The Thienen family is the name of an ancient

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family, that origins in the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy ...

. The spelling of the name, over the centuries has changed from Tyne and Tynen to Thien, Tienen, Thinen and finally Thienen. The barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht are the only branch of this family still existing; they belong to the high nobility of Denmark.

History

In his 1670 published work ''Insignia et tabula Genealogica dominorum a Thinen'', the genealogist Johann Daniel Eberus describes that the family of Thienen was expelled from Holstein in the beginning of the 9th Century by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. As a consequence, the family fled to Brabant (today's Belgium) and there founded the city Thienen or Tienen (French: Tirlemont). However, at least one branch of the family returned around 1000 AD and stayed in

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; ; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the ...

until 1280, when they were expelled again. Some members of the family fought against the people of Dithmarschen as knights in 1289, 1322 and 1404. The first completely provable documentation of the family is the

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

''Heneke of Thienen'', born in 1270, in 1314. The barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht are among the nine extant Equites Originarii, the ancient noble families (

Uradel (, German: "ancient nobility"; adjective or ) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The word stands opposed to '' Briefadel'' ...

) of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. Today's head of the family is Franz Baron of Thienen-Adlerflycht (born 1957).

Two important manor houses built by the Thienen family

Various castles and manor houses were built by the Thienen family over the last centuries, the following two are from special cultural importance. The former

moated castle A water castle, sometimes water-castle, is a castle which incorporates a natural or artificial body of water into its defences.Forde-Johnston (1979), p. 163. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbo ...

Wahlstorf was built in the 15th century by'' Detlev of Thienen ''and his son ''Claus''. It is one of the oldest still existing

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

s of Schleswig-Holstein. After more than 320 years in family ownership, in 1788 the Plessen family inherited it. The castle of Güldenstein has been built in 1726 by ''Heinrich of Thienen''. The moated castle is located on an oval island, it is well known as a main example of

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architecture in Schleswig-Holstein. It is owned by the

dukes of Oldenburg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

since 1839.

Barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht

The only still existing branch of the family received the title of Danish

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

s in 1840 (as ''Barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht''). The connection of the names Thienen and Adlerflycht arose due to the marriage of'' Conrad Christoph of Thienen ''with ''Luise of Adlerflycht,'' the last, of an ancient noble family that originated from Sweden. Conrad Christoph and Luise emigrated from Schleswig-Holstein. Their son ''Karl baron of Thienen-Adlerflycht'' was the diplomatic representative of the Danish king and several German principalities and duchies in Vienna. Since then the barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht live in

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 ...

Representatives of the family

* Johann of Thienen, born in 1342, Steward * Beata of Thienen, born in 1368, married to Erik of Krummedike, great-grandmother of the Swedish king, Gustav I. * Detlev of Thienen, born in 1440, built the

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Wahlstorf * Otto of Thienen, born in 1514, Steward * Brigitta of Thienen was 1570-1576 prioress of the Monastery of Preetz * Kai of Thienen, born in 1675 Steward * Hans of Thienen, born in 1686 Reichshofrat, imperial Chamberlain, since 1738 dean of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

s in

Bishopric of Lübeck In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

* Wulf-Heinrich of Thienen, born in 1736, Danish

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and Steward * Klaus Christoph of Thienen, born in 1754, royal Danish

and Chamberlain * Conrad Christoph baron of Thienen-Adlerflycht, born in 1804, died in 1884, Chamberlain, legation secretary * Karl baron of Thienen-Adlerflycht, born in 1835, diplomatic representatives of the Danish king and German principalities in Vienna. * Conrad Christoph baron of Thienen-Adlerflycht, born in 1924, died in 2010,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

* Wolfgang baron of Thienen-Adlerflycht, born in 1951, died in 2007,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

and vicar provincial in the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

Castles and manor houses that were in the Thienen-Adlerflycht family's possession

Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark

Ahretost, Gut-Augustenhof, Bienebek, Borghorst, Bülk, Bundhorst, Cronsburg, Eckhof, Ellgaard, Griesgaard, Goddersdorf, Grünholz, Klein-Grünholz,

Großenbrode Großenbrode is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, opposite Fehmarn, approx. 8 km (5 mi) east of Heiligenhafen. Until 1963 it had a ferry connection to G ...

, Großnordsee, Güldenstein, Harzhoff,

Klausdorf Klausdorf is a former municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km northwest of Plön, and 5 km east of Kiel. On 1 March 2008, it was merged with Raisdorf to form the town ...

, Kühren, Löhrstorff, Maasleben, Marienhof, Mehlbek, Mirebüll, Nehmten, Palais Thienen in Kiel, Petersdorf, Rathmannsdorf, Rethwisch (now part of Schönwalde am Bungsberg), Schinkel, Sierhagen, Thienenhof / Prinzeßhof, Tollgaard, Tollschlag (Nieharde), Travenort, Gut Wahlstorf, Warleberg, Warleberger Hof, Gut Wensin, Wippendorf (Kappeler Harde), Gut Wittmoldt, Wulfshagen, Wulfshagenerhütten, and the Thienenhaus at the Monastery of Preetz

Austria

Neuhaus 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 ...

, Katzenberg Castle in

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

Czech Republic

Today the family owns the castles in Lomnice near

Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

and

Luhačovice Luhačovice (; ) is a spa town in Zlín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,000 inhabitants. It is known for the largest spa in Moravia and for architecturally valuable buildings designed by the architect Dušan Jurko ...

in the

Zlín Region Zlín Region () is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the south-eastern part of the historical region of Moravia. It is named after its capital Zlín. Together with the Olomouc Region it forms a cohesion area of Central M ...

Russia

Jurkino, Litkino, Sinzoro, Kislorka, Kriuscha,

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

Bibliography

* Johann Daniel Eberus, „Insignia et tabula genealogica dominorum a Thinen“ published 1670 * Prof. publ. Kilon. Adam Hinrich Lackman und prof. Hafn. Claus Heinrich Moller, „Beschreibung der in den Herzogthümern Schleswig-Holstein angessenen ritterlichen Familie von Thienen ....“ published around 1750 * Freiherr Waldemar Weber von Rosenkrantz, „Die Familie von Thienen“ * Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Freiherrliche Häuser A, Band III (1959) und Band XI (1979); Freiherrliche Häuser Band XVIII (1995), C. A. Starke Verlag * Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, ''Adelslexikon'' Band XIV, Band 131 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 2003, {{ISSN, 0435-2408 * Danmarks Adels Aarbog, 1935 (Gesamtgenealogie) * Gothaischen Genealogischen Freiherrlichen Taschenbücher 1890 until 1940

External links

Website of the family's estate management

Genealogy of the Barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht

Coat of Arms of the Barons of Thienen-Adlerflycht

Homepage of the baronetage of Schleswig-Holstein

Historic map of the city Thienen/Tirlemont] Danish noble families German noble families Tienen