The House of Clary und Aldringen, also known as Clary-Aldringen, is one of the most prominent Austro-Hungarian princely families. Originally from

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

, Northern Italy, one branch of the family moved to the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

around 1500 and to the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

around 1600, where it became one of the leading families of the

Bohemian nobility Czech nobility consists of the noble families from historical Czech lands, especially in their narrow sense, i.e. nobility of Bohemia proper, Moravia and Austrian Silesia – whether these families originated from those countries or moved into th ...

. It produced several notable

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

statesmen, military officers and diplomats.

Origin

The ''Clario de Riva'' family were

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

s of

Riva del Garda Riva del Garda (''Rìva'' in local dialect) is a town and ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Trento of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It is also known simply as ''Riva'' and is located at the northern tip of Lake Garda. History ...

. One brother moved to the neighboring County of Tyrol around 1500, in the service of

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

, the other brother sided with the emperor's enemy, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, and remained in the Friuli province where his descendants later extinguished. Franz von Clary moved from Tyrol to the

and acquired the Dobříčany estates at

Liběšice Liběšice may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Liběšice (Litoměřice District), a municipality and village in the Ústí nad Labem Region *Liběšice (Louny District), a municipality and village in the Ústí nad Labem Region *Liběšice ...

in 1622/23, a property confiscated from protestants that were banned from Bohemia. Some Tyrolian possessions also remained in the family. His son Hieronymus von Clary married Countess Anna Maria von Aldringen, sister and heiress of the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...

's Austrian general count

Johann von Aldringen Johann Reichsgraf von Aldringen (sometimes spelled Altringer or Aldringer; 10 December 158822 June 1634) was a Luxemburger who served in the armies of the Spanish Habsburgs and later the Austrian Habsburgs, especially during the Thirty Years' Wa ...

, in 1622. Their descendants were allowed by imperial decree to adopt the name and

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of both families. Ever since, the family has been known as ''Clary und Aldringen'' (or ''Clary-Aldringen'').

History

The princes of Clary und Aldringen have been one of the most prominent families of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and the

. The rise of the family started when Franz von Clary left his ancestral lands in Tyrol to settle in the

. In 1623, Clary bought properties in the

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

region. However, it was the inheritance of

's estates through Franz's son's wife, Anna Maria von Aldringen, that made the Clary-Aldringens one of the most influential and wealthy

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n noble families. The Aldringens were a catholic noble family from the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

. In 1634, Johann von Aldringen had received from

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

the ownership of lands in and around the wealthy city of Teplitz (

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

), shortly before confiscated from the protestant count

Vilém Kinský Count Wilhelm Kinsky von Wchinitz (; ; 1574 – 25 February 1634) was a landowner and a statesman. By birth, he was member of the Kinsky, House of Kinsky, which belonged to the highest circle of Bohemian aristocracy. Early life Wilhelm was ...

who had been assassinated together with

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

, with Aldringen being one of the plotters of this murder. However, Aldringen died in a battle the same year, without issue. After some inheritance quarrels among his siblings, Emperor Ferdinand II recognized his sister Anna Maria as heiress of the Teplice estates. Since then, the Clary-Aldringens were the most powerful nobles of the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

, the German speaking northern parts of Bohemia. Consequently, the rise of the family sped up and, in 1666, the Clary-Aldringens were raised to the rank of

Count of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During 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 a prince wh ...

Emperor Joseph I Joseph I (Joseph Jacob Ignaz Johann Anton Eustachius; 26 July 1678 – 17 April 1711) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1705 until his death in 1711. He was the eldest son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor from his thi ...

. In 1767, ''

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

'' Wenzel von Clary und Aldringen, the Imperial Treasurer (and

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

's private council member), was raised to princely rank. Members of the family became hereditary members of the Austrian '' Reichsrat'' (Imperial Council). From that date, the princely title of ''

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

'' (Prince) von Clary und Aldringen was borne by the head of the family, who was styled as ''

Durchlaucht His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the princely titles of members o ...

