Hohenau (noble family)

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Heraldic shield of those of Hohenau

Hohenau is the name of an extinct Saxon-Meiningen noble family. It goes back to Rosalie Countess von Hohenau , née von Rauch (1820–1879). She was the second, morganatic wife of Prince Albrecht of Prussia , the youngest brother of Kaiser Wilhelm I and King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia .

history

After his divorce from his first wife Marianne Princess of Oranien-Nassau in 1849, Prince Albrecht of Prussia, son of King Friedrich Wilhelm III, married. von Prussia and his wife Princess Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz , 1853 in the second, non-befitting, ie morganatic marriage Rosalie von Rauch. Rosalie von Rauch was the former lady-in-waiting of Princess Marianne and the daughter of the Prussian Minister of War and Infantry General Gustav von Rauch and his second wife Rosalie, née von Holtzendorff .

The vehemently negative personal, religious and religious-political stance of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, the eldest brother of the groom, forbade Prince Albrecht and Rosalie von Rauch to marry on Prussian territory. In addition, the house laws of the royal house of Hohenzollern prevented Rosalie von Rauch from being accepted into her husband's family.

After the intercession of Tsarina Alexandra Fjodorovna of Russia , the sister of the Prussian king, Albrecht and Rosalie married in the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen . Albrecht's eldest daughter Charlotte lived there . She was married to the Hereditary Prince and later Duke Georg II of Saxony-Meiningen . Before the wedding, the Duke made Rosalie von Rauch Countess of Hohenau. Your newly created family name Hohenau seems like an allusion to the name of the Hohenzollern.

Nevertheless, the wedding had to take place according to strict guidelines from Berlin without any fuss and took place in the smallest circle on June 13, 1853, a working Monday, in the village church of Schweina , where the Saxon-Meiningen dukes with Altenstein Castle maintained their summer residence. Newspapers were forbidden from reporting the wedding.

The two sons of Albrecht and Rosalie, Wilhelm Graf von Hohenau (1854–1930) and Friedrich Graf von Hohenau (1857–1914), did not belong to the Prussian royal house, not least to rule out dynastic inheritance claims against the ruling House of Hohenzollern. A few months after their birth, both were awarded the Saxon-Meiningen count status. Prussian recognition of the Hohenaus count was granted by King Wilhelm in 1862, the successor to Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who died in 1861, and later German emperor.

Both Hohenau brothers and their sons served in the Prussian army. As officers they belonged to renowned cavalry regiments. Horse passion made Albrecht and Rosalie's grandson Wilhelm Graf von Hohenau (1884–1957) one of the most successful German competition and racing riders, u. a. by winning the bronze medal in team show jumping at the 1912 Olympic Games in London .

His daughter Charlotte Countess von Hohenau (1917–2016) shared her father's strong passion. The Reit- und Fahrschule für Kellinghusen und Umgebung eV appointed the "old school horse woman" as an honorary member. With her, the last member of the Hohenau family died and the noble family died out.

Albrechtsberg Castle

Albrechtsberg Castle in Dresden-Loschwitz (Elbe side)

On the instructions of the Prussian king, the couple Albrecht Prince of Prussia and Rosalie Countess von Hohenau had to take up their joint residence outside the Prussian borders. The choice fell on Dresden .

In order to meet the high prestige of a royal prince, Albrecht von Prussia had the royal Albrechtsberg Castle built in the Loschwitz slopes of the Elbe with a magnificent terrace and water features in the Prussian- late classical style and named it after himself. He chose the Schinkel student Adolph Lohse as the architect . The two sons of Prince Albrecht and Rosalie Hohenau became heirs of Albrechtsberg Castle. In 1925 Hohenaus sold Albrechtsberg Castle to the city of Dresden, which has owned it ever since.

In addition to Albrechtsberg Castle, Hohenaus acquired the Kreuzwald manor in Upper Silesia , which they owned until they were expelled in 1945.

Rosalie Countess von Hohenau and her sons as well as some other family members were buried in the mausoleum of Albrechtsberg Castle. When the park was opened to the public in 1950, the remains of Countess Hohenau and her descendants buried there were reburied in a crypt at the Weißer Hirsch forest cemetery in Dresden . The Hohenausche family grave on the Weißen Hirsch was closed in 1968.

coat of arms

With six silver roses in its shield, the Hohenau coat of arms refers to the first name of Rosalie Countess von Hohenau, to which the family goes back after their morganatic marriage to Albrecht Prince of Prussia. The coat of arms shows from top right to bottom left seven parts placed diagonally, alternating in silver and blue. In the blue parts there are two, three and finally a rose one after the other from top right to bottom left.

The shield holder is on the right a forward-looking golden lion, on the left an inward-looking wild man who holds a club in his left hand.

Well-known namesake

  • Rosalie Countess von Hohenau, née von Rauch (1820–1879)

  • Lieutenant General Wilhelm Graf von Hohenau (1854–1930)

  • Major Friedrich Graf von Hohenau (1857–1914)

literature

Web links [edit | Edit source]

  • Bernhard Peter: Coat of arms for morganatic marriages (1). In: Heraldry - the world of coats of arms. Own website, 2012, accessed on September 28, 2014 (many examples explained in detail).