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The House of Leyen-Hohengeroldseck is an ancient
The House of Leyen-Hohengeroldseck is an ancient 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 ...
noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank.
As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel
The German nobility () and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th ...
(high nobility
Traditional rank amongst European imperiality, royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to anothe ...
).
History
The origin can be traced to the middle of the 10th century, which had estates on theMoselle
The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...
. Originally the family was named de Petra or by its castle in Gondorf (Cunthereve). Since the 14th century it has called itself von der Leyen. Its members had the hereditary office of sénéchal in the Electorate of Trier
The Electorate of Trier ( or '; ) was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince-archbishop of Trier (') wh ...
. They also had Adendorf near Bonn, Leiningen on the Hunsrück
The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...
, the Lordship of Arenfels and St. Ingbert.
Prior to 1660, Hugo Ernst (line Leyen-Adendorf) became Lord of Blieskastel
Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and e ...
and, in 1657, was created Reichsfreiherr (Imperial baron) von der Leyen. In addition to its scattered territories the family acquired the lordships of Burresheim and Blieskastel before 1660, where it built a residence around 1760. In 1697 Freiherr Karl Caspar received the county of Hohengeroldseck as a fiefdom
A fief (; ) 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 feudal alle ...
from 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 ...
. In 1711 he was created Imperial count
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 ...
(Reichsgraf) ''von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck''. With most of the count's territories lost to Napoleon France, Reichsgraf Philipp Franz still retained the county Geroldseck. Upon joining the Rheinbund
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...
in 1806, he was created Fürst (prince) von der Leyen. His mother's brother was Karl Theodor Anton Maria von Dalberg, who later became Prince-Primate of the Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...
and Grand Duke
Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly:
* in ...
of Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. In 1819 the principality's holdings were mediatized under Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Ba ...
, although the title is still being nominally held by House von der Leyen.
Two members of the family became Archbishop of Trier
The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Johann von der Leyen
* 1652–1676 Prince Elector Karl Kaspar von der Leyen-Hohengeroldseck
and one
Location of the von der Leyen possessions
{{Authority control Leyen
Archbishop of Mainz
The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
:
* 1675–1678 Prince Elector and Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire Damian Hartard von der Leyen-Hohengeroldseck
Erwein Otto Philipp Prince von der Leyen (1894–1970), died without male issue, but left his title and property to his grandson, Philipp-Erwein IV von Freyberg zu Eisenberg (born 1967), 7th Prince von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck. He will be succeeded by Wolfram, Hereditary Prince of Leyen and zu Hohengeroldseck (b.1990). Prince Philipp-Erwein IV the current head of the family is descended, amongst others, from Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman ...
, Vsevolod I of Kyiv, Hugh Capet
Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...
, Eric the Victorious
Eric the Victorious (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr inn sigrsæli'', Modern Swedish: ''Erik Segersäll''; c. 945 – c. 995) was a Swedish monarch as of around 970. Although there were earlier Swedish kings, he is the first Swedish king in a consecutive re ...
, Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
, Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...
and Pope Paul III
Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549.
He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...
.
The members of the House of Leyen are entitled a formal style of Address using the predicate Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...
. Although German law no longer acknowledges or recognizes a status for noble houses or their titles per se, the government does allow for titles to be used in lieu of a surname.
See also
* Fürst von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck * Principality of Leyen * Von der Leyen (family from Krefeld), silk weaver industrialists in the 19th century, later with baronial rank .External links
Location of the von der Leyen possessions
{{Authority control Leyen