Wolff (noble family)

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Coat of arms of those von Wolff

Wolff ( lett. : Volf ) is the name of a Council Gender from Sagan ( Lower Silesia ), which in the 17th century in the Baltic emigrated and in 1726 the Indigenat the Livonian , 1729 the Estonian knighthood awarded and the 1747 Empire baron was charged. Branches of the family persist to this day.

history

The von Wolff family came from a Lutheran councilor from Sagan ( Lower Silesia ), which first appeared in 1427. The secure line of tribe begins with Hans Wolff, 1515 citizen and 1520 councilor in Sagan. With Sigismund Adam Wolff (1646–1720) - 1671 secretary of the lower court and lawyer, 1677 council secretary, 1687 councilor, 1704 mayor of the judiciary of Narva - the family appeared in the Baltic States . In 1726 it received the Indigenous of the Livonian and in 1729 that of the Estonian knighthood. In 1747 the first elevation to the imperial baron status followed .

The various branches of the von Wolff family owned a total of around 270,000 hectares of land in Livonia and Estonia at the end of the 19th century . During the Russian Revolution in 1905/1907, 184 manors and castles in the Baltic States were occupied, looted and set on fire by the insurgents. Including goods from Wolff's. Although some properties were rebuilt afterwards , Latvia , which had become independent after the First World War , decided in April 1920 to undertake a land reform that finally broke the political and economic supremacy of the mostly German-Baltic landowners. These were only allowed to keep 50 hectares of land per family . The rest was expropriated without compensation and divided into tens of thousands of new farm areas for smallholders. As a result of the resettlement of the Baltic Germans to Germany in 1939 and the occupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union the following year, the remaining property of the former large landowners was also lost. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, some of the earlier Wolff mansions were rebuilt and have served public facilities ever since.

coat of arms

The family coat of arms of those von Wolff shows under a green shield head , in it three silver lilies, in silver a natural colored wolf. On the helmet with green and silver covers, a silver lily between an open green flight.

Known family members

Portrait of Johann Gottlieb von Wolff ( Lat. Barons Johans Gotlībs fon Volfs , 1756–1817)
Boris von Wolff adH Stomersee (1850-1917)
Alice von Wolff adH Stomersee, née Barbi (1862–1948), painted by Philip Alexius de László
Nikolas von Wolff (1866–1940)

Possessions

The von Wolff estates listed below in alphabetical order were not owned by one person, but belonged to different branches of the family. In addition, these goods were not all owned by the family at the same time, and not always for a very long time. With one exception, all estates were in the Baltic States :

  • Alswig: ( Lat .: Alsviķi )
  • Alt-Schwanenburg ( Lat .: Vecgulbene )
  • Flower courtyard
  • Fountain
  • Thickness ( Lat .: Dikļi )
  • Druween
  • Ermes ( Lat .: Ērģeme )
  • Friedrichshof
  • Friedrichswald (e) ( lett . : Saikava )
  • Fianden am Marienburger See ( lett . : Lāzberģis)
  • Groß-Ragern
  • Hinzenberg
  • Horstenhof
  • Ilsen
  • Calnemoise
  • Kawast
  • Korwenhof
  • Kragenhof
  • Lettin ( lett . : Litene)
  • Lindenberg
  • Lindenhof
  • Lubahn
  • Luxenhof
  • Lysohn ( lett . : Lizums)
  • Mahlup
  • Marienstein
  • Meiran
  • Metzkull
  • Neu-Laitzen ( Lat .: Jaunlaicene)
  • New roses
  • Neu-Sallensee with the village of Skrudelina
  • Noetkenshof
  • Paltemal
  • Deer sack
  • Reppekaln
  • Rodenpois
  • Ronneburg-Neuhof
  • Schluckum
  • Semershof ( lett . : Ziemeri)
  • Stomersee ( Lat .: Stāmeriene)
  • Sudden
  • Suddenbach
  • Waldeck
  • Waldenrode
  • Walmeshof
  • Wolkowo ( Russian : Wolkowka)

In addition to agriculture , a number of small businesses and factories were set up on the “Wolff” estates , which processed the agricultural products and natural resources obtained there. This included wood and wool processing, brickworks and brandy production . In addition, the von Wolff family was licensed to serve in Kiev , St. Petersburg , Moscow and the Moscow Railway .

