The Münchhausen family or von Münchhausen is an ancient German noble family from

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

and

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

History

The family first appeared in written documents in 1183 with ''dominus Rembertus, pater Gyselheri de Monechusen''.''Calenberger Urkundenbuch'', III, 6/Original im

Kloster Loccum Kloster is the German language, German and Scandinavian language, Scandinavian word for monastery. It may also refer to: Places * Kloster, Styria * Kloster, Denmark * Kloster, Sweden * Klošter, settlement in Slovenia People * Asbjørn Kloster ...

. Their family seat was in Munichehausen, near

Loccum Abbey Loccum Abbey () is a Lutheran monastery, formerly a Cistercian abbey, in the town of Rehburg-Loccum, near Lake Steinhude, Lower Saxony, Germany. History A Roman Catholic monastery run by the Cistercians, Loccum Abbey originated as a foundatio ...

. At first, they were

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 ...

, but later rose to the position of ''Erbmarshall'' of the Prince-Bishops of Minden. In the 15th century, two branches of the family were formed, the so called ''black line'' and a ''white line'', both extant until today. Members of the family held the title of

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

and occupied many important ecclesiastical and diplomatic positions in the history within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and later in the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

Notable members

Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on baron ...

, German nobleman and storyteller *

Baron Munchausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on baron ...

, fictional character inspired by Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen *

Börries von Münchhausen Börries Albrecht Conon August Heinrich Freiherr von Münchhausen (20 March 1874 – 16 March 1945) was a German poet and Nazi activist. Biography He was born in Hildesheim, the eldest child of Kammerherr Börries von Münchhausen and his ...

, German poet *

Otto von Münchhausen Otto II. Freiherr von Münchhausen (11 June 1716 – 13 July 1774) was a German botanist. He was Chancellor of University of Göttingen and a correspondent of Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus. He named several species of oaks by the Carl Linnaeus, Linne ...

, German botanist *Johannes V von Münchhausen (1542–1560), Prince-Bishop of Ösel–Wiek *Philipp Adolph von Münchhausen (1694-1762), Head of the

German Chancery The German Chancery (German: ''Deutsche Kanzlei''), also known as the Hanoverian Chancery, was the official name given to the office of the Hanoverian ministry in London during the years of personal union between Great Britain (later the United ...

in London

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munchhausen (surname) German-language surnames

History

Notable members

See also

References