| Lahnstein | |
|---|---|
| Ethnicity | German & Italian |
| Current region | Düsseldorf, North-Rhine Westphalia |
| Information | |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Notable members | Johannes von Lahnstein Ludwig von Lahnstein Ansgar von Lahnstein Carla von Lahnstein Leonard von Lahnstein Sarah Hofmann Nico von Lahnstein Constantin von Lahnstein Sebastian von Lahnstein Tristan von Lahnstein Helena von Lahnstein Rebecca von Lahnstein Hannes von Lahnstein Sophia von Lahnstein Christina Brandner |
| Connected families | Di Balbi family Brandner family |
| Traditions | Adultery High morals Secrets Illegitimate children Coming back from the dead |
| Heirlooms | Lahnstein Enterprises The estate |
| Estate | Castle Königsbrunn Penthouse Lahnstein stud farm |
The Lahnstein family are a fictional aristocratic family on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe. Various family members have been sometime residents of Düsseldorf.
The Lahnsteins made their first appearance in September 2003, when Johannes von Lahnstein, the patriarch of the family, came along with his daughter Carla von Lahnstein to the scene. Their first story was Johannes' love for Cécile de Maron, with the disapprove of Carla and her brother Ansgar, and his illegitimate daughter Nico.
Within the years, the Lahnsteins showed that even though they have high morals they hide many family secrets involving affairs, sexuality and crimes. Ansgar tried to kill his father with poison to get to the heirlooms, while Leonard von Lahnstein had a secret affair with Johannes' wife Cécile. Carla had been hiding her homosexuality for years, when she got exposed by her brother Ansgar. Therefore Johannes forced her to marry Bernd von Beyenbach to cover the lies she had told everyone. Constantin von Lahnstein had to find out that his mother had had an affair and he wasn't Johannes' son, which gave him the reason why he had been send to his aunt Carlotta di Balbi to Italy. After Cécile died, Leonard found love again in maid Sarah Hofmann, who was exposed as another illegitimate daughter of Johannes'. Leonard moved on and married Jana Brandner, just as Johannes' enemy Adrian Degenhardt found out that he wasn't only Constantin's father but Leonard's as well. Leonard cheated on Jana with Sarah, while Carla married and later divorced Susanne Brandner, after she had lost her first love Hanna Novak tragically. In fall 2007, Johannes' nephew Sebastian von Lahnstein appeared; leading to a new side of the family. Johannes was eventually presumed dead after a plane crash. Shortly after Jana died in Leonard's arms, he married Sarah. The family was in shock then when a woman saying she was the supposedly dead Francesca, Johannes' first wife. Ansgar and his wife Tanja von Anstetten discovered that she is lying, but was in fact Francesca's estranged younger sister Maria di Balbi. Ansgar used her to fight his sister for the heirlooms of the family and blackmailed Maria into playing along, if she didn't want to lose her new found family. Just as Maria was about to tell Carla the truth, Tanja went after her and tried to kill Maria. Meanwhile Ansgar discovered that Maria was his biological mother and that he was the child Maria had with Johannes all those years ago, thinking that he had died. Ansgar rescued his mother and they both decided to fight Tanja to keep the lie going. The truth eventually came out and when Carla was confronted with the truth, she admitted that she couldn't believe in what a "sick family" she was living in and slapped Maria in the face.
Shortly after Sebastian, his sister Rebecca von Lahnstein came to town. Sebastian fell deeply in love with Lydia Brandner, but then slept with her mother Katja Brandner, who ended up being pregnant with Sebastian's child. Without knowing the paternity, Lydia and Sebastian got married. But it was eventually found out that Sebastian was the father of little Christina, causing problems between Lydia and him. Not long after their wedding Helena von Lahnstein and Tristan von Lahnstein, Sebastian and Rebecca's siblings, came to town. With them all together another family secret was about to get discovered - their father Ludwig von Lahnstein was still alive.
