The Gudenus family is a prominent German noble family, originating in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, whose noble ancestry can be traced back to the 16th century.

History

Throughout centuries, the Gudenus family was divided into two lines. The first line, which held the title of

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: ...

, granted to them on 22 October 1907 by

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, settled in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, while the other line of the family, which held the title of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

, granted to them on 15 April 1756, settled in the

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (; ; ) 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 1806 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution i ...

and

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Notable members

* Moritz Gudenus (1596-1680), German

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 ...

preacher and progenitor of the Gudenus family * (1843-1913), Great Chamberlain of Austro-Hungarian Empire * Johann Baptist, Graf von Gudenus (1908–1968), Austrian sprinter and bobsledder * John, Graf von Gudenus (1940–2016), Austrian politician and member of the

Federal Council of Austria The Federal Council (, ) is the upper house of the Austrian Parliament, representing the nine States of Austria at the federal level. As part of a bicameral legislature alongside the National Council, it can be compared with an upper house or ...

* Johann, Graf von Gudenus (b. 1976), Austrian politician involved in the "

Ibiza affair The Ibiza affair (), also known as Ibiza-gate, was a political scandal in Austria involving Heinz-Christian Strache, the former vice chancellor of Austria and leader of the Freedom Party (FPÖ), as well as Johann Gudenus, formerly a deputy lea ...

References

{{Reflist Surnames German-language surnames