Hochberg (noble family)

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Coat of arms of those of Hochberg

Hochberg is the name of an old Silesian noble family , which until the Second World War had its main focus in Silesia . Until the 17th century the family called Hohberg (also Hoberg ). With the acquisition of the Principality of Pless in the 19th century, they were given the Prussian title "Prince of Pless".

The gender should not be confused with the Margraviate of Baden-Hachberg , which is often referred to as Hochberg in old documents and writings .

history

Beginnings

Fürstenstein Castle

The family of the Lords of Hohberg appears in a document for the first time in 1185. The first representative known by name was the knight Melchior von Hohberg , who is said to have come to Silesia with King Henry VII . The uninterrupted line of trunks begins with the knight Kitzold von Hoberg, who was documented from 1312 to 1349. In the following centuries the family branches Fürstenstein , Buchwald, Güttmannsdorf, Rohnstock and Neuschloß emerged in Silesia . Another branch of the family was formed in Lower Austria , from which the writer Wolf Helmhard Freiherr von Hohberg came, with whom this line became extinct.

Fürstenstein line

The most important line was that named after the Fürstenstein Castle , which belonged to one of the leading noble families in the principality of Schweidnitz-Jauer . Konrad von Hohberg gave the property to the family in 1509 as a pledge. In 1605 it became hereditary property. Most of the family members have been Protestant since the Reformation .

Hans Heinrich XV. Count von Hochberg, 3rd Prince of Pless in 1916
Castle Pless

After the death of Hans Heinrich II. (1639–1698) the line split. The younger son of Hans Heinrich II., Konrad Ernst Maximilian (1682–1742), paid homage - unlike other family members in the course of the First Silesian War - Friedrich II. At the time of Count Hans Heinrich V (1741–1782) it came in 1764 to a partial unification of family property. In order to secure the property, the count managed to transform the Fürstenstein lordship into a Fideikommiss in 1772 . This also included the Waldenburger Land with its coal mines, which were important in the 19th century. This also included the cities of Freiburg , Gottesberg , Friedberg and Waldenburg as well as numerous villages. Under Hans Heinrich VI. In 1791 all possessions of the old Fürstenstein line were reunited.

Hochberg-Pless

Count Hans Heinrich X. (1806–1855) achieved the transformation of the Fürstenstein rule into a free class rule with hereditary seat in the Silesian provincial parliament . During his time the coal mines were also opened up by railroad. Through the mother of Hans Heinrich X., Princess Anna Emilie von Anhalt-Köthen-Pleß , the Upper Silesian Principality of Pleß fell to the Hochberg family as heir. This covered 110 km² and was four times larger than the rule of Fürstenstein. Hans Heinrich X. was also president of the Prussian manor house . His son Hans Heinrich XI. 2. Prince von Pleß (1833–1907) primarily intensified the family's mining and industrial activities. During his time, further coal mines were opened up, the extraction modernized and Pleß Castle rebuilt. The unfinished expansion of Fürstenstein Castle into the largest castle in Silesia began in 1870. The brother of Prince Bolko Graf von Hochberg (1843–1926) was a diplomat, later a theater director and composer. The son of Hans Heinrich XI. Hans Heinrich XV. (1861–1938) was married to Maria Theresa Cornwallis-West (1873–1943), known as Daisy von Pless . During this time, Schloss Pleß became a meeting place for leading European society.

The end of the First World War and the division of Upper Silesia in 1922 led to the family's economic decline. The prince stayed in Pless, the eldest son Hans Heinrich XVIII. (1900–1984) lived in England. Brother Alexander (1905–1984) initially lived in Poland, but also fled to England when the attack on Poland. Both brothers fought as volunteers in the British Army. The property around Fürstenstein in the German Reich, where Daisy von Pless still lived, was confiscated by the National Socialists in 1943. The aim was to build a Führer headquarters there.

coat of arms

Coat of arms of the Prince of Pless, Count of Hochberg, Barons of Fürstenstein
The coat of arms on one page of Siebmacher's coat of arms book

Siebmacher's coat of arms book from 1605 shows the coat of arms in the knighthood and nobility department in Saxony.

Blazon : "Divided, the top of a blue silver Dreienberg on the dividing line down from Red and silver in five rows of eight seats geschacht . On the (temple) helmet with red and silver covers, a silver lily with green handles with six green leaves between two fallen silver trout , with three ostrich feathers each (silver, red, silver) on the outside. "

According to the GHdA , the family coat of arms (leaning shield) is described as follows: “Divided, at the top in silver a blue three-mountain at the dividing line, at the bottom of silver and red in three rows with four places. On the helmet with a red and silver cover a golden, growing red rose between two fallen natural trout, the outer side of which is decorated with three ostrich feathers each, red and white in mixed colors. ”In the embroidered imperial coat of arms of the Fürstenstein line, fields 2 and 3 show the family coat of arms, the chess with the three mountains on a red background, while in the black fields 1 and 4 there is a golden lion jumping up. The middle of the coat of arms bears a golden heart shield , in it the imperial black double eagle under a princely crown . There are three crowned helmets above the main shield. The front helmet bears between three ostrich feathers (red, silver, red) two trout with their heads overturned, between which stands a red rose with four green leaves; the middle helmet bears the crowned double-headed imperial eagle described in the heart shield; the rear helmet bears the lion mentioned in the main shield.

The coat of arms of the Hennersdorf line, which became extinct in the baronial line, is divided; above in silver three green , pointed mountains side by side; below of silver and red, five to three, sheathed. On the helmet with red-silver covers, between two fish that have fallen on the crown of the helmet, a red rose , green with six green leaves. The ostrich feathers are missing here.

The coat of arms of the Buchwald line is quartered and shows in fields 1 and 4 in silver a half black eagle at the slit that grows outwards; fields 2 and 3 are divided; above three blue mountains in red , the middle one higher than the other two, below of red and silver, three to four, nested. Above the shield are two crowned helmets with red and silver covers. The front helmet wears a black eagle, the rear one a red rose, green with four green leaves, between two fallen trout, the outside of which is equipped with three (silver, red, silver) ostrich feathers.

Nobility uprisings

Under the governor Hans Heinrich I von Hohberg (1598–1671), the Fürstenstein line was raised to the baron status of the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1650 . In 1666 the elevation to the count status of Bohemia took place. Wolf Helmhard von Hohberg was also raised to the baron status in 1659 from a Lower Austrian line. The state elder Otto Konrad von Hochberg was raised in 1740 and the brothers Johann Anton and Franz Wenzel von Hochberg were raised to the baron status in 1746. Under the son and successor of Hans Heinrich I. Hans Heinrich II. (1639–1698) he was raised to the rank of imperial count. In 1850, Hans Heinrich X. was raised to the Prussian prince status. Hans Heinrich XI. was raised to the non-hereditary ducal status in 1905.

people

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Codex diploma. Saxoniae reg II, 1, no.59
  2. ^ Leopold Freiherr von Zedlitz-Neukirch : New Prussian Adels Lexicon. Vol. 2, Gebrüder Reichenbach, Leipzig 1836, p. 402
  3. ↑ a b Rudolf Johann Graf von Meraviglia-Crivelli : The Bohemian Adel (PDF; 53.9 MB), 1886, p. 66 (PDF; 1.5 MB)

literature

Web links

Commons : Hochberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files