Fürstenberg (baronial family)

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Fürstenberg is the name of a German noble family of Westphalia, descended from one Hermanus de Vorstenberg, a liegeman of the Archbishop of Cologne, who was among the prince electors (Kurfürsten) of the Holy Roman Empire. Hermanus held a castle for his lord called "Fürstenberg" (The Princely Mountain) in Ense-Höingen in Soest; this would give the family its name. His son was Wilhelm von Vorstenberg, the Justiciar and Castellan of Werl.

Already Imperial Knights, on April 26, 1660, the family were created imperial barons (Reichsfreiherren). Matriculation to the baronial class in the Kingdom of Bavaria occurred on August 22, 1891 for Friedrich Freiherr von Fürstenberg, Rittmeister à la suite in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt and Freeholder of Egenburg by Würzburg.

Some members of the family were elevated to comital dignities during German mediatization for their services to the Kingdom of Prussia, or given honorific titles for their twentieth-century achievements:

Herdringen Line: A Prussian graviate; the title was Graf von Fürstenberg-Herdringen, and an estate in tail, Besitz Herdringen, was given on January 16, 1843 to Franz Egon Freiherr von Fürstenberg of Herdringen, Member of the Prussian House of Lords and Seneschal in the Duchy of Westphalia.
Stammheim Line: A Prussian graviate; Graf von Fürstenberg-Stammheim, in the Demesne of Stammheim given on October 15, 1840 for the Royal Prussian Chamberlain Franz Egon Freiherr von Fürstenberg of Stammheim and the heirs of his body. This line died out in 1925.
Belgian Naturalisation as Baron de Furstenberg was granted April 18, 1887 for Clemens Freiherr von Fürstenberg. A Belgian comté was created with the title Comte de Furstenberg on January 3, 1964 for the agricultural scientist Wenemar Freiherr von Fürstenberg.

The baronial Fürstenberg clan should not be confused with the princely family of the same name.

[edit] Former holdings

The family stammsitz (ancestral seat) is Schloss Herdringen near Arnsberg. In the nineteenth century, the family also owned the following castles:

  • Eggeringhausen
  • Gimborn
  • Hugenpoet-Borbeck
  • Körtlinghausen
  • Köln-Stammheim.

[edit] Notable members

[edit] Bibliography

  • Gosmann, Michael (Hrsg.): Fürstenberger Skizzen. Streifzug durch 700 Jahre westfälische Familien- und Landesgeschichte, Arnsberg 1995.
  • v. Klocke, Friedrich (Bearb.): Fürstenbergsche Geschichte, 1. Bd., Die Geschichte des Geschlechtes von Fürstenberg bis um 1400, 2. Auflage, Münster 1971.
  • v. Klocke, Friedrich und Theuerkauf, Gerhard: Fürstenbergsche Geschichte, 2. Bd., Die Geschichte des Geschlechtes von Fürstenberg von 1400 bis um 1600, Münster 1971.
  • Lahrkamp, Helmut/Richtering, Helmut u. a.(Bearb.): Fürstenbergsche Geschichte, 3. Bd., Die Geschichte des Geschlechtes von Fürstenberg im 17. Jahrhundert, Münster 1971.
  • Andernach, Norbert/Keinemann, Friedrich u .a. (Bearb.): Fürstenbergsche Geschichte, 4. Bd., Die Geschichte des Geschlechtes von Fürstenberg im 18. Jahrhundert, Münster 1979.
  • Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Freiherrliche Häuser, Band XV, Seite 135-177, Band 69 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1989.
  • Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Adelslexikon Band III, Seite 420, Band 61 der Gesamtreihe, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1975.