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Over the years, the Lahnstein family has become the "soapiest soap family", thanks to unexpected twists such as Johannes' never ending affairs from the past and juicy schemes in their own family, like poising, attempted murder and blackmail. Overall the Lahnstein family has remained very popular with fans, thanks to viewer's favourites Claudia Hiersche (Carla), Wolfram Grandezka (Ansgar) and Verena Zimmermann (Nico) and the involvement with other popular actors like Miriam Lahnstein (Tanja) and Yvonne Burbach (Cécile). In 2009, even though the character Maria di Balbi was a success, fans felt that former patriarch Johannes, who supposedly died in 2008 in a plane crash, was made out to be a hypocrite and liar, who seemed to treat Maria like dirt. It didn't seem to fit in with the character the audience had watched for years. With the change in the family and the focus pushed onto Ludwig's children, the audience didn't respond well by saying that Helena, Rebecca, Sebastian and Tristan just weren't characters you cared about. Only new family patriarch Ludwig, who became center of a love triangle with Johannes' former wive Elisabeth and Maria seemed to be interesting.
The family residence is Castle Königsbrunn
The city residence is a Penthouse
Once appeared as the Lahnstein empire, founded for over hundred years. Johannes von Lahnstein was the CEO for a very long time, later omit by his eldest son Ansgar, which led to Johannes founding a company named JCL Investment. After Johannes could reclaim his title as CEO of the Lahnstein Holding, he merged JCL into the Holding. After Johannes died, Ansgar faked his father's will. In that he made the family believe that Ansgar's son Hannes is the heir and Ansgar can have control over the business until Hannes is at a legal age to take charge of his inheritance. The family later realizes that Ansgar faked the will, and Carla took over as the rightful heir. Ansgar tried to scheme his way back to the head of the company, but failed several times in his attempts to discredit Carla as a businesswoman. After Carla leaves town, she leaves control over the company to her stepmother Elisabeth and her uncle Ludwig. The company soon gets in serious money trouble and Ludwig has to buy off some parts of the company. Ansgar's devilish wife Tanja von Anstetten manages to get her hand on the real estate department, while Ludwig decides to form a new company named Lahnstein Enterprises.
Lahnstein Enterprises is a new company founded by Ludwig von Lahnstein with the help and money of his nephew Ansgar in 2010. Part of the company also becomes the real estate department that Tanja von Anstetten bought off from the Lahnstein Holding. In June 2011, a board is formed that's headed by Ludwig. The Lahnstein Bank rejoins the company when Ansgar signs on and the Lahnstein Entertainment department is formed. In order to bring Tanja to sign on, Ludwig buys her the fashion company Ligne Clarisse, a company formerly owned by Tanja's archenemy Clarissa von Anstetten, out of the heritage of late Marie von Anstetten.
Is a model agency founded and owned by Tanja von Lahnstein. Former known as v. A. Faces (changed the name after Tanja married Ansgar). The company is written out without any explanation in late 2009.
Ligne Clarisse is a fashion company founded by Clarissa von Anstetten and appears for the first time in the show's premiere. As a business rival to Cara Donna, another fashion house owned by Clarissa's rival Barbara von Sterneck, the company was used in many storylines within the first five years of the show. For a short time, Clarissa's arch enemy Tanja von Anstetten could get her hands on the company before Clarissa got it back. When Clarissa was presumed dead in 2001 the company went to Marie von Anstetten, Clarissa's goddaughter, as part of her will. Marie suddenly dies ten years later and Tanja buys the moribund company, who now becomes part of Lahnstein Enterprises to one last laugh over Clarissa. But it is eventually explain that Clarissa isn't dead. Instead she spent the last ten years in prison and has now to find out that Tanja is owning her life-long work. Even though she promises her children to stay away from Tanja, Clarissa secretly plans to get her company back. Later in 2011, the company is renamed to Ligne Clarisse Lahnstein and plans a comeback with the legendary Incest campaign, who presents the company's golden year of 1997.
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