In addition to the lands and the related businesses, the various branches of the von Wolff family also owned a number of castles and mansions:

  • Alt-Schwanenburg Castle ( Lat .: Vecgulbene muižas pils): The "Alt-Schwanenburg Castle", also called "White Castle", built by Burkhard Christoph von Münnich in 1763 , came into the possession of Otto Hermann von Vietinghoff in 1789 and was owned by Johann in 1802 Gottlieb von Wolff acquired. In the 1840s by his grandson Rudolf Gottlieb Magnus von Wolff (1809–1847) in the neo-Renaissance style , the palace was expanded around 1880 by Rudolf's son Johann Heinrich Gottlieb von Wolff (1843–1897). Partially burned down during the riots in 1905, artillery fire destroyed another part of the property during World War II . To the east of Alt-Schwanenburg Castle is the “Red Castle”. Johann Heinrich Gottlieb von Wolff (1843-1897) had it built for them after his marriage in 1875 to Marissa von Öttingen (1857-1883). He also dedicated the newly created park with artificial ponds, lakes, grottos, pavilions, bridges, etc. to her. While the “Red Castle” is used as a primary school today, the Alt-Schwanenburg Castle and its landscaped park are still awaiting complete restoration. The farm buildings of Gut Alt-Schwanenburg, however, have been preserved: a cheese dairy, ring, orangery, servants' house, stables and cattle kitchen.
Ruins of Fianden Castle (2002)
  • Fianden Castle on Marienburger See ( Lat .: Lāzberģa muižas pils ): The estate was acquired in 1798 by Johann Gottlieb von Wolff. His son, Ernst Christoph Alexander von Wolff (1783–1832), had a castle built there in 1821, which was rebuilt in 1860 in the neo-Gothic style. It stands on the northern shore of Lake Marienburg ( Lat .: Alūksnes ezers ) and is now in a very dilapidated state, as the Latvian state partially approved the building, which was well preserved until 1918, as a building material supplier.
  • Lettin Castle ( Lat .: Litenes muižas pils): Otto Heinrich Theodor von Wolff (1790–1838), son of Johann Gottlieb von Wolff , built a new castle here from 1817 to 1819 in an 11.5 hectare park on the banks of the Pededze classical style. The architectural model was Neu-Laitzen Castle. The avenue through the estate dates back to 1796. The stables date from 1821. The castle was set on fire in 1905 and later rebuilt in a simpler form. In the course of the Latvian land reform in 1920, it was expropriated and the associated lands were divided into small courtyards. The castle has served as a primary school since 1924. Today it is a listed building along with the associated farm buildings.
  • Lysohn Castle ( Lat .: Lizuma muižas pils): In 1836 Otto Johann Gottlieb von Wolff (1804–1859) acquired the property in the Vidzeme region and had a new castle built in place of an older manor house. In the second half of the 19th century, the rectangular, two-storey castle building with some basement was then rebuilt in the English Tudor style. In addition to the redesign of the facade, the central projectile was crowned with an attic and an octagonal tower was added to the castle. The interior was created by the Estonian artist Aleksandrs Knoks. This has been preserved in the stairwell and in some halls, especially in the "Blauen" or "Jägersaal". Nationalized in the course of the land reform in 1920, a primary school was set up in the castle from 1936–1937, which was followed in 1957 by a secondary school that still exists today . The castle is still surrounded by a 5 hectare landscaped park with four ponds and native and exotic trees and plants. There are also several farm buildings in the castle, including a distillery .
  • Neu-Laitzen Castle ( lett . : Jaunlaicene muižas pils): Acquired in 1789 by Prince Woronzow , a friend of the von Wolff family , the castle and the associated facilities were extended generously by Johann Gottlieb von Wolff, but without any external splendor. In addition to the castle, 33 other buildings made of fieldstone or locally made bricks were built between the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th century. Of these, 16 are still preserved, albeit in different states of preservation. In 1870 the property was expanded to include a family chapel with a crypt . In the house of the former estate manager there is now a museum of the Jaunlaicene estate, which is dedicated to the cultural and historical heritage of the estate and the parish of Opekalns. The castle also has a 9- hectare park with ponds, an island and old trees.
  • Semershof Palace ( Lat .: Ziemera muižas pils): built in 1786 in the classicism style. The stairs, the parquet, the fireplace and the cornice still date from this time. In 1804 Johann Gottlieb von Wolff acquired the castle from Otto Reinhold von Brandten and in 1807 had an empire-style store room and a stable added.
  • Stomersee Castle ( Lat .: Stāmerienas muižas pils): Built by Johann Gottlieb von Wolff and rebuilt in the neo-renaissance style in 1835 , the castle is located in a 25-hectare park between Stāmerienas Lake and Pogas Lake. The park was laid out as a landscape garden in the English style according to the so-called fan shape. In 1904 Boris von Wolff had adH Stomersee (1850–1917) for his mother, Sophia, b. Princess Potjomkin, erecting the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nevsky a few hundred meters from the palace complex . The castle was burned down in 1905 and rebuilt in 1908 by the aforementioned Boris von Wolff as it was before the destruction, supplemented with stylistic elements of Palladianism and Art Nouveau . Stomersee Castle was one of the few mansions in Latvia that was not expropriated after the land reform in 1920, so that the von Wolff-Stomersee family could stay there until 1939 - the year when Latvia was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union and the remaining private property was expropriated. During these years the Italian writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa , author of the novel “ The Cheetah ”, came to visit there several times. On August 24, 1932, he married Alice Alexandra von Wolff (1892–1984), the owner of Stomersee Castle, in Riga . After the Second World War, an agricultural college was initially located in the castle, and in later years an office of a Soviet state farm ( sovkhoz ). After the independence of Latvia and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the property was vacant between 1992 and 1998. Today the castle is a cultural center.

