Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (full baptismal name Alexander Konrad Friedrich Heinrich Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn , born November 22, 1943 in Salzburg ) is a German entrepreneur . He is vice president of the European monument protection association Europa Nostra and chairman of Europa Nostra Germany. He is the former president and current honorary president of the German Castle Association (DBV) .

Life

Alexander is the eldest son of Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (1915–1962) and the photographer "Mamarazza" Marianne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn , née. Freiin Mayr von Melnhof (* 1919). After his father's accidental death in 1962, he took over the Sayn legacy and succeeded his father as "boss" of the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn family . Since then he has been generally known under the name Alexander Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (or shortened to the second Sayn ), although since the abolition of the nobility in 1919 the title “Prince”, but not the first-born title “Prince” granted in Primogenitur , is part of the Surname is.

In 1969 Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn married Gabriela Countess von Schönborn-Wiesentheid , a daughter of Rudolf Graf von Schönborn-Wiesentheid and Princess Helene von Thurn und Taxis . They had seven children together:

• Heinrich Prinz ("Hereditary Prince") of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (* 1971), married in 2003 to Donna Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta (* 1975)
• Alexandra Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (* 1973), married to Count Stefan Hunyady von Kéthely
• Johann Casimir Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (* 1976), married in 2000 to Corinna Larsen (divorced); married in 2019 to Alana Camille Bunte
• Filippa Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (1980–2001), married since 2000 to Vittorio Mazzetti d'Albertis
• Ludwig (Louis) Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (* 1982), married in 2011 to Philippa Countess Spannocchi
• Maria Sophie Princess zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (* 1986)
• Christian-Peter Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (* 1992).

The Sayn Castle , badly damaged shortly before the end of the war in World War II and then fell into ruin, was rebuilt in the 1990s while restoring the old structure; the work was completed in 2000.

Sayn Castle (top left) and Sayn Castle

Offices and engagement

• President of the Deutsche Burgenvereinigung eV , from 1986 to 2013
• Chairman of the Foundation of the German Castle Association , since 2013
• Vice-President of the Europa Nostra Association since 1990
• Chairman of Europa Nostra Germany eV
• Deputy Chairman of the association "Palaces and Gardens in Germany eV"
• Member of the Advisory Board of the European Academy of Science and the Arts
• Member of the extended board of the AG of the landowners' associations
• Protector of the Sayn shooting society in 1843
• Knight of Honor and Devotion of the sovereign Order of Knights of Malta
• Member of the supervisory board of Econia AG Cologne, from 2000 to 2002

Orders and awards

• Order of Merit of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate
• Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany , 2004
• Honorary President of the German Castle Association
• Knight of Honor and Devotion of the Sovereign Order of Malta
• Karl-Friedrich-Schinkel-Ring of the German National Committee for Monument Protection , 2018

family name

His wife Gabriela also appears as the Princess of Sayn Wittgenstein-Sayn or is referred to as such by the public. However, since the titles of nobility were abolished in Germany in 1919/20 and converted into components of the civil names, the official surname of all family members, including Alexander and his wife Gabriela, Prince and Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn is included.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alexander Konrad Friedrich Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn on thepeerage.com , accessed on September 18, 2016.
2. ↑ The successor to the position of head of a house of the historical high nobility is assumed according to the traditional prince and house law, which are a special field of historical nobility law . The German Nobility Law Committee only decides on questions of princely law upon special request and purely on an expert basis.
3. ↑ Europa Nostra Germany - The Board For example: Europa Nostra Germany website : Board
4. ^ Website of the community of Bessenbach : Historical calendar. From then until now. ( Memento of August 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ).
5. ^ Entry by Philippa Countess Spannocchi on Geneall.net
6. ^ Family website
7. ↑ The designation prince of the earlier Primogeniture nobility is no longer inheritable as part of the name and therefore no longer exists as part of the name. To date (as of July 22, 2010) there is no evidence that an official name change to Prince Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn or Prince Alexander zu Sayn-Wittgenstein has taken place and therefore his wife officially changed the name Gabriela Fürstin zu Sayn- Wittgenstein (-Sayn) would lead.