Biron from Curland
Biron von Curland is a noble family from Courland that also settled in Silesia and Bohemia . Branches of the family still exist today.
Origins and origins
The Bühren family who immigrated from Westphalia , possibly from Büren (Westphalia) , settled in Courland around 1564 . The family had an estate in Kalnzeem (now Latvia ). In 1638 the family was ennobled by the Polish king and called themselves von Bühren from then on . It first gained importance under Ernst Johann von Biron , who was born in 1690 as the second son of the landowner Karl von Bühren and changed the family name to Biron , echoing the French dukes de Biron .
Political rise
In 1730, Tsarina Anna Ivanovna was raised to the rank of count in Russia . She entrusted her favorite Ernst Johann von Biron with the post of Imperial Chamberlain at the Russian court. He thus became one of the most powerful men in Russia . In the same year, the German Emperor was raised to the rank of imperial count .
In 1737 Ernst Johann von Biron was elected to succeed the late Duke Ferdinand of Courland and Semgallia . Since Courland was a Polish vassal state , confirmation of the appointment by the Polish king was required, which was given by King August III. shortly afterwards. This government office was exercised by the House of Biron von Curland until 1795, but with interruptions. After Anna's death in 1740, Biron was overthrown as the de facto Prime Minister of Russia and exiled to Siberia. Under Tsarina Elisabeth he was freed a year later, but was only reinstated as the ruling duke in Courland by Tsarina Catherine II in 1763. In 1769 he handed over the office to his son Peter von Biron ; he died in 1772 in the Mitau residence .
With the third partition of Poland in 1795, the suzerainty of the Polish King August Poniatowski ceased and Kurland was annexed to Russia . Duke Peter von Kurland was now forced to abdicate by Tsarina Katharina, and he was awarded an annual pension of 25,000 ducats and a Wittum for his wife. He received two million rubles for his property in Courland. He then went with his family to his titular duchy Sagan, acquired in 1786, in Prussian Silesia . In Lower Silesia his father had already acquired the free state rule Groß Wartenberg in 1734 , which his second son Carl Ernst inherited. With his Russian severance pay and pension, Peter bought one after the other residences in Berlin and Prague, the dominions Deutsch Wartenberg and Nettkow in Lower Silesia and the dominions Nachod and Chwalkowitz in Bohemia. His four - scandalous - daughters inherited all of these properties. His nephew Gustav Kalixt von Biron was left with the Silesian estate of Groß Wartenberg , which came from his grandfather and was expropriated from his descendants in 1945. These still carry the surname Prince or Princess Biron von Curland and the obsolete predicate Highness (see family table).
Personalities (selection)
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Ernst Johann von Biron (1690–1772), Imperial Count since 1730, Duke of Courland and Semgallia from 1737–1769 ∞ Benigna Gottliebe von Trotta called Treyden
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Peter von Biron (1724–1800), Imperial Count, 1769–1795 Duke of Courland and Semgallia , from 1786 Duke of Sagan ∞ Dorothea Countess of Medem
- Wilhelmine von Biron (1781–1839), Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan (1800–1839) ∞ I. Prince Louis von Rohan (1768–1836), ∞ II. Prince Wassili Trubetzkoi (1776–1841), ∞ III. Count Carl Rudolf von der Schulenburg (1788-1856)
- Pauline von Biron (1782–1845), Princess of Courland, Duchess of Sagan (1839–1845) ∞ Prince Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Hechingen
- Johanna Katharina (1783–1876) ∞ Francesco Pignatelli, Duke of Acerenza, Prince of Belmonte
- Dorothea von Biron (1793–1862), Duchess of Dino (1817), Duchess of Sagan (acquired by her sister Pauline in 1842; elevation to Duchess of Sagan in 1845, remained so until her death in 1862) ∞ Count Edmond de Talleyrand-Périgord , from 1838 Duke of Talleyrand. The Duchy of Sagan fell to her son Napoléon-Louis (1811–1898) in 1862
- Hedwig Elisabeth von Biron (1727–1793) ∞ Baron Alexander Cherkassov († 1788)
- Carl Ernst, Prince Biron of Curland (1728–1801) ∞ Apollonia Lodzia-Poninska
- Gustav Kalixt von Biron (1780–1821), Prince of Biron-Wartenberg, Prince of Curland ∞
- Karl Prince Biron von Curland (1811–1848) ∞ Agnes Countess zur Lippe-Biesterfeld
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Calixt Prince Biron of Curland (1817–1882) ∞ Princess Jelena Mestscherskaja
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Gustav Prince Biron of Curland (1859–1941) ∞ Françoise Levisse de Montigny de Jaucourt
- Karl Prince Biron von Curland (1907–1982) ∞ Herzeleide Princess of Prussia
- Ernst Johann Prince Biron von Curland (* 1940) ∞ Elisabeth Countess zu Ysenburg-Philippseich
- Friedrich Franz Biron von Curland (1910–1997)
- Karl Prince Biron von Curland (1907–1982) ∞ Herzeleide Princess of Prussia
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Gustav Prince Biron of Curland (1859–1941) ∞ Françoise Levisse de Montigny de Jaucourt
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Peter von Biron (1724–1800), Imperial Count, 1769–1795 Duke of Courland and Semgallia , from 1786 Duke of Sagan ∞ Dorothea Countess of Medem
Peter von Biron , Duke of Courland and Zemgale, Duke of Sagan
Dorothea von Kurland , wife of Peters, with her daughters Wilhelmine and Pauline
Wilhelmine Biron , Duchess of Sagan
Pauline Biron , Princess of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Duchess of Sagan
Dorothea Biron , Duchess of Talleyrand-Périgord and Sagan
Hedwig Elisabeth von Biron , Baroness Cherkassov
Buildings and acquisitions
- 1734 Ernst Johann von Biron acquires the free estate of Groß Wartenberg in Lower Silesia (owned by the family until 1945).
- 1735 Construction of the summer residence at Ruhenthal Castle (Rundāle) begins in Semgallia, Latvia.
- 1738 New construction of the ducal residence palace in Mitau (Jelgava) , Semgallia, Latvia.
- 1785 Peter von Biron acquires Friedrichsfelde Palace in Berlin (sold again in 1799, after the classical ballroom was installed)
- 1786 Peter von Biron acquires the Duchy of Sagan in Lower Silesia.
- 1787 Peter von Biron acquires the dominion of Deutsch Wartenberg in Lower Silesia.
- 1788 Peter von Biron acquires the Nettkow estate in Lower Silesia and the Kurland Palace in Berlin.
- 1792 Peter von Biron acquires the Nachod estate with the associated castles Nachod and Ratibořice in Bohemia.
- 1794 Peter's wife Dorothea acquires the Löbichau estate in Thuringia and builds the new castle from 1800. Tannenfeld Castle also belonged to their “Löbichauer Musenhof” .
- 1798 Peter von Biron acquires the Chwalkowitz rule in Bohemia.
Groß-Wartenberg Castle , Silesia, around 1860
Summer residence in Ruhenthal (Rundāle) , Semgallia
Friedrichsfelde Palace in Berlin
Sagan Castle , Silesia
Deutsch Wartenberg Castle , Silesia
Nachod Castle , Bohemia
Löbichau Castle , Thuringia
Chwalkowitz Castle , Bohemia
literature
- Gothaisches genealogical pocket book along with diplomatic-statistical yearbook , 105th year, Justus Perthes , Gotha 1868, pp. 150–151
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Family tree of the House of Biron of Curland. ( Memento of the original from April 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.