The House of Dönhoff (Polish: Denhoff, sometimes also Doenhoff) was an old and influential German noble family, which later also became part of the Polish nobility.

History

It was first mentioned in 1282, in the

County of Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr Rive ...

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

. Their original seat was ''Dönhof'' near

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum * Dortmun ...

which remained in the family until 1463. From 1303 until the 16th century a property called ''Dönhoff'' near

Wetter (Ruhr) Wetter (Ruhr) is a town in western Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. The river Ruhr flows through the urban area, separating the district of Alt-Wetter from the districts of Esborn, Vol ...

was also owned by the family. Younger sons of the family served as knights of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

and acquired property in the Baltic

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Cent ...

: In 1410 Godecke von Dönhoff (d. before 1444) owned the estate of Allo in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, in 1478 Hermann von Dönhof was granted land in

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

. In the 16th century, a branch became recognized as '' szlachta'' (Polish nobility) in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

. After the secularization of the State of the Teutonic Order during the Protestant Reformation in 1525, the East Prussian branch served the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

in its newly acquired

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

. This branch owned Friedrichstein Palace from 1666 until 1945. In 1633 all branches of the family were created

imperial count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

s. In 1637 one of the Polish ''Denhoff'' branches was granted the title of

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors ...

, which was later extinguished.

Notable members of the German branch

* Alexander von Dönhoff (1683–1742), Prussian Lieutenant-General *

Sophie von Dönhoff Countess Sophie Friederike Juliane von Dönhoff (17 October 1768 – 28 January 1838) was a German lady-in-waiting and a morganatic spouse by bigamy to King Frederick William II of Prussia. Early life She was the daughter of Count Friedrich ...

(1768–1838), morganatic spouse of

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...

August Heinrich Hermann von Dönhoff August Heinrich Hermann von Dönhoff (10 October 1797 in Potsdam - 1 April 1874 at Schloss Friedrichstein ( East Prussia)) was a Prussian diplomat. Dönhoff participated as a volunteer in the campaign of 1815, studied in Königsberg, Göttingen ...

(1797–1874), Prussian diplomat * Marion Dönhoff (1909–2002), German journalist

Notable members of the Polish branch

* Ernst Magnus Dönhoff (1581–1642), voivode of Parnawa (1640–1642) ** Ernst Denhoff, (died 1693), voivode of Malbork ***Joanna Denhoffówna, daughter of Zofia Anna Oleśnicka h.

Dębno Dębno (german: Neudamm) is a town in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,443. After the Migration Period, the area was populated by West Slavic peoples sinc ...

, married to Hetman Stanisław Ernest Denhoff (1673–1728) * Kasper Denhoff (1587–1645), Voivode of Dorpat,

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

(1627–1634), brother of the above * Urszula Denhoff (died 1658), married to Marcin Kazimierz Kątski h. Brochwicz * Jan Kazimierz Denhoff (1649–1697), Cardinal and Bishop of Cesena *

Stanisław Ernest Denhoff Stanisław Michał Ernest Denhoff (; ; c. 1673 – 2 August 1728) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth aristocrat, Grand Master of the Hunt of Lithuania (from 1697), Grand Chorąży of the Crown (1704–1721), voivode of Połock (1721–1728 ...

(1673–1728), Voivode of Połock (1721–1728), Field Hetman of Lithuania, 1709–1728 Surnames German noble families Polish noble families {{Surname-stub