The von Westernhagen are a German noble family. The Westernhagens are members of an old

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

n nobility and originated in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. The first reference to the family was made in 1258. The original family name was von Hagen. The family acquired a

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

in 1283 and built Westernhagen Castle in

Berlingerode Berlingerode is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

, from which their name derives.

History

The family is first mentioned in 1258 with ''Conradus and Hermannus Indagine'' (Latin for ''Hagen'' meaning ''hague'', an area fortified and fenced with a hedge). With the latter Hermannus, an uninterrupted ancestry line begins. The name changed from de Indagine, Hayn, Hagen to Westernhagen. Already in 1123 (however first mentioned in documents in 1288) the lords of

in the Eichsfeld district built the old moated Castle Hagen (Westernhagen Castle) near Berlingerode. Around 1300 some relatives, probably tribally related to the lords of Berlingerode, built Castle Osternhagen (Eastern Hagen) at

Hundeshagen Hundeshagen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the ...

. Some later members of this family named themselves after the old moated castle of Western Hagen, when they had moved there. Westernhagen Castle was destroyed in 1525 during the German Peasants' War. The main seat of the family, among other properties, became nearby Teistungen, which they had owned since 1283 and where they had built two

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

s that were later replaced by manor houses. The family converted from Catholicism to Protestantism after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in the sixteenth century. Members of the family served in the Prussian military under

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

. In the twentieth century, most of the family properties were seized by the Communist government of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. After the German reunification, the Oberhof manor and estate in Teistungen was re-purchased by Burghard von Westernhagen, the father of Princess Heinrich of Hanover. File:Teistungen Ortskern (6).jpg, Teistungen, Oberhof (Upper court) File:Teistungen Ortskern (5).jpg, Teistungen, Unterhof (Lower court) Wappen Westernhagen

Notable family members

* Dörte von Westernhagen (born 1943), German writer * Heinz von Westernhagen (1911–1945), German military officer * Thilo von Westernhagen (1950-2014), German composer * Thyra von Westernhagen (born 1973), German forester and wife of Prince Heinrich of Hanover

References

German noble families {{germany-stub