The Fraunberg family, also known as the Fraunberger, is among the oldest

German noble families German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Their name derives from the village of Fraunberg in the district of

Erding Erding () is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the Erding (district), rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019. The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Erding is ...

. They are documented since 945, when Heinrich von Fraunberger was mentioned in connection with Konstanz am Bodensee. Their main arms are Gules, a pale argent.

History

By 1245, the family of Gurren of Haag had already begun using a horse salient as their

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

device. The word ''Gurre'' is

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

now means a horse of poor quality, a nag or jade. Whether the family derived their name from the coat of arms or vice versa is not clear. The choice of name, however, implies that at the time the derogatory meaning of ''Gurre'' had not yet come into play. : the numerous representations show a lively, well fed horse. The Fraunbergers adopted the Gurren coat of arms at the time of Sigfried I., to whom was granted the position of Count of Haag in 1245. The family of Fraunberg-Haag bore it alone. The branch of Fraunberger zu Fraunberg however quartered it with their main arms. Some descendants of the Fraunberger family have immigrated to the US and reside in the Clifton, Passaic, and Plainsboro New Jersey area. On the death of Count Ladislaus von Fraunberg-Haag in 1567 the county was granted to the

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...

. With the local government reforms a large part of what was formerly the County of Haag came to the district of Erding. Numerous examples of the arms of Haag exist, particularly in churches and on boundary stones (see Schierl below) ''For the town in Germany, translated as (wife or lady of the Mountain) see

Fraunberg, Bavaria Fraunberg is a municipality in the district of Erding in Bavaria in 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 t ...

.''

References

*Schierl, W (1984): Historical borders in the district Erding. Erdinger country number 8, P. 24-47 *Wening, M. (1701–26): Historico topographica descriptio (Description and History of Upper and Lower Bavaria)

External links

Fraunberg community website
{{Authority control German noble families