'' (Serene Highness). Junior members bore the title of ''

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

'' (Count) or ''Gräfin'' (Countess) von Clary und Aldringen and were styled as ''

Erlaucht His/Her Illustrious Highness (abbreviation: H.Ill.H.) is the usual English-language translation of the German word , a style historically attributed to certain members of the European nobility. It is not a literal translation, as the German word ...

'' (Illustrious Highness). During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, the family's Teplitz castle was the headquarters of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon, uniting the monarchs of

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 ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. There was first signed the triple alliance against

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

that led to the coalition victory at the nearby

Battle of Kulm The Battle of Kulm was fought near the town Kulm () and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition. A French corps under General Dominique Vandamme attacked Ale ...

and eventually instated the

Holy Alliance The Holy Alliance (; ), also called the Grand Alliance, was a coalition linking the absolute monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, which was created after the final defeat of Napoleon at the behest of Emperor Alexander I of Rus ...

, officially signed in Paris on September 26, 1815. In 1832, two sisters of Prince Edmund (1813–1894) married into the

Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; ; ; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian origin, and one of the most powerful magnate families originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Pa ...

, Mathilde (1806–1896) married Prince Wilhelm Radziwiłł (1797-1870), a son of Louise of Prussia, while her younger sister Leontine (1811-1890) married Wilhelm's younger brother, Prince

Bogusław Fryderyk Radziwiłł Prince Bogusław Fryderyk Radziwiłł (3 January 1809 – 2 January 1873) was a szlachta, Polish nobleman and Prussian military officer and politician. He lived in the Kingdom of Prussia, where he was a member of the Prussian parliament (late ...

. During the 19th century, the family hosted

royalty Royalty may refer to: * the mystique/prestige bestowed upon monarchs ** one or more monarchs, such as kings, queens, emperors, empresses, princes, princesses, etc. *** royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen-regnant, and sometimes h ...

several times at their Teplitz castle: in 1835, they received King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

, Emperor

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

and Emperor Franz I of Austria, hosting a ceremony in memory of the treaty of the Sixth Coalition; in 1849, they received Emperor

Franz Joseph of Austria 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 other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reig ...

and Kings

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the "romanticist on the th ...

and Frederick-August II of Saxony; in 1860, they received Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria and the Prince-Regent William of Prussia. During the late 19th century, the princely family maintained great influence within the

Austrian nobility The Austrian nobility () is a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. Austria's system of nobility was very similar to that of Germany (see German nobility), as both countries were previously part of ...

. It thus played an important role in

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

, as illustrated by the two younger brothers of Prince Carlos (1844–1920), Austro-Hungarian diplomat Prince

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

(1848–1929) and his brother, the

Minister-President of Austria The minister-president of Austria was the head of government of the Austrian Empire from 1848, when the office was created in the course of the March Revolution. Previously, executive power rested with an Austrian State Council, headed by the emp ...

Count

Manfred ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction. Byr ...

(1852–1928). Siegfried's son Alfons (1887–1978) became the seventh prince, and took over the management of the family estate in 1920, after the Kingdom of Bohemia had become part of the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic, often colloquially referred to as the First Republic, was the first Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The country was commonly called Czechosl ...

. He lost several thousand hectares in a land-reform, but redeveloped the family enterprises, including a brewery, spa resorts, restaurants, a coal mine, two sawmills, brickworks, lime works and a woodworking factory. However he lost his Bohemian ancestral estates through communist confiscation in 1945. Following the

expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a broader series of Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), evacuations and deportations of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II. ...

, the family has since lived in Frankfurt,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and in Venice,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Since March 2007, the head of the family is Hieronymus, 9th Prince of Clary und Aldringen (born 1944).