  • Castle Alt-Schwanenburg, also called "White Castle" ( Lat .: Vecgulbene muižas pils)

  • Riding stables and arena at Alt-Schwanenburg Castle

  • "Red Castle" east of the Alt-Schwanenburg Castle

  • Photo of the Fianden Castle ( Lat .: Lāzberģa muiža pils)

  • Lettin Castle in Lettin ( lett . : Litenes muižas pils)

  • Farm buildings of Lettin Castle

  • Lysohn Castle ( Lat . : Lizuma muižas pils)

  • Photo of the Neu-Laitzen Castle ( lett . : Jaunlaicene muižas pils) from 1911

  • Coat of arms of the von Wolff family on the family chapel in Neu-Laitzen

  • The back of Semershof Palace ( lett . : Ziemera muižas pils) in 2000

  • Front of Semershof Palace

  • Stomersee Castle in Stomersee ( lett . : Stāmerienas muižas pils)

  • Rear of Stomersee Castle

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels , Volume A XIII, pp. 534-535 (Ahnenzeile v. Platen), CA Starke Verlag , Limburg, 1975.
  2. ↑ Rosgartenmuseum Konstanz (ed.): "The Zeppelins - Life Stories of a Noble Family", Print + Medien Konstanz GmbH, Konstanz 2013, p. 99, ISBN 978-3-929768-32-9
  3. ^ Imperial Barons von Wolff
  4. ↑ Libro d'Oro della Nobiltà del Mediterranea: Tomasi, Principi di Lampedusa