The House of Aspremont-Lynden is the name of an important Belgian noble family, which might have originated from the

House of Lynden A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, part of 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 ...

. Due to their properties and intermarriages, the family also became part of the

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

History

The proven line starts with Thierry van Lynden (married 1520, died 1566), as the first mentioned member of this family. In 1676 and 1677 nobility decrees of Emperor Leopold I followed for descendants of this family, with the title of Count. Ferdinand von Aspremont-Lynden was the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

ing

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: ...

of Reckheim and had the Aspremont-Lynden Castle constructed. Since Ferdinand Gobert d'Aspremont Lynden several descendants fought in Austrian service. By collective Royal Decree of 20 February 1816, Joseph-Ferdinand von Aspremont Lynden (1784–1843) was appointed to the (modern) Knighthood of Namur with the title of Count in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. In the centuries that followed, members held administrative positions at the local, provincial, and national levels. In the 20th century, some members served science. Christophe Butkens (1590-1650) wrote in his ''Annales généalogiques de la maison de Lynden'' that Thierry van Lynden descended from the old noble

Van Lynden A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or p ...

family from the Northern Netherlands, but this thesis has proved to be untenable. Still later they usurped the name d'Aspremont, as if they descended from the old noble family of that name, but this also turned out to be unproven.

Notable members

* Herman de Lynden (1547–1603), a military leader serving the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as ...

and 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 ...

. * Ferdinand Gobert, Graf von Aspremont-Lynden-Reckheim (1645–1708) : Imperial Fieldmarshal-Lieutenant. * Ferdinand Charles, Graf von Aspremont-Lynden-Reckheim (1689–1772) : Imperial Field Marshal and Knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. *

Guillaume d'Aspremont Lynden Guillaume Bernard Ferdinand Charles, Count of Aspremont Lynden (1815–1889) was a member of the Belgian Senate and minister of foreign affairs (1871–1878). Life Aspremont Lynden was born in Haltinne castle on 15 October 1815, as the second son ...

(1815–1889) : Belgian minister of foreign affairs (1871–1878). * Charles d'Aspremont Lynden (1888–1967) : Belgian landowner, politician and cabinet minister. * Harold Charles d'Aspremont Lynden (1914–1967) : Belgium's last Minister of African Affairs. * Claude d'Aspremont Lynden (born 1946) : Belgian economist and professor * Jean d'Aspremont (born 1978) : Professor of Law.

Sources

* Paul Janssens et Luc Duerloo, ''Armorial de la noblesse belge''. Tome A-E. Bruxelles, 1992, pp. 157–158. * Nico Plomp, 'De oudste generaties van het geslacht Van Lynden', in: ''Jaarboek Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie'' 53 (1999), pp. 154–193. * Jean-François Houtart, ''Anciennes familles de Belgique'', Bruxelles, 2008, p. 146 nno 1520 * ''État présent de la noblesse belge'' (2017), pp. 87–99. {{Commons category-inline Aspremont Lynden Families of Belgian ancestry