics Count György László Festetics de Tolna (23 April 1815 – 12 February 1883) was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister besides the King between 1867 and 1871. Early life and ancestry He was the offspring from the Hungarian noble ...

(1815–1883), Hungarian politician *

Leo Festetics Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually masc ...

(1800–1884), Hungarian composer *

Sándor Festetics Count Sándor Ágost Dénes Festetics de Tolna (31 May 1882 – 12 September 1956) was a Hungarian nobleman and cabinet minister who later became an advocate of Nazism in Hungary. Background Coming from one of Hungary's leading families (his f ...

(1882–1956), Hungarian politician *

Tassilo Festetics de Tolna Tassilo – also spelled Thassilo – is a male name of West Germanic origin. It is the diminutive form of the name Tasso/Tazzo. Tasso/Tazzo itself is the diminutive form of Taginbert, which is of West Germanic origin and means "glittering as the da ...

(1813–1883), Austrian general Festetics/Feštetić may also refer to: * the

Feštetić Castle Feštetić Castle ( or ) is a castle in Pribislavec, a village next to the town of Čakovec, northern Croatia. It was built most probably in the 16th century and owned by the members of the Zrinski family (count Adam Zrinski) almost till the en ...

, located in

Pribislavec Pribislavec (; Kajkavian: ''Prslavec'') is a village and municipality in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia. History Pribislavec is first mentioned in the 14th century as ''possessio Pobozlouhaza'' as possession of Lackfi family, Lacković no ...

, a village near

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; ; ) is a triangle-shaped Counties of Croatia, county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje (region), Međimurje. It is the smallest Croatian count ...

, northern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

* the

, located in

Keszthely Keszthely (; also known by alternative names) is a Hungarian city of 20,895 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. It is the second largest city by the lake and one of the more important cultural, educational and economic hub ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

* the Festetics String Quartet, from

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

References

Timeline of feudal lords of Međimurje

Croatian noble families Hungarian noble families Families of the Habsburg monarchy {{Hungary-hist-stub