Notable members

* ''

(1584–1634), commandant of the Austrian army during the

* Prince Wenzel von Clary und Aldringen, first Prince of Clary und Aldringen * Princess Elizabeth-Alexandrine von Clary und Aldringen, ''née'' Countess de Ficquelmont, daughter of Count Charles-Louis and Countess Dorothea de Ficquelmont, ''née''

Tiesenhausen The House of Tiesenhausen is an old Baltic-German noble family. The origins of the family are in Lower Saxony. During the Baltic crusades they settled in Livonia in the first half of the 12th century. Bishops Albert of Riga and Herman of Tart ...

* Prince Siegfried von Clary-Aldringen (1848–1929), prominent Austro-Hungarian diplomat, son of the above * Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen (1852–1928),

statesman,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the Austrian imperial lands of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

and

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

, minister-president of the Austrian part of the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

(1889), and brother of the above

Princes of Clary-Aldringen

Residences

The Clary-Aldringens were great

landowners In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals ...

, possessing enormous estates in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

and

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

. The most important of all of their estates was that of Tepliz, which comprised the eponymous city as well as more than 70 towns and villages. It was one of the largest noble estates of the Sudetes and one of the largest private properties of Bohemia before its confiscation according to the

Beneš decrees The Beneš decrees were a series of laws drafted by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II. They were issued by President Edvard Beneš fr ...

. In consequence, the Clary-Aldringens had many residences, the grandest being: * Schloss

(''Teplice Palace''), the primary seat of the family from the 16th century until its confiscation in 1945; *

Palais Mollard-Clary Palais Mollard-Clary is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the first district Innere Stadt, at Herrengasse 9. It was built from 1686 to 1689 for Imperial Count Franz Maximilian von Mollard (1621-1690). In 1760, it was bought by ...

, the family palace in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

(sold in 1922); * Palazzo Clary in Venice, to this day owned by the present prince; * Schloss Herrnau (''Herrnau Castle'') in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, to this day owned by a younger branch of the counts of Clary-Aldringen.

Dubí Dubí (; ) is a spa town in Teplice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,100 inhabitants. Administrative division Dubí consists of seven municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 censu ...

's St-Mary's Church was built on the order of the Clary-Aldringens between 1898 and 1906 as a copy of the

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

church Santa Maria dell'Orto, to become their new family church. File:Palais Mollard-Clary, Vienna June 2006 322.jpg, Clary-Aldringen Palace in Vienna File:Palazzo Clary Venezia Zattere.jpg, Palazzo Clary, Venice File:SchlossHerrnau Eschenbachg21 3.jpg, Herrnau castle,

Marriages

The Clary und Aldringen family is related by marriage to many other prominent families, including the following: Radziwill, Glam Gallas,

Mensdorff-Pouilly The Mensdorff-Pouilly family is an old Nobility, aristocratic family originally from Duchy of Lorraine, Lorraine, whose members can trace back their noble lineage back to 1397.Régis Valette, ''Catalogue de la noblesse française subsistante'', p ...

, Ficquelmont, Pejácsevich, Baillet-Latour,

Kinsky The House of Kinsky (formerly Vchynští, sg. ''Vchynský'' in Czech; later (in modern Czech) Kinští, sg. ''Kinský''; ) is a prominent Bohemian noble family originating in the Kingdom of Bohemia. During the Thirty Years' War, the Kinsky fam ...

Eltz The House of Eltz is a noted German noble family, belonging to the ''Uradel''. The Rhenish dynasty has had close ties to the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia since 1736. History Though older sources mentioned one Eberhard zu Eltz, a Frankish citize ...

, Donnersmarck, and Hohenzollern Hechingen File:Elisabeth Clary-Aldringen.jpg, Elisabeth-Alexandrine de Ficquelmont, princess von Clary und Aldringen and her daughter, Edmée, countess di Robilant e Cereaglio File:Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen.jpg, Count Manfred von Clary-Aldringen

Bibliography

* Alfons Clary-Aldringen, Memoirs: „Geschichten eines alten Österreichers“ ''(History of an old Austrian)'', Ullstein publishers, Frankfurt 1977, * Diana Mosley, Prince and Princess Clary. ''Loved Ones'', London 1985, pp. 132–153,

References

External links

* {{Authority control