Khevenhüller

Coat of arms of the Princes of Khevenhüller-Metsch
Hochosterwitz Castle
Knight Ulrich (ca. 1430–1492) and his wife Anna née von Kellerberg with Mörtenegg Castle and the church of St. Martin nr. Villach.
Baron Franz III Khevenhüller and Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, ca. 1615

Khevenhüller is the name of a Carinthian noble family, documented there since 1356, which originally came from the Upper Palatinate in Franconia, and which later had their principal seat in Landskron Castle. In the 16th century, the family split into the two branches of Khevenhüller-Frankenburg, Reichsgrafen (i.e. counts of the realm) since 1593, and Khevenhüller-Hochosterwitz, Reichsgrafen since 1725 and, as Khevenhüller-Metsch, Fürsten (i.e. princes) since 1763.

In present-day Carinthia, the princely family of Khevenhüller-Metsch operates the tourist attraction of Hochosterwitz Castle, one of their Renaissance homes.

History

The earliest mention of a Khevenhüller is of one Ulreich "dem Chevenhuelaer" 1330,[1] and in Carinthia of one Johann I Khevenhüller, who died in 1356 and was the son-in-law of Richard I von Khünburg and Elisabeth von Himmelberg,[2] both from Carinthia. Johann IV von Khevenhüller zu Aichelberg (b. ca 1420-1462) was the first to hold the family title "of Aichelberg",[3] yet Johann V Khevenhüller (d. 1462), son of Wilhelm II Khevenhüller and Margareta von Auersperg, was Burgrave of Federaun, whereas his son, Augustin Khevenhüller, who died 1516, is referred to as Herr (i.e. Lord) of Hardegg.[4] His mother was one "Miss" von Lindegg,[5] who together with her grandson Sigismund III, Herr Khevenhüller in Hohen-Osterwitz (1507–1558) appears among the ancestors of Prince Charles.[6] Her youngest grandson, Bernard von Khevenhüller (1511–1548) was "Herr auf Sternberg and Hohenwart"; her eldest grandson, Christoph Khevenhüller (1503–1557) was Lord of Aichelberg.

Hans Khevenhüller, ambassador to the Spanish Court

Christoph Khevenhüller

The steep rise of the House of Khevenhüller in Carinthia began when in 1525 Christoph Khevenhüller (1503 -1557) was appointed castellan of Ortenburg Castle near Spittal an der Drau and married a wealthy burgher's daughter, Elizabeth Mansdorfer. Her wealth enabled him to acquire a number of properties in Carinthia such as the castles of Aichelberg, Ortenburg, Sommeregg, Hochosterwitz and Landskron as well as the iron mine of Eisentratten near Gmünd. Like the majority of the Carinthian Estates Christoph Khevenhüller became a Lutheran Protestant. Of Christoph Khevenhüller's s three sons, Hans, Moritz and Bartlmä, two were politically and economically most successful, thus furthering the rise of the family:

Hans Khevenhüller

Hans Khevenhüller (1538–1606) became the Legate of the Holy Roman Emperor at the Spanish court, an office that he held for 26 years. He was appointed Imperial Chamberlain, was made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1587 and a count in 1593, a rank that upon his death passed on to his brother Bartlmä.

Bartlmä Khevenhüller

The activities of Bartlmä Khevenhüller (1539–1613) centred on Carinthia. Styling himself "Freiherr auf Landskron and Wernberg" he made it to Burggrave und Speaker of the Estates, and managed to make the Khevenhüller family one of the wealthiest in the German Reich. He also figured as the head of the Protestants in Carinthia.

When in the course of the counter-reformation Emperor Ferdinand II abolished the nobility's religious freedom in the Habsburg lands, the Protestant members of the Khevenhüller family were forced to abandon their possessions in Carinthia and emigrated to Germany in 1628. Among these was also the great-grandmother of Nicolaus Ludwig Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf of the Moravian Church or Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine. Interrelation with the noble Saxonian Metzsch family began that led to the Khevenhüller-Metsch branch, which later also spread to Spain where as marquesses and dukes they became Grandees of Spain.

Paul Khevenhüller

Being a Protestant Paul Khevenhüller (1593–1655) sided with the Swedish king during the Thirty Years' War lending Gustav Adolf 70 000 Swedish riksdalers to finance the war. After the king's death the Swedish state was incapable of repaying the loan and compensated the lender with the property of Julita Gård in Södermanland, which remained the residence of his descendants late into the 19th century.

Notable members of the House of Khevenhüller

Ludwig Andreas Graf Khevenhüller,
field marshal. (Part of the Maria-Theresa monument in Vienna)

Princes of Khevenhüller-Metsch

Actual Head of the Khevenhüller-Metsch Family

Spanish branch

See also: Line of succession to the British throne

Notes

  1. ↑ Collegium es nobilis Austriae: Khevenhüller-Metsch
  2. ↑ Our... Ancestors - Person Page 3739
  3. ↑ Marek, Miroslav. "Euweb: Khevenhüller family". Genealogy.EU.
  4. ↑ Our...ancestors.com
  5. ↑ Our ...Ancestors Person Page 3734
  6. ↑ Gerald Paget, The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, S1157, S11572, vol. II, pp. 239 and 378
  7. ↑ often incorr. called ″vice-regent". The Cassell English Dictionary, London 1990, p. 1469

References

External links